Yoga Isukapalli

Yoga Isukapalli

Teaching Professor

ECE Vice Chair, Computer Engineering Program
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
College of Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

Contact
Email: yoga@ucsb.edu
Phone: (805) 893-7277
Office: 4113 Harold Frank Hall, UCSB
Santa Barbara, California 93106

Welcome! I joined the ECE faculty at UC Santa Barbara in Winter 2017. I received my Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Communication Theory and Systems) from UC San Diego in 2009, followed by a Postdoctoral appointment at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where I developed channel models for underwater wireless communications. From 2010 to 2017, I was a Staff Scientist in the Wi-Fi division at Broadcom, San Diego, where I worked on the design and implementation of fast, power-efficient 11n/11ac/11ax Wi-Fi chips, spanning all phases of chip production from conceptual design through integration into customer products. At UCSB, I direct the Computer Engineering Capstone Program; most of my teaching is centered around courses related to CE capstone projects.

Teaching

Current Courses

Publications

Journals
  1. K. K-Delgado and Y. Isukapalli, "Use of the Newton method for blind adaptive equalization based on the constant modulus algorithm," IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 56, issue 8, pp. 3983–3995, Aug. 2008. [pdf]
  2. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "An analytically tractable approximation for the Gaussian Q-function," IEEE Communications Letters, vol. 12, issue 9, pp. 669–671, Sep. 2008. [pdf]
  3. Y. Isukapalli, R. Annavajjala and B.D. Rao, "Performance analysis of transmit beamforming for MISO systems with imperfect feedback," IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 57, issue 1, pp. 222–231, Jan. 2009. [pdf]
  4. Y. Isukapalli, J. Zheng and B.D. Rao, "Optimum codebook design and average SEP loss analysis of spatially independent and correlated feedback based MISO systems with rectangular QAM constellation," IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 57, issue 5, pp. 2017–2024, May 2009. [pdf]
  5. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "Packet error probability of a transmit beamforming system with imperfect feedback," IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 58, issue 4, pp. 2298–2314, Apr. 2010. [pdf]
  6. Y. Isukapalli, H.C. Song and W.S. Hodgkiss, "Stochastic channel simulator based on local scattering function," Journal of Acoustic Society of America, 130(4), EL200–EL205, 2011. [pdf]
Conferences
  1. Y. Isukapalli and S.S. Rao, "Exploiting the nature of extrinsic information in iterative decoding," IEEE Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, CA, Oct. 2004.
  2. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "Ergodicity of wireless channels and temporal prediction," IEEE Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, CA, Oct. 2006.
  3. Y. Isukapalli, J. Zheng and B.D. Rao, "Average SEP loss analysis of transmit beamforming for finite rate feedback MISO systems with QAM constellation," IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), Hawaii, Apr. 2007.
  4. Y. Isukapalli, R. Annavajjala, and B. D. Rao, "Average SEP and BEP analysis of transmit beamforming for MISO systems with imperfect feedback and M-PSK constellation," IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), Athens, Greece, Sep. 2007.
  5. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "Performance analysis of finite rate feedback MISO systems in the presence of estimation errors and delay," IEEE Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, CA, Oct. 2007.
  6. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "Finite rate feedback for spatially and temporally correlated MISO channels in the presence of estimation errors and feedback delay," IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), Washington D.C., Nov. 2007.
  7. Y. Isukapalli and B.D. Rao, "Analyzing the effect of channel estimation errors on the average block error probability of a MISO transmit beamforming system," IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), New Orleans, LA, Dec. 2008.
  8. Y. Isukapalli and S. S. Rao, "A new form of MUSIC algorithm for the instantaneous estimation of DOA and spatial spread," IEEE Electro/Information Technology Conference (EIT), Indianapolis, IN, Jun. 2003.
  9. Y. Isukapalli and S.S. Rao, "A heuristic explanation for the improvement in turbo codes performance with number of iterations," IEEE Electro/Information Technology Conference (EIT), Indianapolis, IN, Jun. 2003.
  10. J. Button et al., "Dynamic Characterization of Magnetic Levitation Engines," 1st HARP International Conference of Hyperloop Transportation, Los Angeles, CA, Jul. 2018.
  11. B. Dong, B. Aguillar, and Y. Isukapalli, "Design of a low-cost handheld wireless oscilloscope," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2021.
  12. M. Dupree, Y. Zhu, and Y. Isukapalli, "Optically-guided multirotor autonomous descent and landing on a moving target," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2021.
  13. G. Cooper, B.S. Manjunath, and Y. Isukapalli, "Edge Machine Learning for Face Detection," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2021.
  14. W. Jiang, A. Yang, and Y. Isukapalli, "Elephant-Human Conflict Mitigation: An Autonomous UAV Approach with Custom Hardware," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2021.
  15. P. Feghali, C. Lin, J. Burd, S. Pillai, T. Cowan, P. Tokumaru, and Y. Isukapalli, "Developing affordable unmanned obstacle avoidance with 60 GHz RADAR," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2021.
  16. G. Cooper, V. Benenati, B. Long, K. Copeland, T. Ekaireb, S. Kumar, B.S. Manjunath, Y. Isukapalli, "Autonomous System for Sorting Objects at The Edge," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2022.
  17. E. Buckland, A. Chen, K. Dang, T. Zu, P. Tokumaru, Y. Isukapalli, "Relay Connectivity in High Interference Environments Through Deployable Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Wireless Nodes," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2022.
  18. T. H. Oakley, N. M. Hensley, Y. Isukapalli, "Waterborne Autonomous Low-Light Electrostereovideography (WALLE) to quantify luminous courtship signaling of aesthetic radiations," Proceedings, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Conference, Austin, Texas, Jan. 2023.
  19. T. Hu, Y. Pan, A. Dash, M. Tran, Z. Wu, P. Tokumaru and Y. Isukapalli, "Implementation of A Drone-Based Information Gathering System," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2023.
  20. A. Koh, E. Hsieh, R. Chau, S. Sampath, C. Wan and Y. Isukapalli, "Real-Time 3D Visualization: Wirelessly Controlled Led Matrix," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2023.
  21. J. Frank, B. Cruttenden, B. Lee, H. Gangaswamy, S. Nayak and Y. Isukapalli, "Design of a Wearable Device with Integrated Biometric and Environmental Sensors," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2024.
  22. F. Yao, S. Guan, S. Tang, A. Sawant and Y. Isukapalli, "Implementing Procedure Tracking Systems with Computer Vision and Sensors," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2024.
  23. B. Young, W. Li, D. Aggarwal, C. Barrett, M. Jung and Y. Isukapalli, "Adopting Radar-Based SLAM in Autonomous Maritime Vehicles for Robust Environmental Exploration," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2024.
  24. A. Ramakrishna, N. Indukuri, Q. Chen, R. Baum, T. Langowski, J. Buckwalter, U. Madhow, I. Ben-Yaacov and Y. Isukapalli, "Distributed Network mmWave Radar System," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2024.
  25. D. Cruz, L. Crooks, M. Stewart, M. Parslow, T. Nguyen and Y. Isukapalli, "Wideband Microphone Array System for Sound Localization and Species Identification in Wind Farm Environments," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2025.
  26. A. Xu, J. Rodrigues, K. Fan, N. Takale, S. Siva and Y. Isukapalli, "Autonomous Navigation using SLAM and a Maritime RADAR System," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2025.
  27. B. Kathi, J. Chan, K. Shrestha, M. Cohn, P. Rivas and Y. Isukapalli, "Real-Time Environment Monitoring for Sustainable Agricultural Practices," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2025.
  28. A. Garcia, L. Liang, P. Manopchantaroj, V. Garcia, Z. Randall-Reed and Y. Isukapalli, "Wearable Biomonitoring for Resource Management in Lunar EVA," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 2025.
  29. Y. Isukapalli and N. Kapasi, "Bridging Academia and Industry: A Structured Model for Running a Successful Computer Engineering Capstone Program," Proceedings, ACM Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) 2026, Madrid, Spain, Jul. 2026.
  30. C. Andersen, L. Chen, B. Huang, I. Tamari, S. Unnithan and Y. Isukapalli, "A Real-Time Geological Classification and Speech Recognition System for Planetary Extravehicular Activities," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2026.
  31. J. Gilbert, M. Lemus, A. Ma, C. Xiao, K. Yu and Y. Isukapalli, "Ember Watch: A Model Driven Approach to Real-Time Wildfire Detection," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2026.
  32. L. Ashfield, D. Chang, Z. Duckering, V. Seenivasan, A. Suman, P. Tokumaru and Y. Isukapalli, "Integrated Raspberry Pi Companion Computer System for Drone Flight Control," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2026.
  33. V. Jayaraman, W. Ni, A. Otvagin, O. Seeniraj, J. Wang, A. Banik, U. Madhow and Y. Isukapalli, "Distributed mmWave MIMO Radar Sensing via Network-Based Synchronization and Auto-Calibration," Proceedings, International Telemetering Conference, Glendale, Arizona, Oct. 2026.

MS Degree Committees

Awards