Bio

Professor Levis' research focuses on the design and implementation of efficient software systems for embedded wireless sensor networks; embedded network sensor architecture and design; systems programming and software engineering.

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Faculty Fellow, Microsoft (2008)

Professional Education

  • PhD, UC Berkeley, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering (2005)

Contact

2015-16 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • CTP: An Efficient, Robust, and Reliable Collection Tree Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks. In ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks (TOSN) Gnawali, O., Fonseca, R., Jamieson, K., Kazandjieva, M., Moss, D., Levis, P. 2014
  • Long-term modification of cortical synapses improves sensory perception NATURE NEUROSCIENCE Froemke, R. C., Carcea, I., Barker, A. J., Yuan, K., Seybold, B. A., Martins, A. R., Zaika, N., Bernstein, H., Wachs, M., Levis, P. A., Polley, D. B., Merzenich, M. M., Schreiner, C. E. 2013; 16 (1): 79-U120

    Abstract

    Synapses and receptive fields of the cerebral cortex are plastic. However, changes to specific inputs must be coordinated within neural networks to ensure that excitability and feature selectivity are appropriately configured for perception of the sensory environment. We induced long-lasting enhancements and decrements to excitatory synaptic strength in rat primary auditory cortex by pairing acoustic stimuli with activation of the nucleus basalis neuromodulatory system. Here we report that these synaptic modifications were approximately balanced across individual receptive fields, conserving mean excitation while reducing overall response variability. Decreased response variability should increase detection and recognition of near-threshold or previously imperceptible stimuli. We confirmed both of these hypotheses in behaving animals. Thus, modification of cortical inputs leads to wide-scale synaptic changes, which are related to improved sensory perception and enhanced behavioral performance.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nn.3274

    View details for Web of Science ID 000312633900016

    View details for PubMedID 23178974

  • Measuring and Analyzing the Energy Use of Enterprise Computing Systems. In Journal of Sustainable Couputing Kazandjieva, M., Gnawali, O., Levis, P., Kozyrakis, C. 2013
  • Green Enterprise Computing Data: Assumptions and Realities 2012 INTERNATIONAL GREEN COMPUTING CONFERENCE (IGCC) Kazandjieva, M., Heller, B., Gnawali, O., Levis, P., Kozyrakis, C. 2012

    View details for Web of Science ID 000309942300020

  • A Scalable Server for 3D Metaverses. Cheslack-Postava, E., Azim, T., Mistree, B., Horn, D., Terrace, J., Levis, P. 2012
  • RFC 6719 - The Minimum Rank with Hysteresis Objective Function. In Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Request for Comments: 6719 Gnawali, O., Levis, P. 2012
  • Unsupervised Conversion of 3D models for Interactive Metaverses. Terrace, J., Cheslack-Postava, E., Levis, P., Freedman, M. 2012
  • Experiences from a Decade of TinyOS Development. Levis, P. 2012
  • Connecting Low-Power and Lossy Networks to the Internet IEEE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE Ko, J., Terzis, A., Dawson-Haggerty, S., Culler, D. E., Hui, J. W., Levis, P. 2011; 49 (4): 96-101

    View details for Web of Science ID 000289205100014

  • Measuring school contact networks using wireless sensor technology Jones, J. H., Salathe, M., Feldman, M. W., KAZANDJIEVA, M., Lee, J. W., Levis, P. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2011: 263-263

    View details for Web of Science ID 000287564200055

  • Energy Management in Mobile Devices with the Cinder Operating System EUROSYS 11: PROCEEDINGS OF THE EUROSYS 2011 CONFERENCE Roy, A., Rumble, S. M., Stutsman, R., Levis, P., Mazieres, D., Zeldovich, N. 2011: 139-152

    View details for Web of Science ID 000304280200010

  • Emerson: Accessible Scripting for Applications in an Extensible Virtual World. Mistree, B., Chandra, B., Cheslack-Potava, E., Levis, P., Gay, D. 2011
  • Practical, Real-time, Full-Duplex Wireless. Jain, M., Choi, J. I., Kim, T., Bharadia, D., Seth, S., Srinivasan, K., Levis, P. A. 2011
  • Buffer Sizing in Wireless Mesh Networks. Jamshaid, K., Shihada, B., Xia, L., Levis, P. 2011
  • A high-resolution human contact network for infectious disease transmission PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Salathe, M., Kazandjieva, M., Lee, J. W., Levis, P., Feldman, M. W., Jones, J. H. 2010; 107 (51): 22020-22025

    Abstract

    The most frequent infectious diseases in humans--and those with the highest potential for rapid pandemic spread--are usually transmitted via droplets during close proximity interactions (CPIs). Despite the importance of this transmission route, very little is known about the dynamic patterns of CPIs. Using wireless sensor network technology, we obtained high-resolution data of CPIs during a typical day at an American high school, permitting the reconstruction of the social network relevant for infectious disease transmission. At 94% coverage, we collected 762,868 CPIs at a maximal distance of 3 m among 788 individuals. The data revealed a high-density network with typical small-world properties and a relatively homogeneous distribution of both interaction time and interaction partners among subjects. Computer simulations of the spread of an influenza-like disease on the weighted contact graph are in good agreement with absentee data during the most recent influenza season. Analysis of targeted immunization strategies suggested that contact network data are required to design strategies that are significantly more effective than random immunization. Immunization strategies based on contact network data were most effective at high vaccination coverage.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1009094108

    View details for Web of Science ID 000285521800019

    View details for PubMedID 21149721

  • Physically-based models of low-power wireless links using signal power simulation COMPUTER NETWORKS Rusak, T., Levis, P. 2010; 54 (4): 658-673

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.comnet.2009.08.014

    View details for Web of Science ID 000276085700011

  • An Empirical Study of Low-Power Wireless ACM TRANSACTIONS ON SENSOR NETWORKS Srinivasan, K., Dutta, P., Tavakoli, A., Levis, P. 2010; 6 (2)

    View details for DOI 10.1145/1689239.1689246

    View details for Web of Science ID 000275163100007

  • Apprehending Joule Thieves with Cinder COMPUTER COMMUNICATION REVIEW Rumble, S. M., Stutsman, R., Levis, P., Mazieres, D., Zeldovich, N. 2010; 40 (1): 106-111

    View details for Web of Science ID 000273227000016

  • Achieving Single Channel, Full Duplex Wireless Communication. Choi, J. I., Jain, M., Srinivasan, K., Levis, P., Katti, S. 2010
  • Emerson: Scripting for Federated Virtual Worlds. Chandra, B., Cheslack-Postava, E., Mistree, B., Levis, P., Gay, D. 2010
  • Experiences in Measuring a Human Contact Network for Epidemiology Research. Kazandjieva, M., Lee, J. W., Salathe, M., Feldman, M. W., Jones, J. H., Levis, P. 2010
  • A Case for Evaluating Sensor Network Protocols Concurrently. Gnawali, O., Guibas, L., Levis, P. 2010
  • Granting Silence to Avoid Wireless Collisions. Choi, J. I., Jain, M., Kazandjieva, M. A., Levis, P. 2010
  • Whirlpool Routing for Mobility. Lee, J. W., Kusy, B., Azim, T., Levis, P., Shihada, B. 2010
  • The k-factor: Inferring Protocol Performance Using Inter-Link Reception Correlation. Srinivasan, K., Jain, M., Choi, J. I., Azim, T., Kim, E. S., Levis, P. 2010
  • Scaling Virtual Worlds with a Physical Metaphor IEEE PERVASIVE COMPUTING Horn, D., Cheslack-Postava, E., Azim, T., Freedman, M. J., Levis, P. 2009; 8 (3): 50-54

    View details for Web of Science ID 000267802300011

  • Surviving Sensor Network Software Faults SOSP'09: PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-SECOND ACM SIGOPS SYMPOSIUM ON OPERATING SYSTEMS PRINCIPLES Chen, Y., Gnawali, O., Kazandjieva, M., Levis, P., Regehr, J. 2009: 235-246

    View details for Web of Science ID 000281752900017

  • Energy Dumpster Diving. In Second Workshop on Power Aware Computing (HotPower) Kazandjieva, M., Heller, B., Levis, P., Kozyrakis, C. 2009
  • Burstiness and scaling in the structure of low-power wireless links. In ACM SIGMOBILE Mobile Computing and Communications Review Rusak, T., Levis, P. 2009
  • The Case for a Network Protocol Isolation Layer. Choi, J. I., Kazandjieva, M., Jain, M., Levis, P. 2009
  • TOSThreads: Thread-Safe and Non-Invasive Preemption in TinyOS. Klues, K., Liang, C. M., Paek, J., Razvan, M., Levis, P., Terzis, A. 2009
  • Collection Tree Protocol. Gnawali, O., Fonseca, R., Jamieson, K., Moss, D., Levis, P. 2009
  • SWAT: Know Your Network 2009 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION PROCESSING IN SENSOR NETWORKS (IPSN 2009) Srinivasan, K., Kazandjieva, M. A., Jain, M., Kim, E., Levis, P. 2009: 431-432

    View details for Web of Science ID 000275711800066

  • Starburst SSD: An Efficient Protocol for Selective Dissemination 2009 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOLS 1-8 Azim, T., Mansoor, Q., Levis, P. 2009: 74-79

    View details for Web of Science ID 000280922200015

  • Apprehending Joule Thieves with Cinder MOBIHELD 09 Rumble, S. M., Stutsman, R., Levis, P., Mazieres, D., Zeldovich, N. 2009: 49-54

    View details for Web of Science ID 000282721900009

  • Mesh networking - Research and technology for multihop wireless networks IEEE INTERNET COMPUTING Madden, S., Levis, P. 2008; 12 (4): 9-11

    View details for Web of Science ID 000257374200003

  • The emergence of a networking primitive in wireless sensor networks COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM Levis, P., Brewer, E., Culler, D., Gay, D., Madden, S., Patel, N., Polastre, J., Shenker, S., Szewczyk, R., Woo, A. 2008; 51 (7): 99-106

    View details for DOI 10.1145/1364782.1364804

    View details for Web of Science ID 000257116300023

  • Investigating a Physically-Based Signal Power Model for Robust Low Power Wireless Link Simulation MSWIM'08: PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH ACM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND SIMULATION OF WIRELESS AND MOBILE SYSTEMS Rusak, T., Levis, P. 2008: 37-46

    View details for Web of Science ID 000265929400006

  • Quanto: Tracking Energy in Networked Embedded Systems. Fonseca, R., Dutta, P., Levis, P., Stoica, I. 2008
  • SWAT: Enabling Wireless Network Measurements SENSYS'08: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 6TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Srinivasan, K., Kazandjieva, M. A., Jain, M., Kim, E., Levis, P. 2008: 395-396

    View details for Web of Science ID 000267822600048

  • The beta-factor: Measuring Wireless Link Burstiness SENSYS'08: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 6TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Srinivasan, K., Kazandjieva, M. A., Agarwal, S., Levis, P. 2008: 29-41

    View details for Web of Science ID 000267822600003

  • Data discovery and dissemination with DIP 2008 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION PROCESSING IN SENSOR NETWORKS, PROCEEDINGS Lin, K., Levis, P. 2008: 433-444

    View details for Web of Science ID 000256291800036

  • On the Scaling Properties of Low Power Wireless Links SENSYS'08: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 6TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Rusak, T., Levis, P. 2008: 441-442

    View details for Web of Science ID 000267822600071

  • Software design patterns for TinyOS Gay, D., Levis, P., Culler, D. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2007

    View details for DOI 10.1145/1274858.1274860

    View details for Web of Science ID 000256880600002

  • Four-Bit Wireless Link Estimation. Fonseca, R., Gnawali, O., Jamieson, K., Levis, P. 2007
  • Integrating Concurrency Control and Energy Management in Device Drivers. Klues, K., Handziski, V., Lu, C., Wolisz, A., Culler, D., Gay, D., Levis, P. A. 2007
  • Opening the Sensornet Black Box. Choi, J. I., Lee, J. W., Wachs, M., Levis, P. 2007
  • Visibility: A New Metric For Protocol Design SENSYS'07: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 5TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Wachs, M., Il Choi, J., Lee, J. W., Srinivasan, K., Chen, Z., Jain, M., Levis, P. 2007: 73-86

    View details for Web of Science ID 000266495100006

  • The Design and Implementation of a Declarative Sensor Network System SENSYS'07: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 5TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Chu, D., Popa, L., Tavakoli, A., Hellerstein, J. M., Levis, P., Shenker, S., Stoica, I. 2007: 175-188

    View details for Web of Science ID 000266495100013

  • Improving wireless simulation through noise modeling PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INFORMATION PROCESSING IN SENSOR NETWORKS Lee, H., Cerpa, A., Levis, P. 2007: 21-30

    View details for Web of Science ID 000251798600003

  • Interface contracts for TinyOS PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INFORMATION PROCESSING IN SENSOR NETWORKS Archer, W., Levis, P., Regehr, J. 2007: 158-165

    View details for Web of Science ID 000251798600017

  • Fair Waiting Protocol: Achieving Isolation in Wireless Sensornets SENSYS'07: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 5TH ACM CONFERENCE ON EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSOR SYSTEMS Il Choi, J., Lee, J. W., Chen, Z., Levis, P. 2007: 411-412

    View details for Web of Science ID 000266495100048

  • RSSI Is Under-Appreciated. Srinivasan, K., Levis, P. 2006
  • Some Implications of Low-Power Wireless to IP Routing. Srinivasan, K., Dutta, P., Tavakoli, A., Levis, P. 2006
  • Towards a Sensor Network Architecture: Lowering the Waistline. Culler, D., Dutta, P., Eee, C. T., Fonseca, R., Hui, J., Levis, P. 2005
  • A Unifying Link Abstraction for Wireless Sensor Networks. Polastre, J., Hui, J., Levis, P., Zhao, J., Culler, D., Shenker, S. 2005
  • The Firecracker Protocol. Levis, P., Culler, D. 2004
  • TOSSIM: Accurate and Scalable Simulation of Entire TinyOS Applications. Levis, P., Lee, N., Welsh, M., Culler, D. 2003
  • Mate: A Tiny Virtual Machine for Sensor Networks. Levis, P., Culler, D. 2002
  • Policies for Dynamic Clock Scheduling. Grunwald, D., Levis, P., Morrey III, Charles, B., Neufeld, M. 2000