outstanding thesis award
JOHNSON CITY (March 27, 2018) – The Tennessee Conference of Graduate Schools (TCBS) recognized recent graduate Salman Ahmed for the master’s thesis he completed while earning a degree in computer science from East Tennessee State University.
Ahmed received the 2018 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award at Graduate Education Day on Capitol Hill in Nashville for his involvement in the development of an application to address transportation safety issues in high-traffic areas.
Ahmed’s thesis titled “An Investigation into the Performance Evaluation of Connected Vehicle Applications: From Real-World Experiment to Parallel Simulation Paradigm,” focuses on the development of connected vehicle technology called the Freeway Merge Assistance System.
“Many accidents happen at the entrance, exit ramps on freeways and highways, which was my motivation. I wanted to start there to develop a way to prevent incidents,” Ahmed said.
Vehicles connected to the system alert one another to merging vehicles that may be hidden from sight. Ahmed and fellow researchers evaluated the application on various exit ramps off Interstate 26 with positive results. To test it in a safer, more manageable environment, they partitioned the transportation network into corridors and used a simulation tool to evaluate the application’s effectiveness when communicating between vehicles traveling through the corridors. Speed of communication between connected devices must be fast, as drivers should receive alert messages quickly in order to respond to changes in traffic and potential hazards.
“When using this application, it’s important to note that the driver is still in control,” Ahmed explained. “If they don’t comply with alert messages, nothing happens. All it is meant to do is alert the driver and give them better coordination efforts.”
Ahmed’s research was conducted using resources available in the Vehicular Network Lab under the direction of Dr. Mohammad Hoque, assistant professor in the Department of Computing.
The TCGS graduate student thesis award is a formal recognition of outstanding individuals committed to excellence. Ahmed also received the outstanding computing graduate student award from ETSU in 2017, the same year he completed his master’s in computer science.
Ahmed is continuing to research connected vehicle technology as a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, a Vehicular Network Lab collaborator. The focus of his research has shifted from the communication aspect of the Freeway Merge Assistance System to the security of information shared among drivers.
“A lot of people are working on this technology,” Ahmed added. “An application is needed that can be widely deployed, and if it can be successful, it can save lives.”