Alex Alvarado
Department / Institute
Group

RESEARCH PROFILE
Alex Alvarado is Associate Professor in the Signal Processing Systems group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he leads the Information and Communication Theory Lab (ICT Lab). His research focuses on developing a fundamental theoretical understanding of current and future telecommunication systems and lies on the frontier of communication theory, information theory, signal processing, and optical communications.
Alvarado is a senior member of the IEEE and was an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Communications (Optical Coded Modulation and Information Theory) from 2016-2018. During 2018-2022, he was a member of the TU/e Young Academy of Engineering. During 2018-2020, he served in the OFC subcommittee Digital and Electronic Subsystems (S4). He also served in the ECOC subcommittee Theory of Optical Communications during 2019-2022.
Alvarado has co-authored more than 180 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and a book about communication theory aspects of coded modulation (Wiley & Sons 2015). His current research is funded in part by an NWO VIDI grant and an ERC Starting grant.
Dr. Alvarado's research has received multiple awards, including Best Paper Awards at the 2018 Asia Communications and Photonics Conference and at the 2019 Optoelectronics and Communications Conference, and Best Poster Awards at the 2009 IEEE Information Theory Workshop and at the 2013 IEEE Communication Theory Workshop. He is also recipient of the 2015 IEEE Transactions on Communications Exemplary Reviewer Award, and the 2015 Journal of Lightwave Technology Best Paper Award.
I want to understand the fundamental principles behind high-speed data transmission in nonlinear optical fibers and approach these limits using energy-efficient algorithms.”
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Alex Alvarado holds an Electronics Engineer degree (Ingeniero Civil Electrónico; 2003) and a MSc (2005) from Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile. He obtained his Licentiate of Engineering (Teknologie Licentiatexamen) in 2008 and his PhD degree in 2011, both from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. From 2011 to 2014, Alvarado worked at the University of Cambridge, first as a Newton International Fellow and then as Marie Curie Intra-European Fellow. From 2014 to 2016, he worked as Senior Research Associate at the Optical Networks Group, University College London. Alvarado was appointed Assistant Professor in the Signal Processing Systems group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 2016 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2018.
Key Publications
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Bit-interleaved coded modulation: fundamentals, analysis and design
(2015) -
Replacing the soft-decision FEC limit paradigm in the design of optical communication systems
Journal of Lightwave Technology (2016) -
Capacity of a nonlinear optical channel with finite memory
Journal of Lightwave Technology (2014) -
Four-dimensional coded modulation with bit-wise decoders for future optical communications
Journal of Lightwave Technology (2015) -
Asymptotic comparison of ML and MAP detectors for multidimensional constellations
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory (2018)
Prizes & Grants
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2018Fundamentals of the Nonlinear Optical Channel (FUN-NOTCH)Signal Processing Systems
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2018Journal of Lightwave Technology Paper AwardSignal Processing Systems
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2016Increasing the Capacity of Optical Nonlinear Interfering Channels (ICONIC)Signal Processing Systems
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2015Exemplary Reviewer AwardSignal Processing Systems
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2013IEEE Communication Theory Workshop (CTW) Best Poster AwardSignal Processing Systems
Current Educational Activities
Ancillary Activities
No ancillary activities