Ali Abedi

Email: abedi@cs.wisc.edu

Address:
Department of Computer Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Morgridge Hall, Room 7671
1205 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706, USA

Research Lab:
Morgridge Hall, Room 3592

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I am also affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Prior to joining UW-Madison, I was a postdoc at UC Berkeley and Stanford University, advised by Professors Anant Sahai and Sachin Katti. I received my PhD from the University of Waterloo, advised by Professor Tim Brecht. My research area is computer systems and networking with a special focus on wireless networking/sensing, and low-power and low-cost networking for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
My Curriculum Vitae (Updated October 2026).

Research direction

Spectrum Coexistence

Our ongoing projects explore spectrum coexistence: How can we enable next-generation wireless networks while we protect existing passive and sensitive systems such as radio telescopes and satellite ground stations?

Radio telescope dishes at the Very Large Array in New Mexico

01 / Radio astronomy coexistenceCurrent focus · 7.125–8.4 GHz

Future 6G cellular networks & radio astronomy

We study how future terrestrial and low Earth orbit-based 6G cellular networks impact radio telescopes, combining active transmission experiments with systems that identify the sources of satellite signals.

The research

Measuring interference.
Identifying its source.

Our main focus is the 7.125–8.4 GHz band, currently under study for WRC-27. In a joint experiment between NSF, SpectrumX, and NTIA, we conducted the first active transmission study near the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, measuring how signals from user equipment (UE) couple into the VLA antenna array and affect its science data. Alongside these measurements, we are developing and testing low-cost systems to attribute signals to individual low Earth orbit satellites. When satellite signals couple into a radio telescope, these systems aim to identify which satellite transmitted them, helping trace the sources of radio-frequency interference.

About the project

Satellite receiving dishes and a radome on the SSEC rooftop at UW–Madison

02 / Satellite ground station coexistenceJoint project with SSEC · UW–Madison

5G/6G cellular networks & weather satellite ground stations

We study how cellular networks, especially future 6G systems, impact weather satellite ground stations, combining measurements of today’s 5G interference with experiments in the 7 GHz band.

The research

Characterizing interference.
Guiding future coexistence.

In collaboration with the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at UW–Madison, we study how cellular transmissions couple into its satellite ground stations and affect reception. SSEC operates multiple ground stations on campus, including systems that receive data from low Earth orbit weather and other scientific satellites in the 7.125-8.4 GHz band. These ground stations already experience radio-frequency interference (RFI) from nearby 5G base stations in the C-band. We characterize this interference and combine those observations with our 7.8 GHz (NOAA downlink band) measurements to develop models of the potential impact of future 6G networks. Our goal is to identify the conditions under which interference occurs and inform guidelines for policymakers, including separation distances and maximum transmit-power limits, that protect satellite reception.

About the project

Conceptual illustration of a LEO satellite constellation above Earth with translucent coverage beams directed toward the ground

03 / LEO constellation monitoringCurrent focus · 10.7–12.7 GHz

Low-cost systems for monitoring LEO constellations

We develop low-cost systems to monitor multiple low Earth orbit satellites simultaneously in the 10.7–12.7 GHz band, capturing reproducible traces of how their wireless channels evolve as they move.

The research

Measuring & Modeling moving links.
Scaling constellation monitoring.

As LEO mega constellations expand, understanding their operation requires measurements and reproducible traces of the rapidly changing wireless channels between satellites and points on Earth. Conventional tracking antennas are expensive, making it difficult to scale observations when multiple satellites illuminate the same region at once. We are repurposing portable satellite receivers, reprogramming them and adding microcontroller-based tracking to follow satellites as they move. Our goal is an affordable, scalable system that monitors multiple satellites simultaneously in the 10.7–12.7 GHz band. The resulting channel traces can support models of constellation behavior and help explore future applications, including how links to data centers in orbit would evolve over time.

About the project

More to explore

Earlier research projects

Selected publications

Illustration of wireless localization and its privacy implications

Wireless privacy & security

When Wi-Fi is too polite.

A loophole that makes Wi-Fi devices respond to strangers opens new questions about localization, sensing, and privacy.

HotNets 2020 MobiCom 2022 IoT Journal 2023 Sensors Journal 2023

Explore the project

Illustration of RF sensors and signals of opportunity

Spectrum sensing

Let the signals do the work.

Automatically evaluating RF sensors using signals of opportunity, without human supervision.

HotNets 2023

Read the paper

Illustration of battery-free Wi-Fi backscatter hardware

Low-power & battery-free IoT

Small devices. Longer lives.

Low-power and battery-free networking solutions for the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and 24 GHz mmWave bands.

SIGCOMM 2019 HotNets 2019 SIGCOMM 2020 MobiCom 2021

Read the WiTAG paper

Preview media: VLA photograph by CGP Grey (CC BY 2.0, resized and displayed cropped); ground station photograph from UW–Madison SSEC (resized and displayed cropped).

Ali Abedi

News

Spectrum Coexistence

Future 6G cellular networks & radio astronomy

Measuring interference.
Identifying its source.

5G/6G cellular networks & weather satellite ground stations

Characterizing interference.
Guiding future coexistence.