Ragnar Thobaben

Research Interests

Coming from an information and coding theory background, my research interests cover various aspects of robustness, reliability, and trustworthyness of communication and learning systems. Recent research activities include:

• Information theoretic studies on the generalization performance of learning algorithms
• Coding and information theoretic approaches for learning
• Physical-layer and information theoretic security for wireless systems including secure communication, authentication, and adversarial robustness
• Data-driven tools for decision support in ICU
• DNA-based data storage

Current PhD Students

• Martin Lindström: Information theory for machine learning (co-supervisor: M. Skolglund)
• Anna Sundelin (KI): Sepsis and sequential organ failure assessment in the intensive care unit (main Supervisor: Johan Mårtensson, KI)

• Navid Korah Soltani(KI): Towards improved glucose control in critically ill patients (main Supervisor: Johan Mårtensson, KI)

Previous PhD Students

• Borja Rodriguez Galvez: An Information-Theoretic Approach to Generalization Theory, April 2024 (main supervisor: M. Skolglund)
• Boules Mouris: Wirelessly Powered Communications: From Signal Optimization to Antenna Design, June 2022 (co-supervisor: Oscar Quevedo-Teruel)
• Henrik Forssell: Physical layer security for resilient critical infrastructures, Jan. 2021 (co-supervised by James Gross).
• Leefke Grosjean, Practical Anytime Codes, May 2016 (main advisor: Lars Kildehøj).
• Frédéric Gabry, Secrecy in Cognitive Radio Networks, Nov. 2014 (main advisor: Mikael Skoglund).
• Mattias Andersson, Coding and Transmission Strategies for Secrecy, Apr. 2014 (main advisor: Mikael Skoglund).
• Ricardo Blasco Serrano, On Compression and Coordination in Networks, Nov. 2013 (main advisor: Mikael Skoglund).
• Zhongwei Si, Structured LDPC Convolutional Codes, Jan. 2013 (main advisor: Mikael Skoglund).

Short CV

Ragnar Thobaben (Professor in Communication Theory) received the Dipl.-Ing. degree (M.Sc.) in electrical engineering in 2001 and the Dr.-Ing. degree (Ph.D.) in electrical engineering in 2007 from the Christian Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany. Since December 2006, Ragnar is with the Division of Information Science and Engineering at EECS, KTH. Dr. Thobaben has served for the Technical Program Committee for several IEEE conferences, such as GLOBECOM, ICC, and PIMRC. He has also served as the Publicity Chair for the 2011 IEEE Swedish Communication Technologies Workshop, the 2012 International Symposium on Turbo Codes and Iterative Information Processing, and the 2015 IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications, and as the Local-Arrangement Chair for the 2019 IEEE Information Theory Workshop. From 2016 to 2020, he served as an Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Communications, and from 2020 to 2023, he served as an Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security.

Ragnar is part of the CERCES Center for Resilient Critical Infrastructures.