RIEGL - Institut für Nachrichtentechnik und Hochfrequenztechnik der

PREFACE
Institut für Nachrichtentechnik und Hochfrequenztechnik
I joined the institute in October 2006 and time has really flown by since then.
Now, I am glad to present this brochure which illustrates our current research activities, teaching, and cooperations
at the Institut für Nachrichtentechnik und Hochfrequenztechnik (Institute of Communications and
Radio­Frequency Engineering) at Vienna University of Technology.
Within the curriculum Electrical Engineering we contribute to the academic training of the electrical engineering
students from the fourth semester onwards, most prominently in the Master­level curriculum for
students specializing in “Telecommunications”. We offer courses covering the full range of subjects in state­ofthe­art
communications and radio­frequency engineering, in some courses assisted by external lecturers. We
promote the language abilities of our students by offering English language courses and by teaching several
technology­related courses in English. Our students working on their diploma thesis or dissertation contribute
considerably to the research results of this institute. Here they are confronted with engineering problems of
immediate economic interest, which they deal with in teams.
Our research and development emphasizes several specific fields in telecommunications: signal processing,
radio­frequency engineering, mobile communications, and optical communications. The following sections of
this brochure describe the most prominent activities in some detail. The selected examples attempt to give an
impression of the broad spectrum of our research projects. The overview shows
­ that our work ranges from fundamental research to the development of circuits and systems,
­ and that we strive for the exchange of scientific expertise between seemingly diverse topics.
Since October 2006, I am responsible for “Flexible Wireless Systems” focusing on “wireless systems for traffic
telematics” and “ultra­wideband radio”. I am very glad that Norbert Görtz accepted the position of full professor
in September 2008. He will advance the research and teaching in the field “Multimedia Signal Processing”.
Apart from these changes, the Institute of Communications and Radio­Frequency Engineering also notes
several retirements. O.Univ.Prof. i.R. Dipl.­Ing. Dr.techn. Dr. h.c. Ernst Bonek, the leading initiator of research
and teaching in the field of mobile communications in Austria, retired in May 2004. In September 2004 Univ.
Prof. i.R. Dipl.­Ing. Dr.techn. Johann Weinrichter, who has advanced the state­of­the­art of transmission theory
and coding. Since 2006, O.Univ.Prof. Dipl.­Ing.Dr.techn. Wolfgang Mecklenbräuker, a pioneer in digital signal
processing, is an emeritus at the institute. Finally, in 2007, O.Univ.Prof. Dipl.­Ing. Dr. Walter Leeb, a leading
innovator in optical communications for space­born applcations. I would like to cordially thank them for their
outstanding engagement through all these years and I am grateful for their ongoing solidarity with our institute.
Anticipating today‘s call for the universities‘ opening to economically relevant topics, we finance more than
half of our staff from outside sources. We also have been the driving force for founding the Austrian K­plus
center of excellence “ftw. Forschungszentrum Telekommunikation Wien“ (ftw. Telecommunications Research
Center Vienna). Since beginning of 2008, ftw. has become a K1 center within the COMET framework and our
institute is the largest university partner.
We would like to express our thanks to our sponsors and partners in Austrian and international industry, to
the Austrian public, to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), to the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF),
to the European Space Agency (ESA), and to the European Commission for successful cooperation.
Concluding, I would like to thank all colleagues for their most valuable efforts and engagement for our
institute and I am looking forward to continued fruitful co­operation.
Vienna, April 2009
Christoph Mecklenbräuker
Head of Institute
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