Their paper entitled "Deployment Algorithms for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks Using Magnetic Induction" was among 11 chosen for best paper honors from a field of over 3,600 papers that were submitted. Mr. Sun is a Ph.D. student who is advised by Dr. Akyildiz, who is the Byers Professor in Telecommunications.

The objective of the work is to develop wireless underground sensor networks that can facilitate many applications including intelligent farming, border patrol and intrusion detection, underground pipeline monitoring (oil, gas, water pipes), and sports field maintenance. By utilizing the new magnetic induction technique, the wireless sensors can achieve a large communication range in dense soil medium with extremely low device costs and energy consumption.

The awarded paper develops optimal deployment algorithms to use the so-called magnetic induction relay coils to connect the underground wireless sensors. The proposed algorithm also helps the end users to deploy wireless underground sensor networks with very high efficiency, low costs, and very long life duration.