About

ECE Associate Professor Dimitrios Koutsonikolas was recognized as a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for his contributions to improving the performance of millimeter wave networks.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Computer network
• Operating system
• Artificial Intelligence
• Multimedia
• Real-time computing
• Telecommunications

Selected publications

• Performance Characterization of dApps in Open Radio Access Networks

  ArXiv.org · 2026-05-06

  articleOpen access

  Despite recommendations to deploy real-time Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) applications (dApps) in containerized environments, existing approaches predominantly rely on bare-metal servers. Moreover, current dApp deployments offer limited visibility into the resource usage patterns of both intelligent and non-intelligent dApps, hindering informed deployment decisions. This work addresses these gaps by implementing and evaluating representative dApps across multiple deployment scenarios (bare-metal and containers) to characterize the trade-offs in latency, scalability, and resource utilization. Additionally, we identify key performance bottlenecks and demonstrate how offloading dApps to emerging hardware accelerators, such as smart Network Interface Cards (NICs), can alleviate these limitations and improve real-time responsiveness in O-RAN systems.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Toward Native ISAC Support in O-RAN Architectures for 6G

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-03-04

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ISAC is an emerging paradigm in 6G networks that enables environmental sensing using wireless communication infrastructure. Current O-RAN specifications lack the architectural primitives for sensing integration: no service models expose physical-layer observables, no execution frameworks support sub-millisecond sensing tasks, and fronthaul interfaces cannot correlate transmitted waveforms with their reflections. This article proposes three extensions to O-RAN for monostatic sensing, where transmission and reception are co-located at the base station. First, we specify sensing dApps at the O-DU that process IQ samples to extract delay, Doppler, and angular features. Second, we define E2SM-SENS, a service model enabling xApps to subscribe to sensing telemetry with configurable periodicity. Third, we identify required Open Fronthaul metadata for waveform-echo association. We validate the architecture through a prototype implementation using beamforming and Full-Duplex operation, demonstrating closed-loop control with median end-to-end latency suitable for near-real-time sensing applications. While focused on monostatic configurations, the proposed interfaces extend to bistatic and cooperative sensing scenarios.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Assessment of nanoporous structure in novel H2–selective silica–based membranes via integrated gas transport modeling: Membrane development and characterization

  Materials Science and Engineering B · 2026-01-12

  articleOpen access

  As the world moves toward a low–carbon future, hydrogen (H 2 ) is playing a key role in sustainable energy strategies, driving research into the development of efficient H 2 separation systems. In this study, a scalable low–temperature (250 °C) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and oxygen was employed to deposit a H 2 –selective silica layer on a commercial titania membrane. In contrast to conventional single-stage CVD routes, a novel addition of intermediate ozone (O₃) treatments between deposition steps promoted the formation of a stable, purely inorganic structure by decomposing residual organics and activating the surface for the subsequent deposition. The resulting SiO 2 /TiO 2 membrane demonstrated a favorable balance between permeance and selectivity, achieving a H 2 permeance of 1.9 × 10 – 7 mol m −2 s −1 Pa −1 and a H 2 /CO 2 permselectivity of 80.4 at 250 °C. Additionally, a theoretical mass transport model was applied at each modification stage to assess pore structure evolution, identify the dominant transport mechanisms, and advance the understanding of structure–permeation relationship. • A hydrogen – selective silica layer was deposited on a commercial titania membrane. • The membrane demonstrated a favorable balance between H 2 permeance and selectivity. • Chemical vapor deposition was assisted by ozone post-treatments, performed in stages. • Mass transport model assessed pore-size distributions monitoring structural evolution. • Model validated and predicted transport mechanism contributions for six pure gases.

  PublisherDOI

• Who Knows What? Semantic Negotiation for Human-Supervised RAN Agentic Coordination

  2026-02-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  6G networks promise AI-native RAN architectures that autonomously coordinate applications and infrastructure. Yet a critical gap remains: applications know their constraints (battery-critical mission, safety deadlines) but not network state (cell load, coverage); the RAN knows wireless conditions but not application needs. Static policies ignore context, autonomous ML lacks explainability, manual coordination does not scale.

  PublisherDOI

• Demo: Immersive Network Operations using 5G-Enabled XR Headsets and MCP

  2026-02-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  We demonstrate a fully voice-driven troubleshooting assistant for 5G edge networks using XR headsets with integrated 5G connectivity. The human operator describes symptoms and navigates diagnostics entirely through speech; the LLM responds via synthesized voice while simultaneously rendering relevant metrics as AR overlays. This multimodal feedback, audio explanation paired with visual data, enables hands-free, eyes-free operation in isolated field environments where traditional interfaces are impractical

  PublisherDOI

• Poster: Bridging the Gap: E2SM-SENS for ISAC-Native O-RAN Architectures

  2026-02-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) enables 6G networks to perform environmental sensing using communication infrastructure. We propose O-RAN extensions for monostatic sensing: (1) sensing dApps at the O-DU for IQ processing; (2) E2SM-SENS, a service model for sensing telemetry. Prototype evaluation demonstrates closed-loop latencies compatible with vehicular perception and UAV tracking use cases.

  PublisherDOI

• Disentangling the Throughput Contributions of MIMO and Carrier Aggregation in 5G Networks

  Lecture notes in computer science · 2026-01-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Performance Characterization of dApps in Open Radio Access Networks

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-05-06

  preprintOpen access

  Despite recommendations to deploy real-time Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) applications (dApps) in containerized environments, existing approaches predominantly rely on bare-metal servers. Moreover, current dApp deployments offer limited visibility into the resource usage patterns of both intelligent and non-intelligent dApps, hindering informed deployment decisions. This work addresses these gaps by implementing and evaluating representative dApps across multiple deployment scenarios (bare-metal and containers) to characterize the trade-offs in latency, scalability, and resource utilization. Additionally, we identify key performance bottlenecks and demonstrate how offloading dApps to emerging hardware accelerators, such as smart Network Interface Cards (NICs), can alleviate these limitations and improve real-time responsiveness in O-RAN systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Toward Native ISAC Support in O-RAN Architectures for 6G

  Open MIND · 2026-03-04

  preprintSenior author

  ISAC is an emerging paradigm in 6G networks that enables environmental sensing using wireless communication infrastructure. Current O-RAN specifications lack the architectural primitives for sensing integration: no service models expose physical-layer observables, no execution frameworks support sub-millisecond sensing tasks, and fronthaul interfaces cannot correlate transmitted waveforms with their reflections. This article proposes three extensions to O-RAN for monostatic sensing, where transmission and reception are co-located at the base station. First, we specify sensing dApps at the O-DU that process IQ samples to extract delay, Doppler, and angular features. Second, we define E2SM-SENS, a service model enabling xApps to subscribe to sensing telemetry with configurable periodicity. Third, we identify required Open Fronthaul metadata for waveform-echo association. We validate the architecture through a prototype implementation using beamforming and Full-Duplex operation, demonstrating closed-loop control with median end-to-end latency suitable for near-real-time sensing applications. While focused on monostatic configurations, the proposed interfaces extend to bistatic and cooperative sensing scenarios.

  DOI

• mm-NOLOC: mmWave-based Localization for Mobile Networks without 3GPP Location Service

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025-10-23

  otherOpen access

  Accurate localization in dense urban areas remains a significant challenge due to the limitations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in environments with obstacles and reflections, such as urban canyons. While the most recent 3GPP standards offer sophisticated network-centric positioning techniques, their widespread deployment will take time and is hindered by high infrastructure costs and complexity. In this work, we present mm-NOLOC, a UE-centric localization system, designed as a practical fallback when GNSS fails to deliver high accuracy, that leverages the growing deployment of 5G mmWave infrastructure in dense urban areas. Unlike traditional approaches, mm-NOLOC operates independently of 3GPP location support and utilizes only standardized control-plane information collected solely on the UE side – Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Indices that are mapped to 5G mmWave beam directions – to obtain robust position estimations. To address the uncertainty introduced by urban multipath, mm-NOLOC models the SSB-to-angle relationship as a discrete and multimodal distribution, based on empirical measurements in operational 5G mmWave networks, and uses a particle filter to refine position estimates by integrating probabilistic observations with UE-side motion dynamics. We validate mm-NOLOC through experiments over commercial 5G mmWave deployments, as well as trace-based simulations. Our results show that mm-NOLOC achieves a median localization error below 3 m and a 95th percentile error below 10 m, offering a practical fallback localization solution in urban canyon scenarios for 5G networks without network location support.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: A Millimeter-Wave Multi-Layer WLAN Architecture for Multi-Gigabit, Always-On Connectivity

  NSF · $123k · 2021–2023

• NeTS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Scaling WLANs in Spectrum, User Density, and Robustness

  NSF · $540k · 2018–2021

• II-New: X60: A Cross-Layer Reconfigurable Multi-Gigabit WLAN Testbed at 60 GHz

  NSF · $630k · 2016–2018

• CAREER: A Millimeter-Wave Multi-Layer WLAN Architecture for Multi-Gigabit, Always-On Connectivity

  NSF · $563k · 2016–2021

• MRI: Development of X-Mili: An Open, Programmable Platform to Conquer the 5G and 6G Wireless Spectrum

  NSF · $2.1M · 2021–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Aaron Striegel

  University of Notre Dame

  26 shared

• Ethiopia Ngussie

  Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

  25 shared

• Habtamu Abie

  Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  25 shared

• Lei Xie

  University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

  25 shared

• Yun Lin

  Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

  25 shared

• Alhussein A. Abouzeid

  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  25 shared

• Yingying Chen

  South China Agricultural University

  25 shared

• Mingyue Ji

  Sapienza University of Rome

  25 shared

Labs

• WiNS LabPI

Awards & honors

• IEEE Region 1 Technological Innovation (Academic) Award (201…
• UB Teaching Innovation Award (2018)
• NSF CAREER Award (2016)
• UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Senior Teacher…
• Early Career Researcher of the Year Award (2015)