Veronica Muriga is a PhD student working with Prof. Akshitha Sriraman, Prof. Swarun Kumar, and Prof. Assane Gueye on enabling communication and compute for all.

Her work builds web systems for rural communities, by bridging the compute and connectivity gap that hinders access to reliable and affordable communication networks in remote and underpriviledged areas of the world. She is building a satellite-based communication framework that facilitates internet connectivity in rural areas that have limited physical communication and compute infrastructure, and whose communities only have access to low-cost devices. The simplest version of this infrastructure features a small and inexpensive microcontroller that pings a satellite with a signal. This signal could be useful as an emergency notification in medical emergencies. She is then extending this framework on a number of different fronts. She is investigating expanding the transmission bandwidth to enable sending more information along with the emergency signal, such that more data can utilize this link, such as signals from other devices in the area that require transmission. She is also investigating extending the applications that use this satellite link to include farmers’ market applications and health monitoring applications that transmit data on vital signs.

Veronica's research has been recognized with the 2023 Carnegie Institute of Technology Dean's Fellowship and the 2021 MIT Lincoln Lab Scholar Award.

Find out more about Veronica here.