Dr. Paul E. Hasler


In the fields of programmable analog signal processing and the integration of analog and digital technology into real-world applications, Professor Paul Hasler has established a reputation as one of the world's leading experts.
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Pirelli, GEDC Researchers Use Cutting-Edge Testbed to Build Tomorrow’s Communications Technology


The Photonic Testbed at the Georgia Electronic Design Center uses more than 320 kilometers of high-quality optical fiber to support research on high-speed networks. Here Jean De Ginestous inspects part of the fiber installation.

ATLANTA — More than 320 kilometers of cutting-edge optical fiber is aiding engineers as they research high-speed networks at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC).

This technology, a core element of the Pirelli Broadband Solutions Laboratory here, is being used for several major telecommunications-network projects.

The laboratory’s current primary effort is focused on agile optical networks. These networks, using nanotechnology and low-cost integrated chips (ICs), will replace outmoded fixed networks based on bulky optical components.

The Pirelli lab, located on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus at Technology Square, works in tandem with GEDC, the mixed-signal research and development center at Georgia Tech. Pirelli, one of Europe’s principal telecommunications companies, signed a five-year strategic R&D partnership with Georgia Tech last year to develop optical systems and broadband technologies for future high-speed telecommunications networks

“The applications being developed by Pirelli and GEDC stand to profoundly change how telecom networks are deployed,” said Joy Laskar, director of GEDC. “This new nanophotonics-based approach will streamline rollout and delivery of telephone and computer networks and signals across the United States and throughout the globe.”

The Allwave FLEXZWP optical fiber used in the GEDC research was supplied by OFS, a GEDC member company based in Atlanta.

Some of the joint projects that Pirelli and GEDC researchers are currently working on include:

  • High-speed wireless home networks — capable of wireless transmission in the gigabitsper-second range, or some 100 times faster than today’s consumer systems.

  • Electronic signal processors — electronic integrated circuits that will replace expensive and bulky optical subsystems.

  • Photonic Testbed — demonstrates dynamic delivery networks that can send hundreds of optical signals for distances of thousands of kilometers and adapt to changing bandwidth demand.

    The Photonic Testbed at the Georgia Electronic Design Center uses more than 320 kilometers of high-quality optical fiber to support research on high-speed networks. Here Jean De Ginestous inspects part of the fiber installation.

    In researching these new technologies, GEDC will employ the unique Photonic Testbed developed by Pirelli and Georgia Tech. GEDC researchers working on these issues for Pirelli include Dr. Chris Scholz, Dr. Stephane Pinel and Dr. Edward Gebara.

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