Bay Networks, Inc.'s Signal Processing Group (SPG) is the newest member of the department's Industrial Affiliates Program. Bay's SPG will be sponsoring a four-year graduate fellowship, worth $100,000.

"We are enthusiastic about joining the Affilates Program and look forward to working closely with one of the finest engineering departments in the country," said Jon Sieg, Vice President and General Manager of Bay Networks' Signal Processing Group. "We consider the university to be a valuable partner for the development of successful research and educational opportunities."

Based in Gaithersburg, Md., the SPG is part of Bay Networks' Internet Telco Business Group. SPG develops and integrates DSP-based technologies for Bay remote access and other products. These include high-density 56Kbps all-digital modems, voice and fax over the Internet, as well as xDSL technologies. The SPG was acquired in November, 1996, when Bay Networks purchased the modem development group from Penril DataComm Networks. The SPG has a history of collaboration with the department, particularly in regards to research.

The technology for a "Precoding Scheme for Noise Whitening on Intersymbol and Interference Channels," a high-speed modem technology that is part of the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) standard for new modems is exclusively licensed to Bay Networks, and must be licensed by all manufacturers introducing products under the v.34 modem standards, set by the ITU's Telecommunications Sector in 1994. The technology was developed by Dr. Rajiv Laroia, and Professors Steve Tretter and Nariman Farvardin. Bay Networks, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is an international supplier of dial access servers, multiprotocol routers, high-speed switches, shared media hubs, and sophisticated management products.