Center for Embedded Networked Sensing

Center for Embedded Networked Sensing
Name	Center for Embedded Networked Sensing
Established	2002
Type	Research center
Headquarters	University of California, Los Angeles
Parent organization	University of California

Contents

Center for Embedded Networked Sensing The Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) was a multidisciplinary research center based at the University of California, Los Angeles that integrated engineering, computer science, and domain sciences. Founded with support from the National Science Foundation and involving multiple campuses in the University of California system, the center pursued field-scale deployments connecting hardware platforms from Intel and Crossbow Technology with software from projects at Berkeley Lab and research groups affiliated with Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. CENS collaborations encompassed institutions such as University of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Diego, and industrial partners including Cisco Systems and Microsoft Research.

History

CENS was established in 2002 with initial funding from the National Science Foundation under programs aligned with the NSF Science and Technology Centers initiative and the NSF Information Technology Research portfolio. Early milestones included prototype sensor deployments influenced by designs from University of California, Berkeley research teams, experiments drawing on methodologies from Stanford University and Princeton University, and cross-disciplinary workshops with stakeholders from U.S. Geological Survey and Smithsonian Institution. Over its operational period, CENS convened investigators from campuses such as University of California, Santa Barbara and California Institute of Technology, hosted symposiums featuring speakers from Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard University, and engaged with policy discussions involving the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Homeland Security.

CENS aimed to advance sensing systems that combine embedded platforms, networking protocols, and application-driven science. Research emphasis included hardware platforms derived from vendors like Intel and academic prototypes from University of California, Berkeley, networking technologies influenced by standards from IEEE and researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and applications spanning environmental monitoring with partners such as the U.S. Forest Service and urban sensing efforts in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles. The center pursued topics at the intersection of signal processing from groups at Georgia Institute of Technology, data management approaches from University of Washington, and human-centered design influenced by labs at New York University and University of Michigan.

CENS operated as a consortium led by the University of California, Los Angeles with co-principal investigators at campuses including University of California, Berkeley and University of Southern California. Governance incorporated advisory boards drawing expertise from National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and corporate partners such as IBM and Intel Research. Partnerships extended to federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and cultural institutions including the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. International collaborations connected CENS investigators with groups at Imperial College London and ETH Zurich.

Major deployments exemplified CENS goals: long-term ecological monitoring in collaboration with Jornada Basin, urban sensing in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and infrastructure monitoring aligned with studies from California Department of Transportation. Projects included wetland and watershed sensing coordinated with U.S. Geological Survey teams, seismic and structural health sensing related to research at California Institute of Technology, and participatory sensing pilots involving communities connected to UCLA Medical Center and Keck School of Medicine of USC. System demonstrations referenced instrumentation and software influences from Berkeley Lab, networking experiments comparable to work at Princeton University, and visualization tools developed alongside researchers at University of California, San Diego.

CENS leveraged laboratory space and field sites hosted by University of California, Los Angeles, testbeds influenced by infrastructure at UC Berkeley and USC Information Sciences Institute, and fabrication resources similar to those at California NanoSystems Institute. Equipment inventories included embedded platforms compatible with standards from IEEE, radio transceivers with heritage from Crossbow Technology, and data archives maintained with practices used by National Center for Atmospheric Research. Computational resources drew on campus high-performance computing facilities and collaborations with centers such as SDSC.

Education programs integrated undergraduate and graduate training at University of California, Los Angeles, collaborative coursework with University of California, Berkeley, and internships hosted by partners like Microsoft Research and IBM Research. Outreach included community-engaged sensing projects with the City of Los Angeles, workshops drawing participants from K-12 outreach networks and museum partners such as the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and technology transfer activities intersecting with startup incubators in the Los Angeles region. CENS contributions influenced subsequent research centers and initiatives at institutions such as University of California, San Diego and informed policy discussions involving the National Science Foundation and Department of Homeland Security.

Category:Research institutes in California Category:University of California