David Kao is a devoted runner who uses the three-mile outer loop that encompasses the Rice University campus as both a track and pathway to research.

It’s not that the graduate student is studying the biology of the magnificent Live Oaks that surround the university campus. As he pounds the track at least 30 miles a week, his mind relaxes and ponders the complex problems he faces within the electrical and computer engineering department (ECE) and the Center for Multimedia Communication.

“I have lots of energy,” said the New Jersey native who is hard at work on a doctorate he hopes to complete in the next two or three years. “And I’ve experienced some epiphanies when I’m running. Maybe it’s because you don’t have to think about where you’re going… you just follow the path. And sometimes answers pop into your head.”

While not every run produces a perfect solution, the expenditure of energy surely benefits his body and brain as the goal-driven student prepares for marathons and triathlons. Already, the 24-year-old has completed six marathons and two triathlons. His personal web site proudly displays a chart showing steadily faster race times since his first marathon run in Chicago back in 2005.

“Marathons and triathlons are a bit like research, the more you do them, and the more discipline you bring to training for them, the better you become,” Kao said. He hopes to qualify for the granddaddy of marathons, Boston, as well as a future Ironman event.

For the son of immigrants from Taiwan, hitting the track on foot or bike, or time in the swimming pool, represents a bit of a personal transformation. He was shy, bookish and more interested in math and computers in high school, he said. “But I vowed to complete a marathon before I graduated (from the University of Illinois Urban-Champaign) and I did it.”

Kao’s advisor at Rice is Assistant Professor Ashutosh Sabharawal, who directs the Center for Multimedia Communication. Sabharawal has challenged Kao on research problems that center on groundbreaking wireless networks and how to equitably distribute resources to diverse users.

“If I have to highlight one quality David possesses, it would be his determination,” said Sabharawal, noting that Kao’s research area is so new that there is little to bank on from previous research. “Even after several early attempts did not yield the desired research results, he wouldn’t quit. Now his latest work is yielding many cool results.”

Kao said that Rice’s faculty members are approachable and willing to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines. “It’s hard not to meet people you’ll enjoy working with and collaborating with,” he said. “I really love that aspect of Rice, where you feel a part of a small community but with world-class resources.”

Kao, who earned his master of science degree from Rice last summer, has time for other extracurricular activities besides running. He is a member of a Rice cycling group and tends bar one day a week at the graduate student pub on campus, Valhalla. He also has helped his department by organizing recruiting visits to Rice by prospective graduate students.