Michele Polese
Research Assistant Professor,
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Technical Director,
Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems
Contact
- m.polese@northeastern.edu
- EXP 650A
815 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Research Focus
Open RAN, O-RAN, 5G/6G wireless networks, mmWave and terahertz mobile networks, performance evaluation of end-to-end, complex networks, open source networking software
About
Michele Polese is a Research Assistant Professor at Northeastern University and the Technical Director of the Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems at Northeastern. He is also the chair for the AI-and-RAN working group of the AI-RAN Alliance. He received his Ph.D. at the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Padova in 2020. He then joined Northeastern University as a research scientist and part-time lecturer in 2020. During his Ph.D., he visited New York University (NYU), AT&T Labs in Bedminster, NJ, and Northeastern University.
His research interests are in the end-to-end design and testing of open, programmable, intelligent, and secure next-generation cellular networks, including Open RAN, AI-RAN, and 6G. He is also interested in spectrum sharing, experimental wireless research and open-source software, millimeter-wave and terahertz networks, and the performance evaluation of end-to-end, complex networks. He has contributed to O-RAN technical specifications and submitted responses to multiple FCC and NTIA notice of inquiry and requests for comments, and is a member of the Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations of the American Meteorological Society (2022-2027). He is PI and co-PI in research projects on 6G funded by the NTIA, the O-RAN ALLIANCE, U.S. NSF, OUSD, and MassTechCollaborative, and was awarded with several best paper awards and the 2022 Mario Gerla Award for Research in Computer Science. Michele is an editor for the IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Communications Magazine, and Computer Networks, and has served as guest editor for a JSAC Special Issue on Open RAN. He was TPC co-chair of European Wireless 2025, WONS 2024, WiNTECH 2024, and WNS3 2021-2022, among others, and he has organized multiple events (Open6G+AI Workshop, IEEE RitiRAN) around open and programmable networks. Michele holds multiple patents in the area of Open RAN/cellular networks, led the establishment of the Open6G testing center at Northeastern, and is a co-founder at zTouch Networks, Inc.
Honors & Awards
Research Overview
Open RAN, O-RAN, 5G/6G wireless networks, mmWave and terahertz mobile networks, performance evaluation of end-to-end, complex networks, open source networking software
Selected Research Projects
- Sharing Spectrum, Services, and Infrastructure in Spectrum Era 4
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- AutoRAN: Automated End-to-End Continuous Testing for Open and Disaggregated Cellular Systems
- Principle Investigator, CHIPS and Science Act
- DigiRAN: High-Fidelity Digital Twins for Interoperability, Security and Performance Testing of Open RAN Systems
- – co-Principle Investigator, CHIPS and Science Act
- Dynamically Adjustable Spectrum Sharing between Ground Communication Networks and Earth Exploration Satellite Systems Above 100 GHz
- – co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Aug 04, 2026
New Agentic AI Framework Promises Faster Development of Next Generation Wireless Networks
Researchers at Northeastern University’s Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems developed GENESIS, an agentic AI framework led by College of Engineering Professor Tommaso Melodia that autonomously writes, tests, and debugs code to dramatically accelerate the development of next-generation telecommunications systems like 6G.
May 05, 2026
Free and Fair Internet Access for All
Ali Saeizadeh, PhD’27, is a graduate research assistant in electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern’s Institute of Intelligent Networked Systems, where he builds “digital twin” simulations of 5G and 6G telecommunications networks. His work aims at something ambitious: making free and fair internet access a reality for people around the world. Before completing his degree, he plans to intern at Apple and a smaller tech firm to compare perspectives across an industry he hopes to shape.
Dec 17, 2025
Improving Telecommunications for a Better Future
For his master’s thesis, Matteo Bordin, PhD’27, computer engineering, researched telecommunications and 5G networks. Closer examination within this field inspired Bordin to pursue a PhD, as well, where he hopes to develop inventive and impactful research projects that offer promise for a better future.
Dec 04, 2025
Patent for Adapter Enables Use of Open RAN Technologies on Legacy RAN Systems
ECE Associate Research Professor Salvatore D’Oro, Associate Research Scientist Leonardo Bonati, Assistant Research Professor Michele Polese, and William Lincoln Smith Professor Tommaso Melodia were awarded a patent for “Open RAN adapter for use of open RAN technologies on legacy RAN systems.”
Sep 23, 2025
2025 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.
Jul 28, 2025
Polese Elected For AI-And-RAN Working Group
ECE Assistant Research Professor Michael Polese was elected as Chair of the WG2 AI-and-RAN Working Group.
Jul 15, 2025
Sharing Radio Waves For Better Connections
Assistant Research Professor Michael Polese, William Lincoln Smith Professor Tommaso Melodia, and WIoT Research Scientist Paolo Testolina were awarded a $759,422 NSF grant for “Sharing Spectrum, Services, and Infrastructure in Spectrum Era 4.”
Jun 03, 2025
Can the Dept. Of Transportation and Sean Duffy Fix an Antiquated and Frequently Broken Air Traffic Control System?
Michele Polese is an assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University and expert in wireless networks. He called the plan to upgrade the air traffic control […]
Feb 07, 2025
Patent for AI-Driven Wireless Beam Management
ECE Principal Research Scientist Michele Polese, Assistant Professor Francesco Restuccia, and Professor Tommaso Melodia were awarded a patent for “Coordination-free mmWave beam management with deep waveform learning.”
Jan 31, 2025
2024 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The list below includes those who published a paper in 2024 or later.