APPLIED MATH SEMINAR

Name:   Edmund Yeh, Yale University

Title:     Wireless Network Resilience to Degree-Dependent and Cascading Node Failures

When/where: Thursday, May 7th, 2:00PM, AKW 200

Abstract:         
We study the problem of wireless network resilience to node failures from a percolation-based perspective. In practical wireless networks, it is often the case that the failure probability of a node depends on its degree (number of neighbors). We model this phenomenon as a degree-dependent site percolation process on random geometric graphs. In particular, we obtain analytical conditions for the existence of phase transitions within this model. Furthermore, in networks carrying traffic load, the failure of one node can result in redistribution of the load onto other nearby nodes. If these nodes fail due to excessive load, then this process can result in a cascading failure. Using a simple but descriptive model, we show that the cascading failure problem for large scale wireless networks is equivalent to a degree-dependent site percolation on random geometric graphs. We obtain analytical conditions for cascades in this model. This work represents the first investigation of cascading phenomena in networks with geometric constraints.



Biography:

Edmund Yeh received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with Distinction

from Stanford University in 1994, his M.Phil in Engineering from the  University of Cambridge in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering  and Computer Science from MIT in 2001.  Since 2001, he has been on the  faculty at Yale University, where he is currently an Associate Professor  of Electrical Engineering (with joint appointments in Computer Science  and Statistics).