Tarek Abdelzaher

Tarek Abdelzaher is the Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Professor and Willett Faculty Scholar in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He leads research in multiple cutting-edge areas including cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things, social sensing, and edge AI. His work has significant applications in smart cities, defense systems, and social media analysis.

Abdelzaher received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1999. His educational background laid the foundation for his extensive research career spanning real-time systems, distributed computing, and intelligent sensing.

His primary research interests focus on understanding and influencing performance and temporal properties of networked embedded, social, and software systems in the face of increasing complexity, distribution, and degree of interaction with external physical environments. Key areas include:

• Real-time computing and cyber-physical systems
• Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor networks
• Machine learning for IoT/CPS applications
• Social sensing and social media analysis
• Edge AI and deep learning for resource-constrained environments
• Battlefield IoT for defense applications

Abdelzaher's recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating machine learning with cyber-physical systems, particularly focusing on edge computing applications. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementations in smart cities, transportation systems, and defense applications. The research shows increasing emphasis on social sensing, where social media data is analyzed to understand real-world events and human behavior patterns.

His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards:

• IEEE Outstanding Technical Achievement and Leadership Award in Real-time Systems (2012)
• Xerox Award for Faculty Research (2011)
• Willett Faculty Scholar (2010)
• Multiple best paper awards at top conferences including IEEE/ACM International Conference on Cyber-physical Systems (2017), International Conference on Mobile Ad hoc and Sensor Systems (2016), and International Conference on Autonomic Computing (2015)
• Fellow of both IEEE and ACM
• NSF CAREER Award (2001)

Abdelzaher has advised numerous graduate students who have gone on to make significant contributions in academia and industry. His research has been generously supported by major funding agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Army Research Lab (ARL), and others. He leads several major research projects including the $25M Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) collaboration between the Army Research Lab, academia, and industry.

His research group operates several specialized labs and projects including:

• GreenGPS: A participatory sensing system for fuel-efficient navigation
• Apollo: A real-time social media data analysis toolkit for situation understanding
• Edge AI project: Developing deep learning capabilities for embedded IoT devices
• Social Mathematics and Information Dynamics project: Establishing laws of information dynamics in social spaces
• Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT): Connecting soldiers with smart technology for enhanced defense capabilities