Syed A. Jafar, UC Irvine professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is one of 27 recipients of the Office of Naval Research’s 2008 Young Investigator Awards. He will receive $300,000 over three years to build upon his research, which has the potential to improve data rates of wireless networks. Jafar’s proposed work examines the possibility of an unlimited number of users accessing the same wireless network without interference. It also addresses security and robustness – resistance to jamming – of tactical communication networks like those used by the U.S. Navy. The awards are part of the Navy’s Young Investigator Program, which seeks to attract outstanding new university faculty members to naval research by supporting their research.