Ljiljana Trajkovic
<br>
Simon Fraser University
<br>
Vancouver, Canada
<br>
ljilja@cs.sfu.ca

<hr>
Talk 1:
<br>
CHARACTERIZATION OF INTERNET TRAFFIC AND ITS IMPACT ON NETWORK PERFORMANCE
<p>
Traditional queuing theory techniques based on Poisson traffic models were
essential for the development of telephone networks. Today's multimedia
applications produce complex traffic patterns that result from the
statistically multiplexed data, voice, image, and video patterns.
For networks carrying such diverse applications, traditional traffic models
have proved inadequate and incapable of capturing essential characteristics
of the traffic patterns. Internet traffic characterization work has
only recently been shown to be promising due to the presence of the
traffic ``invariants'' detected in traffic traces.
<p>
In such an environment, computer simulation and empirical
techniques play an important role in understanding networks' behavior.
In this talk, I will describe the use of genuine traffic traces to simulate
loss in packet networks such as Internet. Our simulation results indicate
that underlying transport protocols and time scales
are essential for understanding loss behavior in packet networks.

<hr>
Talk 2:
<br>
HOMOTOPY ALGORITHMS FOR FINDING DC AND STEADY-STATE SOLUTIONS OF
NONLINEAR CIRCUITS
<p>
Finding dc operating points, steady state, and transient responses
of electronic circuits are essential tasks in electrical circuit simulation
and involve solving nonlinear differential/algebraic equations.
Traditional methods for solving such systems of equations often fail,
are difficult to converge, and, often cannot find all the solutions.
We investigate the application of homotopy methods to solving
nonlinear equations describing circuits
consisting of bipolar junction and MOS transistors that
traditionally pose simulation difficulties.
In this talk, I will describe experiments with homotopies that led to better
understanding of homotopy algorithms and the behavior of nonlinear circuits,
and, ultimately, to the development of better circuit simulation tools.

<hr>
Ljiljana Trajkovic (S'78 - M'86 - SM'95) received the Dipl. Ing. degree 
in her native Yugoslavia in 1974, M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering 
and computer engineering from Syracuse University in 1979 and 1981, 
respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from UCLA in 1986.  
Dr. Trajkovic is currently a Professor in the School of Engineering Science 
at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. 
From 1995 to 1997, she was an NSF Visiting Professor in the Electrical 
Engineering and Computer Sciences Department at UC Berkeley. 
She was a Research Scientist at Bell Communications Research, Morristown, 
NJ from 1990 to 1997 and a Member of the Technical Staff at 
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ from 1988 to 1990.
<p>
Her research interests include high-performance communication networks, 
computer-aided circuit analysis and design, 
and theory of nonlinear circuits and dynamical systems.
<p>
Dr. Trajkovic is currently serving on the Board of Governors 
of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and the IEEE Systems, Man, 
and Cybernetics Society. 
She was Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Nonlinear Circuits 
and Systems (1998). She is currently a Chair of the IEEE Circuits and 
Systems Society joint Chapter of the Vancouver/Victoria Sections. 
She also serves on various technical committees of IEEE conferences. 
She is Technical Program Co-Chair of ISCAS 2005. 
She served as Technical Program Chair and Vice General Co-Chair of ISCAS 2004.
<p>
She is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and 
Systems, Part I. She was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions 
on Circuits and Systems, Part II (1999 - 2001 and 2002 - 2003), 
the IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine (2001 - 2003),
and the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part I (1993 - 1995).
<hr>