Interview with Elena Villarreal

Featured Engineer

Elena Villarreal

Elena Villarreal - Networks and Security, Centro Nacional de Supercómputo

How did you get into electronics/ engineering and when did you start?

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by computers and math, and it has been a link to my father, since he also is fascinated by them. When I was in middle school I learnt how to program and it opened a whole new world to me, and I knew I wanted to be an engineer in a computer science related field, there was no other option or choice for me, it was something that had to be.

What inspired you to focus on Telemathics?

I think that what inspired me the most in Telemathics was the fact that it is an interdisciplinary major and it has a very broad field of action for one to choose from. It is mainly focused on Telecommunications, Computer Science and Electronics, so it had a bit of all that fascinated me. After I get my degree I will focus on getting a MSc in Telecommunications and Networks, probably heading towards research.

What are your favorite hardware tools that you use?

For research and monitoring (and field configuration) I use a laptop that has 4GB of RAM memory and is quite sturdy, and an USB-to-Serial RS-422/485 Adapter to connect to the equipment that will be configured. Apart from that, I use a tool kit with screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches and other tools. A GPS for coordinates and locations, and a compass.

What are your favorite software tools that you use?

Linux, Matlab, Mathematica, Google Earth, Pathloss, C and Java

What is the hardest/trickiest bug you have ever fixed?

When the MAC association from a radio base was misconfigured and could only be configured back by going to the radio base, which is in the middle of nowhere. Also pointing a bent antenna towards a satellite, since bent it does not point to the place where it should. What we did was measure the angle for how off it was, and then calculate a new directing angle to correct the difference.

What is on your bookshelf?

It is a very ample bookshelf, but I think the main books are those concerning signal analysis, broadband and satellite communications, manuals from equipment, and a few computer forensics and cryptography books.

Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?

I think reading the manuals of the equipment one works with is a good trick, even if it sounds like something obvious. You would be surprised by the quantity of engineers that manipulate equipment and have never read the manuals and I have seem many make mistakes because of it. Also, doing backups of your information, of configuration files and everything, and keeping up to date documentation of your network are good tricks. I would also recommend not being afraid of the equipment, and daring to try things and do them by intuition and logic instead of by what we’re told to follow as the right process.

What has been your favorite project?

I would say the HDT (Digital Habilities for All) network. HDT network is a government project that connects all public schools (from preschool to high school) together and gives them access to the internet. In this project I have been able to travel around the state and to work directly with antenna, point-to-point devices, and many telecommunications equipment, and also to see the schools having the access to more information where there was none is amazing.

What are you currently working on?

Many things at once. I have two research projects still in process. One of them centers around data encryption and a new model that tries to bring a sturdy yet fast system with more benefits and less risks, it also proposes the use of certain cellular automata as the base keys for the system. As for the second project, it is “Sounds in Mathematica”, and mostly it is centered about producing sound from cellular automata and the ability to manipulate it. Also, I am still working on the HDT network for the state and we just got the HDT network for another state, which implies that we will be installing antenna and radio bases all through the year. Finally, I might decide to write a book on Transmission Lines Simulations, but that is still in negotiation.

Can you tell us more about your “Sounds in Mathematica” project?

Sounds in Mathematica is a very ambitious project. It is meant to work as a music synthesizer based in Java multi-threading, Mathematica and cellular automata. Currently I am working on trying to give more control and freedom to the user over the instruments, the tones and the way it produces each sound. I think the biggest challenge is to give independence for each sound yet keep them all together as one, and coding this in the most efficient way. Currently one can fake multi-threading inside Mathematica, using a single thread, but there is some delay that ends up crashing the system after a while.

What direction do you see your business heading in the next few years?

Telemathics as they are are growing, since everybody is expecting more mobility in all technology and to be communicated. As for me, my aim is research, trying to balance practical and theoretical research so more benefits can be given to society and to the telecommunications community.