CHANDRA NAIR Assistant Professor Dept. of Information Engineering Associate Director Institute for Theoretical Computer Science and Communication (ITCSC) Assistant Professor (by courtesy) Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering 811, Ho Sing Hang (SHB) The Chinese University of Hong Kong Sha Tin, N.T., Hong Kong

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research has been primarily focused on issues arising in network information theory and combinatorial optimization problems. I have also been involved in the analysis of algorithms arising in the above areas as well as some originating in queuing theory, networks, energy-efficient scheduling in sensor networks, etc. Most of the above research has been motivated by a seemingly innate attraction towards certain problems containing elements of probability and combinatorics.

For the last few years my research has primarily focused on some fundamental unresolved issues in network information theory. Before this my research mainly dealt with theoretical issues connected to combinatorial optimization problems in both finite and large systems, primarily motivated by conjectures posed by statistical physicists. Apart from these two long-term affairs, I have also had brief fancy for a bunch of isolated issues, mostly as a collaborator with some very interesting colleagues.

Publications
Manuscripts and Preprints
Institute of Theoretical Computer Science and Communication
Dept. of Information Engineering
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

RESEARCH GROUP MEMBERS

Ph.D. students

• Lingxiao Xia (Ph.D. candidate, IE)
• Sida Liu (Ph.D. candidate, IE)
• Yuanming Yu (Ph.D. candidate, CSE)

Post-doc

• Yanlin Geng (did his Ph.D. from our group)

NOTE: I am always interested in working with good students, primarily those having strong mathematical reasoning skills.

• Amin Gohari (Postdoc Aug, '10 - Feb '11, Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, currently professor at Sharif)
• Zizhou Wang "Vincent" (Ph.D. 2010, IE) (currently at ALTAI Technologies Ltd)

TEACHING

Basic circuit theory (Fall 2007)
Multiuser information theory (Fall 2008, Fall 2011)
Signals and systems (Fall 2009, 2010)
Signals and systems - elite version (Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012)
Probability theory (Spring 2010)
Random Processes (Fall 2010)
Advanced Engineering Mathematics (Fall 2011, Fall 2012)

Current:

Since Fall 2007 I have been an assistant professor in the Information Engineering(IE) department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. From Fall 2008 I am also serving as an assistant director of the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science and Communication(ITCSC). Recently I have a courtesy appointment in the Computer Science and and Engineering (CSE) department.

Past:

From Summer 2005-Summer 2007 I spent two wonderful years in Redmond as a post-doc with the theory group at Microsoft Research. It was during this period that I changed my research focus from Combinatorial Optimization problems to Network Information Theory.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

I did my undergraduate studies at the Indian Institue of Technology(IIT ), Madras in electrical engineering graduating in 1999. Concurrently, I also completed the four year nurture programme in Mathematics at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences(IMSc ) under the auspices of the National Board of Higher Mathematics(NBHM).

I received a Masters (2002) and PhD (2005) in electrical engineering from Stanford University. The title of my dissertation was Proofs of the Parisi and Coppersmith-Sorkin conjectures in the random assignment problem (PDF), and Balaji Prabhakar was my advisor. Following my postdoctoral position at the theory group in Microsoft Research, I joined the IE department faculty in CUHK.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Curriculum Vitae:[pdf]
• Personal: I have two principal trouble makers in my household. My wife (Tara Nair) and my son (Aditya Nair) - pictured above (right).

• WEBID: This is a project I undertook with some final year undergradutes. The purpose of this project is to have a secure self-synchronizing contacts manager that also synchronizes with your mobile phone. For instance, if I change my mobile number today then the system automatically updates my number in the mobile phones of my allowed contacts within 24 hours, so that they can reach me at my new number. They may not even realize that I changed my number - who remembers phone numbers anyway these days. You can try the project out here.
• CYCLING: A part-time hobby for me during my graduate and post-doctoral years. I occasionally still venture out but Hong Kong is not very bicycle friendly.