Qtel and TAMUQ in April signed an agreement to establish a wireless Communication Research laboratory in the new Engineering Building at Education City. Wireless telecommunication is one of the areas of research to be emphasized in the electrical engineering program. The Communication Research Laboratory will complement an already advanced array of TAMUQ research facilities and undergraduate teaching laboratories and will contain the latest, most advanced electronic equipment. Both graduate and undergraduate students will be able to perform research that will prove useful information for commercial applications in Qatar and will have the capability of developing new technology. As they perform the research, the students will learn to solve practical problems and become familiar with using the most advanced technology available. This lab will include a new hardware test facility capable of emulating real mobile wireless and wire line scenarios. Dr. Nasser Marafih, chief executive officer of Qtel, expressed his enthusiasm for the project and said: “We feel it is part of Qtel’s responsibilities to contribute toward the country’s development and technological advancement by creating a ‘launch pad’ with relevant parties to foster research and development in Qatar.” Dr. Khalid Qaraqe and Dr. Mohamed-Slim Alouini, electrical engineering faculty at TAMUQ, described in more detail the functions of the wireless communication laboratory to include a wireless test bed that will be used for the evaluation of technology; the understanding and development of wireless/wired internetworking; and the development of protocols and applications for seamless mobile operation. The laboratory will include a combination of software and hardware equipment such as a computer-controlled RF multipath fading simulator, a spectrum analyzer, a logic analyzer, a signal generator, an oscilloscope, a network simulator, and a signal processing part (with Matlab and real-time DSP capabilities). Dr. James C. Holste, associate dean for research and graduate studies at TAMUQ added: “The wireless communication laboratory will also be designed to facilitate the training of some of TAMUQ’s best undergraduate students as part of their senior design projects. These experiences will improve the students’ training on technological updates and hands-on experience that cannot be fully provided by regular laboratory courses.” The laboratory also will be essential for the electrical and computer engineering graduate programs to be introduced in the very near future