CV

Summary

PhD candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at KAUST specializing in wireless communications, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, and network optimization. Research experience spans LoRa and low power wide area networks, delay-tolerant networking (DTN), hybrid RF and free space optical (FSO) systems, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for visible light communications (VLC). Strong background in system modeling, stochastic analysis, and experimental prototyping, with publications in leading IEEE journals and collaborations with international research institutions and industry partners.

Education

• PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — May 2023 – Present
  • Advisor: Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini
  • Thesis: Towards Global Connectivity for Devices and People
• MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, KAUST — Aug 2021 – May 2023
  • Advisor: Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini
  • Thesis: On the Optimization of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Visible Light Communications
• Erasmus Exchange Student, Lund University, Lund, Sweden — Aug 2017 – Jan 2018
  • Courses in Digital Communications, Antenna Technology, and Digital IC-Design; designed and implemented a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth patch antenna
• BSc in Electrical Engineering (ABET accredited), The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan — Sep 2014 – Jun 2019
  • GPA 3.95/4.0 (ranked 1st); courses in Communication Systems, Communication Networks, and Applied Mathematics

Professional Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant — Communication Theory Lab, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Aug 2021 – Present
  • Designed and implemented superposition techniques to increase LoRa data rates
  • Conducted LoRa transmission experiments over TV White Spaces in collaboration with Microsoft Research
  • Developed a Delay-Tolerant Networking-enabled digital learning platform for rural areas
  • Assisted in designing and deploying a hybrid Free-Space Optical (FSO) / Microwave (MW) link to connect remote areas and islands
  • Assisted in designing a positioning and protection system to assist firefighters in complex environments (Prototypes for Humanity, Dubai, UAE)
  • Investigated and optimized RIS-assisted VLC systems to improve data rates and fairness among users in mobile scenarios
• Graduate Teaching Assistant — KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Jan 2023 – Present
  • Courses: Numerical Optimization (Spring 2023), Mathematical Foundations of Machine Learning (Fall 2023), Embedded Machine Learning (TinyML), Applied Mathematics (Summer 2024), Linear Algebra (Spring 2025)
  • Managed classes of 40+ students; assisted in projects; graded papers; delivered review sessions; proctored exams; held weekly office hours
  • Lead TA and local organizer for the TinyML Engineering for IoT Workshop (Jan 2025 & Jan 2024): led hands-on sessions, mentored participants, and prepared course materials
  • Main Instructor for a five-day hands-on IoT course (KGSP Summer Enrichment Program 2026, KAUST Academy): designed the full curriculum and project set, delivered all sessions, and led a team of two teaching assistants
  • Mentored 10+ students on research projects ranging from DTN-based educational platforms and Wi-Fi sensing to LoRa mesh networking protocols
• Research Fellow — Marconi Lab, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy — Sep–Dec 2024 & Sep–Dec 2025
  • Designed and implemented a practical and energy-efficient off-grid wireless network based on LoRa mesh
  • Conducted research on DTN and public transport systems as data mules
  • Modeled stochastic processes to improve data transfer reliability in delay-tolerant networks
• Technical Consulting Engineer — ESTARTA Solutions (Cisco Systems), Amman, Jordan – Kraków, Poland — Jun 2019 – Jul 2021
  • TAC Enterprise Switching: support for worldwide partners and customers on high-impact issues in hardware, software, and network design
  • Expertise in Enterprise Routing & Switching, Cisco IOS-XE, Catalyst 9000, IE and CDB series switches
• Software Engineer (Intern) — JO VISION, Amman, Jordan — Feb 2019 – Jun 2019
  • Image processing using C++/OpenCV and ML algorithms for digital pathology
  • Designed a real-time image stitching algorithm for microscope slide images using OpenCV
• Electrical Design Engineer (Intern) — Dar Al-Handasah, Amman, Jordan — May 2018 – Jul 2018
  • Worked on electrical design projects, including low current systems (structured cabling, CCTV) and power systems (cable sizing, protection devices, PV systems, UPS) using DIALux, AutoCAD, and Revit

Selected Projects

• Grounded Course Assistant (RAG), Hybrid Retrieval, Cloudflare Workers, pgvector, LLM Serving — 2026
• LoRaWAN Gateway Mesh: Experimental Evaluation, LoRaWAN, Mesh Protocols, Hardware Testing — 2026
• Super-LoRa: Making Long-Range IoT Faster, Software Defined Radio (SDR), GNU Radio, LoRa — 2025
• DTN for Rural Connectivity via Public Transport, DTN, System Modeling, Linux — 2025
• Hybrid RF/FSO Maritime Connectivity, Free-Space Optics (FSO), RF Systems, Real-World Deployment — 2024
• TV White Space IoT Deployment with Microsoft Research, SDR, TV White Spaces, LoRa — 2023

Publications

Super-LoRa: Enhancing LoRa Throughput via Payload Superposition

S. Abdeljabar and M.-S. Alouini. (2025). “Super-LoRa: Enhancing LoRa Throughput via Payload Superposition.” IEEE Internet of Things Journal.

Delay-Tolerant Networking to Extend Connectivity in Rural Areas Using Public Transport Systems: Design And Analysis

S. Abdeljabar, M. Zennaro, and M.-S. Alouini. (2025). “Delay-Tolerant Networking to Extend Connectivity in Rural Areas Using Public Transport Systems: Design And Analysis.” IEEE Internet of Things Journal.

Bridging the Educational Divide: A Delay-Tolerant Networking Approach for Equitable Digital Learning in Rural Areas

S. Abdeljabar and M.-S. Alouini. (2026). “Bridging the Educational Divide: A Delay-Tolerant Networking Approach for Equitable Digital Learning in Rural Areas.” IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.

Overcoming Maritime Connectivity Challenges with Hybrid RF/FSO Links

F. S. Alqurashi, S. Abdeljabar, A. Trichili, and M.-S. Alouini. (2024). “Overcoming Maritime Connectivity Challenges with Hybrid RF/FSO Links.” IEEE Globecom Workshops.

TinyML4D: Scaling Embedded Machine Learning Education in the Developing World

—, S. Abdeljabar, —. (2024). “TinyML4D: Scaling Embedded Machine Learning Education in the Developing World.” Proceedings of the AAAI Symposium Series.

Sum Rate and Fairness Optimization in RIS-Assisted VLC Systems

S. Abdeljabar, M. W. Eltokhey, and M.-S. Alouini. (2024). “Sum Rate and Fairness Optimization in RIS-Assisted VLC Systems.” IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society.

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Outdoor Visible Light Communications

S. Abdeljabar, M. W. Eltokhey, and M.-S. Alouini. (2024). “Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Outdoor Visible Light Communications.” IEEE Internet of Things Magazine.

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for RSMA-Based VLC Systems

S. Abdeljabar and M.-S. Alouini. (2023). “Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for RSMA-Based VLC Systems.” Optical Wireless Communication Conference, Jakajima.

Awards

• Saudi Aramco Digital Hackathon Winner, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Jan 2026
• 6G Summit “Imagining Tomorrow” Video Competition Winner, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Nov 2025
• Falling Walls Lab KAUST Finalist, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Sep 2025
• KAUST CEMSE Dean’s List Award for Exceptional Academic Achievements, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — 2025
• IEEE ICC 4MT Thesis Competition Winner, Montreal, Canada — Jun 2025
• ICTP–Arab Fund PhD Fellowship, Trieste, Italy — Sep 2024 – Dec 2026
• IEEE SusTech 2023 Student Poster Contest Winner, Portland, USA — Apr 2023
• King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Fellowship, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia — Aug 2021 – Present
• Ranked 1st among all Electrical Engineering Students, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan — Jun 2019
• Graphco Company Award for Scientific Excellence, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan — May 2019
• Dean’s List, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan — Apr 2019

Workshops and Certifications

• Communication in Extreme Environments for Science and Sustainable Development — ICTP, Trieste, Italy — 2023
• Widening Access to TinyML Network by Establishing Best Practices in Education — ICTP, Trieste, Italy — 2023
• Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) — HarvardX — 2023
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Routing and Switching — Cisco Systems — 2020

Outreach Activities

• Journal Reviewer — IEEE Transactions on Communications — Mar 2026
• Journal Reviewer — IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology — Oct 2025
• Journal Reviewer — IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications — Sep 2025
• Invited Speaker — Workshop on Empowering Connectivity: Bridging Space and Earth with DTN, ICTP, Trieste, Italy — Sep 2025
• Poster Presenter — The Things Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands — Sep 2025
• Conference Reviewer — IEEE PIMRC, Istanbul — Jun 2025
• Conference Reviewer — IEEE WCNC, Dubai — Apr 2024
• Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) Volunteer — KAUST — Dec 2022
• Co-Founder — IEEE Power and Energy Society, The University of Jordan — 2018–2019
• Students’ Union Member — Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), Lund, Sweden — 2017–2018

Technical Skills

• Programming and Data: C/C++, Python, MATLAB, Mathematica, SQL (PostgreSQL), Git/GitHub, Linux
• Wireless and Embedded: GNU Radio, Software Defined Radio (SDR), LoRa/LoRaWAN, ChirpStack, ESP32/Arduino, MQTT, CoAP, ThingsBoard
• Cloud and Infrastructure: Docker, Cloudflare Workers/Pages, AWS, Oracle Cloud, Google Cloud, Render, Supabase, Linux server administration, self-hosted services
• AI and LLM Systems: PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings and vector search (pgvector), OpenAI-compatible APIs, local model serving, AI gateways, MCP
• Languages: Arabic (Native), English (Advanced; IELTS 8; TOEFL iBT 100)

Teaching and Mentoring Experience

• Courses and Workshops:
  • Internet of Things (IoT): A Five-Day Hands-On Course, KGSP Summer Enrichment Program, KAUST Academy — Aug 2026
    • Main Instructor and curriculum designer. Built the full five-day curriculum and slide decks, developed a fourteen-project hands-on hub for the ESP32 starter kit with wiring guides, ready-to-flash sketches and quizzes, built a retrieval-grounded AI assistant into the hub, ran daily lab sessions, and led a team of two teaching assistants. Materials: slides, projects hub.
  • Introduction to AI for High School Students, KAUST Academy — Summer 2025
    • Lead Instructor for High School Summer Program (HSSP) within STEPs. Designed curriculum and projects introducing AI concepts, practical tools (Edge Impulse), and the complete ML development cycle from data collection to edge deployment.
  • TinyML Engineering for IoT Workshop, KAUST & ICTP — Jan 2025
    • Lead Teaching Assistant & Local Organizer. Collaborated with Prof. Marco Zennaro (ICTP, Italy) and Prof. Pietro Manzoni (Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain). Led hands-on sessions on TinyML applications for IoT, prepared course materials, and mentored participants.
  • Embedded Machine Learning (TinyML) Workshop — Jan 2024
    • Teaching Assistant in collaboration between KAUST Academy and Prof. Marco Zennaro (ICTP, Italy).
• Graduate-Level Courses:
  • AMCS241 Stochastic Processes, KAUST, with Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini — Spring 2026
  • AMCS250P Linear Algebra for Masters in AI, KFSC, with Prof. Sabine El Khoury — Spring & Fall 2025
  • AMCS202 Applied Mathematics, KAUST, with Prof. Alexandra Gomes — Summer 2025 & 2024
  • AMCS211 Numerical Optimization, KFSC, with Prof. George Turkiyyah — Spring 2024 & 2025
  • AMCS215 Mathematical Foundations of ML, with Prof. George Turkiyyah — Fall 2023
  • AMCS211 Numerical Optimization, KAUST, with Prof. George Turkiyyah — Spring 2023
• Student Mentoring and Supervision:
  • Camera-Free Wi-Fi Human Sensing, Saudi Research Science Institute (SRSI), KAUST — Summer 2026
    • Mentored a high school researcher on device-free presence and position sensing from Wi-Fi Channel State Information using a six-node ESP32-S3 mesh, resulting in a poster presented at SRSI Poster Day.
  • LoRaWAN Gateway Mesh Experimental Research, CTL Lab, KAUST — Fall 2025 – Spring 2026
    • Supervised an undergraduate student with experimental research on LoRaWAN gateway mesh implementation developed by RAKWireless and ChirpStack.
  • AI Specialization Projects, Artificial Intelligence Specialization, KAUST Academy — Summer 2025
    • Mentored groups on AI projects: AI Ingredients & Nutrition Analyzer and Complete AI Simulation & Evaluation for IELTS exam.
  • LoRa Mesh Experimental Testbed, ICTP, Italy — Summer 2025
    • Supervised a TRIL Fellow on LoRa Mesh networks, resulting in a novel protocol called LoRa QTree.
  • LoRa Mesh Networks Research, Saudi Summer Internship (SSI), KAUST — Summer 2025
    • Supervised two undergraduate students on evaluation of open-source LoRa-mesh networking techniques using Meshtastic framework.
  • Delay-Tolerant Networking to Bridge the Educational Divide, KAUST — Summer 2024
    • Guided a high school student on research using Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) to deliver educational content to remote areas as part of International Baccalaureate Extended Essay.