Dimitra Simeonidou | |
---|---|
Born | Dimitra E. Simeonidou |
Alma mater |
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University of Essex |
Awards | Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Telecommunication |
Institutions | University of Essex University of Bristol |
Thesis | An experimental investigation of Raman and erbium doped fibre amplifiers for use in optical communication systems (1994) |
Website |
www |
Dimitra E. Simeonidou FREng is a Professor of High Performance Networks at the University of Bristol. She works on the development of telecommunications networks, including 5G, [1] and is a specialist in smart city infrastructures. [2]
Simeonidou studied engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1987 and master's degree in 1989. [3] She moved to the University of Essex for her doctoral studies, and earned a PhD in 1994. [4]
After graduating she spent four years at Alcatel Submarine Networks, where she worked as Chief Engineer and introduced wavelength-division multiplexing networks. [3] She returned to Essex in 1998, where she established the High Performance Network group. [3] [5]
In 2012 Simeonidou was appointed a Professor at the University of Bristol, where she Directs the Smart Internet Lab and High-Performance Networks group. She studies high performance networks and wireless-optical convergence. [6] In 2017 it was announced that Simeonidou would lead the University of Bristol efforts to become a testbed for 5G technologies. [7] Her group designed a small 5G emitting box which can ensure connectivity on the move. [7] She is responsible for the city of Bristol's 5G urban pilots and leads experiments on the UK's 5G test network. [6]
Simeonidou is the chief technology officer (CTO) of the "Bristol is Open" project, which is a joint project between the Bristol City Council and University of Bristol. [8] [9] Bristol is Open provides a test bed for research in future communication technologies. She was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship to develop these technologies. [10] Simeonidou founded two University spin-off companies, Ilotron, which was acquired by Altamar in 2001, and Zeetta Networks. Zeetta delivers software-defined networking (SDN) platforms for enterprise networks. She has investigated the use of quantum cryptography to protect 5G networks. [11] In 2018 Simeonidou worked with the Government of the United Kingdom on their Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, which outlined the strategy to make the United Kingdom a world leader in 5G. [12]
She is interested in ways that 5G can transform skills development and cultural experiences. [13] Working with Zeetta, the BBC and Cambridge Communication Systems, Simeonidou demonstrated a 5G-enabled tourism catalyst project at the 2019 Digital Transformation World conference in Nice. [14] The catalyst allowed visitors to immerse themselves in history of the sites they were visiting using virtual reality. [15] The demonstrations included an animation to bring to life the Roman Baths. [15] The application used 5G network slicing, low latency and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) to provide a resilient service. [16] She has also worked with Jamie Cullum and the charity Music for All to deliver the world's first music lessons across 5G networks. [13] She was announced as the head of the University of Bristol Digital Futures Institute in 2019. [17]
Alongside her research, Simeonidou is committed to increasing the representation of women in engineering. [18]
In 2019 Simeonidou was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). [18] [19] She is the first woman at the University of Bristol to be elected a Fellow. [7] That same year, she was also elected as a Fellow of IEEE. [20]