鈥淭he energy we received from Mars when the exploration Rover beamed pictures back to Earth was less than that generated by a snowflake landing in your hand.鈥
says Dr Mohammed Zaki Ahmed, Associate Professor of Information Technology in the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics.
The impact of Dr Ahmed鈥檚 research, however, is anything but as gossamer light thanks to his world-leading insight into the way communication and code can transform energy efficiency.
A renowned expert in digital signal processing, error correction coding, and communication theory, he鈥檚 been a key member of the Centre for Security, Communications and Network Research. Working alongside his mentor Professor Martin Tomlinson, Zaki has lent his expertise to a range of projects, from signalling systems in the rail industry to near-field communication technology in the housing market, and has been integral to the centre鈥檚 generation of more than 300 of the best-known error correction codes.
鈥淲e have become addicted to energy, we can鈥檛 get enough of it,鈥 he says. 鈥淎ll around us we see computers, phone chargers, flat-screen televisions, and they鈥檙e only using half of their power efficiently; I think we can do better than that.鈥
It鈥檚 an aspiration that has coursed through Zaki鈥檚 life and work from a formative age. Growing up in a university environment in Nigeria, he experienced both the frustration of extended periods without electricity, as well as the illumination of being involved with his father鈥檚 research on soil fertility and crop yield.
An outstanding student and courted by some of the top universities in the United States, Zaki came to 探花视频 in 1996 to complete the final year of his degree. He was so inspired by his teachers that he turned down the likes of Georgia Tech to remain in the city and study a masters and PhD, becoming a permanent member of staff in 2001.
His work on solar power and energy efficiency in computers is now attracting serious commercialisation interest, and is currently cloaked in confidentiality to protect its intellectual property. It is, he knows, a chance to tackle the energy problem, reducing the amount we consume and increasing that which we can produce from renewable sources.
鈥淚f I said to you 鈥榯ake this 100-watt light bulb and communicate with me from a neighbouring city鈥 you would think it impossible,鈥 he adds. 鈥淎nd yet Voyager is communicating with us from interstellar space, billions of miles away using the equivalent of a 100-watt light bulb. That鈥檚 inspirational!鈥