Dr Sajjad Shami

Subject area: Computing
Senior Lecturer

I got my PhD in Electronic Systems Engineering from Essex University Colchester, in April 2000. My thesis is titled “Evolutionary and Agent-based Methods for Telecommunication Transport Network Restoration”.  I designed a multi-agent C-coded software system capable of finding vital restoration information in the event of multiple span failures in any mesh network in real time. I got four papers published during my doctorate.

I then joined Motorola Ltd., as 3G Wireless Research Engineer at their European Headquarters in Swindon, Wiltshire where I served for nearly two years. This was a rewarding and enriching experience. I attended five short courses in London, went to conferences, got three awards, published one research paper and also managed to file a patent in wireless telecommunications.

In May 2002, I joined Northumbria University as Senior Lecturer in Computing.  Here I enjoy the variety of tasks, the autonomy and the flexibility that come with the job. At CEIS, I have been and currently am involved in teaching various modules including:
o Java Application Development (pg)
o Java Enterprise (pg)
o Java Programming
o Computer System Architecture
o Application Integration Technologies with XML
o Small Embedded Systems
o PC and Network Technology
o Electronic Product Design

I have supervised numerous BSc final year and MSc student projects and also supervised several industrial placements. I have contributed to curriculum design and setting up of laboratories for new programs. I am working on personal research in the wireless devices and intelligent agents areas and have acquired formal accreditation for supervising PhD students.

In Feb 2004, I nominated one of my Masters' students, Mahesh Subramanian for a telephonic interview with Sun Microsystems Inc. who were offering a six-month internship in the area of Java and Embedded Systems. After a dramatic sequence of events, Mahesh won that internship and spent eight months at Sun labs, Santa Clara, California. The official university report can be found here.

Hobbies/Interests:

I am a keen philatelist. I enjoy table tennis, swimming and the gym. My other pastimes are travel and cinema.

Research Publications:

• Foster, G.T., Sesmun, A., Shami, S. and Robinson, K.: Corporate cooperative mobility: Proceedings IEE 17th UK Teletraffic Symposium on Networks – A Service Centred Approach, Dublin, Ireland, May 2001, pp.29/1-29/8.

• Shami, S.H. and Sinclair M.C.: Co-evolutionary agents for telecommunications network restoration: Soft Computing Techniques and Applications Robert John and Ralph Birkenhead (Eds.) Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg 2000, pp.146-151.

• Sinclair M.C. and Shami, S.H.: Evolving simple software agents: comparing genetic algorithm and genetic programming performance: Proceedings IEE/IEEE International Conference on Genetic Algorithms in Engineering Systems: Innovations and Applications (GALESIA’97), Glasgow, UK, September 1997, pp.412-426.

• Shami, S.H., Kirkwood, I.M.A and Sinclair, M.C.: Evolving simple fault-tolerant routing rules using genetic programming: Electronics Letters v33 n17, IEE London, August 1997, pp.1440-1441.

• Kirkwood I.M.A, Shami, S.H. and Sinclair, M.C.: Discovering simple fault-tolerant rules using genetic programming: Proceedings International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms (ICANNGA’97), Norwich, UK, April 1997, pp.285-288.

Book Review:

• Reviewed three chapters of Principles of Computer Hardware Fourth Edition by Dr Alan Clements on request by publisher. Publication date: March 2006, ISBN10: 0199273138; Oxford University Press, New York, USA.  This acclaimed computer hardware textbook has 14 chapters; I was asked to review Chapter 6: Assembly Language Programming, Chapter 7: Structure of the CPU and Chapter 8: Accelerating Performance.

Patent:

• Foster, G., Sesmun, A., Hobbis, K and Shami, S.: Method for Transmission of Voice over Wireless Packet-Switched Systems. Owned by Motorola Inc, Schaumburg USA through four authors. Each author received Motorola IP award upon submission.  This patent was filed at European Patent Office on 25-9-2001, where it was granted five years later, on 07-6-2006 as EP 1-325-618-B1. It was then validated in Great Britain, Finland, France and Germany. The patent is owned by Motorola Inc. through the four inventors. The complete document comprises eleven pages and is available on the right hand side of this page.

The patent is also viewable in full detail online at the (United Nations run agency) World Intellectual Property Organisation’s website here.

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