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ACNLAdvanced Communication Networks Laboratory

People / doctoral student

Ryan McCann

Ryan McCann

Ph.D. Candidate, joined 2024. Advised by Vinod M. Vokkarane.

Co-founder and lead developer of FUSION (github.com/SDNNetSim/FUSION), supported by MIT I-Corps and AT&T; reinforcement learning for software-defined elastic optical networks; failure-aware routing and realistic simulation of elastic optical and mesh networks.

Student spotlight, September 2026: Building the networks behind AI

Google Scholar (48 citations, h-index 3, i10-index 1)

12publications in the lab record
2as first author
3journal articles

Working mostly on Elastic and SDM optical networks, Tools and reproducibility, Machine learning for networks.

FUSION: reinforcement learning over a software-defined optical mesh

Publications

A. Rezaee, R. McCann, V. M. Vokkarane. FUSION: A Unified Benchmarking Framework for Reproducible Optical Network ResearchJournal, 2026, Tools and reproducibility
A. Rezaee, F. Arpanaei, R. McCann, H. Rabbani, J. Hernández, M. Brandt-Pearce, V. M. Vokkarane. QoT-Aware Dynamic Resource Allocation and Grooming in Multi-Band Space-Division Multiplexing NetworksJournal, 2026, Elastic and SDM optical networks
A. Rezaee, F. Arpanaei, R. McCann, L. Nadal, J. A. Hernández, V. M. Vokkarane. QoT-Aware Spectral and Spatial Scaling Trade-offs in Multi-Band Space Division Multiplexing over EONs [Invited]Journal, 2026, Elastic and SDM optical networks
F. Arpanaei, A. Rezaee, M. Ranjbar Zefreh, R. McCann, L. Nadal, J. M. Rivas-Moscoso, Ó. González de Dios, A. Sánchez-Macián, D. Larrabeiti, V. M. Vokkarane, J. A. Hernández. Best Planning Practices for Ultra-High-Capacity Networks Based on Multi- Band over Space Division MultiplexingConference, 2025, Elastic and SDM optical networks
Arash Rezaee, Farhad Arpanaei, Ryan McCann, Hami Rabbani, José Alberto Hernandez, Maite Brandt-Pearce, Vinod M. Vokkarane. Channel-Based ICXT- and NLI-Aware Service Provisioning for Multi-Band Over SDM SystemsConference, 2025, Elastic and SDM optical networks
A. Rezaee, R. McCann, H. Rabbani, M. Brandt-Pearce, V. M. Vokkarane. ISRS-Enhanced PLI-Aware Routing for Multi-Band Elastic Optical NetworksConference, 2025, Elastic and SDM optical networks
A. Rezaee, R. McCann, V. M. Vokkarane. Learning to Slice: ML-Assisted Segmentation for Dynamic Resource Allocation in SDM-EONsConference, 2025, Machine learning for networks
A. Rezaee, F. Arpanaei, R. McCann, J. A. Hernández, V. M. Vokkarane. Rethinking Flexibility: When Fixed-Grid with Grooming Outperforms Flex-Grid in EONsConference, 2025, Elastic and SDM optical networks
A. Rezaee, R. McCann, V. M. Vokkarane. Dynamic Crosstalk-Aware Routing, Modulation, Core, and Spectrum Allocation for Sliceable Demands in SDM-EONsConference, 2024, Elastic and SDM optical networks
R. McCann, A. Rezaee, V. M. Vokkarane. Enhancing Routing in SD-EONs through Reinforcement Learning: A Comparative AnalysisConference, 2024, Machine learning for networks
Ryan McCann, Arash Rezaee, Vinod M. Vokkarane. FUSION: A Flexible Unified Simulator for Intelligent Optical NetworkingConference, 2024, Tools and reproducibility
A Rezaee, R McCann, VM Vokkarane. PLI-Aware Dynamic Routing in Software Defined Elastic Optical Networks (SD- EONs)Conference, 2023, Elastic and SDM optical networks