Thesis Defense by Cameron Popillo

Friday, June 12, 2026 at 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Topic: Evaluating Zero-Shot AI Agents for Autonomous Cross-Protocol Waveform Selection in Dynamic RF Environments  

Abstract: This thesis builds upon the current principles of cognitive radio, utilizing its core principles of being able to adapt autonomously to the given radio frequency (RF) channel environment. The approach utilized the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) specifically AI agents which consists of tools, memory, and complex reasoning, which embodies the core principles of cognitive radio. The methodology implemented through an AI agent framework, enabled a completely autonomous and intelligent radio agent with waveform generation capabilities. The results show that the agent is able to reason through typical RF engineering decision principles based on given channel conditions and successfully decipher the task that the user has given it in order to achieve the user's outcome. Overall, this research demonstrates the potential of zero-shot AI agents to serve as the reasoning engine, or ``brain'' of future intelligent radio systems. By moving beyond rigid rule-based adaptation, the proposed framework advances cognitive radio toward more autonomous, flexible, and goal-directed operation across heterogeneous wireless protocols. 

Advisor(s): Dr. Ruolin Zhou, Associate Professor, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth 

Committee Members: Dr. Hong Liu, Commonwealth Professor, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth; Dr. Liudong Xing, Commonwealth Professor, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth 

NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public. 

*For further information, please contact Dr. Ruolin Zhou email at rzhou1@umassd.edu

Charlton College of Business, Room 115 (CCB-115) : Zoom Link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/94207481547 Meeting ID: 942 0748 1547 Passcode: 702751
Ruolin Zhou
5089106922
rzhou1@umassd.edu
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/93281343753?pwd=UWd5TGsweFpyMC9ydWhzaWErZnlndz09