Invited Speakers

Dirk Heberling

Biography: Dirk Heberling (born 15.08.1961) (M’03-SM’10) studied electrical engineering and graduated with a Dipl.-Ing. degree from RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, in 1987. There, he also received the Dr.-Ing. degree in 1993 for his thesis on conformal microstrip antennas.

From 1987 to 1993, he was employed as a scientist at the Institute for RF-Technologies, RWTH Aachen University. In 1993, he joined IMST GmbH, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany, to establish a new Antenna Section, and from 1995 to 2003, he was head of the Antennas Department, which was reorganized into the Department of Antennas and EMC in 1998. From 2003 to 2008, he took over the Department of Information and Communication Systems of IMST GmbH, and in 2008, he moved to RWTH Aachen University in Germany, where he is Head of the Institute and holder of the chair for High Frequency Technology. In addition, in 2016, he became director of the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques, FHR.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heberling is a member of VDE and from 1998 to 2017, he was a member of the ITG expert group 7.1 “Antennen”, which he directed as chairman from 2002 to 2003 and from 2014 to 2017 again. During this time, he was responsible as General Chairman and organizer of the international antenna conference INICA 2003, September 2003, Berlin, and the German Microwave Conference GeMiC 2014, March 2014, Aachen. Since 1998, he has been a member of the European competence projects for antennas COST 260, COST 284, IC0603, and IC1102. From 2002 to 2007, he was the German delegate of COST 284, and from 2011 to 2016, the German delegate and secretary of IC1102. From 2002 to 2003, he was co-organizer of the European network of excellence on antennas, ACE. He is a member of the steering committee and organizing committee for the European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, EuCAP. From 2016 to 2019, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA) and became president in 2018, and a senior member since 2020. In 2016, he was elected for 4 years in the technical decision board (Fachkollegiat) of the German Research Foundation, DFG.

Application of Robotic Systems in Modern Antenna Measurements

Abstract: Industrial robots are increasingly being employed as positioning systems for antenna measurements in both industry and academia, due to their high flexibility, precision, and reliability. Mass-produced for automated production lines, these robotic platforms are available for a variety of device sizes and payloads, making them a cost-effective solution. They enable complex trajectories and support unconventional test setups, paving the way for innovative measurement approaches that are often unfeasible with traditional mechanical positioning systems. This versatility is particularly advantageous for near- field antenna measurements, where robots facilitate the efficient scanning of multiple geometries within a single system and can handle irregular distributions of sampling points. Another promising application lies in compressed sensing techniques, which can significantly reduce measurement time, an especially valuable benefit in production testing environments. Despite these advantages, several key challenges must be addressed to fully exploit the potential of robotic positioners in antenna measurements. Accurate alignment of the robot’s coordinate system with the device under test is critical for obtaining reliable results, and trajectory planning algorithms must consider collision avoidance, sampling density, and velocity limitations. Additionally, seamlessly integrating the radio frequency (RF) subsystem with the robotic positioner and minimizing the electromagnetic scattering from the robot itself requires a careful system design. This talk provides an overview of recent developments in robotic antenna measurements and demonstrates practical implementations using the robot-based antenna test facility at the Institute of High Frequency Technology, RWTH Aachen University. It also examines the technological hurdles, potential solutions, and opportunities offered by robotics in this field, showcasing how industrial robots are a key enabler for innovative antenna measurement techniques and multifunctional facilities.

Julien SARRAZIN

Biography: Julien SARRAZIN received his Master’s degree in electronic engineering and his Ph.D. degree in electronics and telecommunications from the University of Nantes, France, in 2005 and 2008 respectively. In 2009 and 2010, he was with BK Birla Institute of Technology of Pilani, India. In 2011 and 2012, he was a research engineer at Telecom ParisTech in Paris. Since September 2012, he has been with Sorbonne Université where he is currently a Full Professor. He is affiliated with the GeePs (Group of Electrical Engineering of Paris) research institute where he is responsible of the Wave and Propagation team. He is an IEEE Senior Member and serves as Associate Editor for the IEEE Access journal. His research interests include antenna design, propagation channel modeling, direction-of-arrival estimation, MIMO systems, and metamaterials.

Fast-scanning Leaky-Wave Antennas for mmWave Sensing

Abstract: Leaky-Wave Antennas (LWAs) are a class of traveling-wave antennas known for their inherent frequency-dependent beam scanning capability. Leveraging this unique property enables Direction-of-Arrival (DoA) estimation systems that offer both low complexity and real-time performance. Such systems hold significant promise for a wide range of sensing applications, including dynamic beam management in millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication networks. However, a key limitation of this approach is the broad frequency bandwidth required by LWAs to scan a desired field-of-view-often exceeding the constraints of current telecommunication standards. This talk will explore strategies to overcome this challenge to enable beam scanning with waveforms that are compatible with reference signaling in standards such as 5G and beyond. In doing so, dedicated antenna design methodologies will be presented that involve periodic structures and the excitation of multiple fast Floquet harmonics, alongside tailored signal processing techniques. These innovations aim to bridge the gap between the capabilities of LWA-based DoA estimation systems and the requirements of modern communication standards

Olga Borić – Lubecke

Biography: Olga Borić –Lubecke received the B.Sc. degree from the University of Belgrade in 1989, the M.S. degree from Caltech in 1990, and the Ph.D. degree from UCLA in 1995, all in electrical engineering. Since 2003, she has been with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to joining UH, she was with Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies where she pioneered research in biomedical applications of wireless systems. From 1996 to 1998 she was a visiting researcher at RIKEN, in Sendai, Japan. From 1995 to 1996 she was a resident research associate at NASA JPL. She has authored over 250 publications, two books, four book chapters, and three patents, and co-founded two start-up companies. Prof. Borić–Lubecke is an IEEE Fellow, a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Malaga, Spain), and a Foreign Member of the Academy of Engineering of Serbia.

Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-boric-lubecke-210212b0/

Victor M. Lubecke

Biography:Victor M. Lubecke is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa, specializing in wireless sensing and integrated transducers. He was previously with Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, where his research focused on remote sensing and microelectromechanical systems for biomedical and industrial applications. Before that, he was with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Institute for Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), where his research involved terahertz and MEMS technologies for space remote sensing and communications. He has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications, holds seven U.S. patents, and co-founded two start-up companies. He is an IEEE Fellow, a Fulbright Senior Scholar, and an emeritus Distinguished Microwave Lecturer (DML) of the IEEE MTT-S.

Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-lubecke-837214b0/

PH Rao

Biography: Olga Borić –Lubecke received the B.Sc. degree from the University of Belgrade in 1989, the M.S. degree from Caltech in 1990, and the Ph.D. degree from UCLA in 1995, all in electrical engineering. Since 2003, she has been with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to joining UH, she was with Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies where she pioneered research in biomedical applications of wireless systems. From 1996 to 1998 she was a visiting researcher at RIKEN, in Sendai, Japan. From 1995 to 1996 she was a resident research associate at NASA JPL. She has authored over 250 publications, two books, four book chapters, and three patents, and co-founded two start-up companies. Prof. Borić–Lubecke is an IEEE Fellow, a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Malaga, Spain), and a Foreign Member of the Academy of Engineering of Serbia.

Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rao-hanumantha-6130644/?originalSubdomain=in

Shreyas Sen

Biography: Olga Borić –Lubecke received the B.Sc. degree from the University of Belgrade in 1989, the M.S. degree from Caltech in 1990, and the Ph.D. degree from UCLA in 1995, all in electrical engineering. Since 2003, she has been with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to joining UH, she was with Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies where she pioneered research in biomedical applications of wireless systems. From 1996 to 1998 she was a visiting researcher at RIKEN, in Sendai, Japan. From 1995 to 1996 she was a resident research associate at NASA JPL. She has authored over 250 publications, two books, four book chapters, and three patents, and co-founded two start-up companies. Prof. Borić–Lubecke is an IEEE Fellow, a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Malaga, Spain), and a Foreign Member of the Academy of Engineering of Serbia.

Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreyassen/

Mohammad Hossein Zarifi

Biography: Mohammad Hossein Zarifi (Ph.D. PEng, PRC Tier II, SMIEEE), is an Associate Professor and Tier II Principal’s Research Chair (PRC) in Sensors and Microelectronics at the University of British Columbia’s School of Engineering. He also directs the Okanagan MicroElectronics and Gigahertz Applications (OMEGA) Lab in Canada. Dr. Zarifi has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and holds six issued or pending patents. His research focuses on applied electromagnetics and circuits and systems for communication and sensing applications. He served as Chair and member of IEEE MTT-S Technical Committee 26 on RFID, Wireless Sensors, and IoT. He is currently an IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Microwave Lecturer (2024–2027). Dr. Zarifi received the Emerging Researcher Award in 2020 and the Best Teaching Award in 2021 from UBC’s School of Engineering.

Electromagnetic-Matter Interactions as an Exploratory Tool for Atomic-Scale Sensing and Communication

Abstract: The rapid advancement of technology, coupled with innovations in material processing, is driving the evolution of advanced sensor systems across a wide range of industries. At the same time, the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is significantly fueling market growth. As essential components of IoT devices, sensors are in increasing demand, with billions of connected devices projected globally in the coming years. On the technology front, 5G is transforming IoT and sensor networks by enabling ultra-fast data transfer, low latency, and widespread connectivity, unlocking real-time responsiveness and greater efficiency across applications. Looking ahead, 6G is expected to push these boundaries even further, offering even lower latency, higher data rates, and greater reliability while integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and expanding extended reality (XR) capabilities. To support the sustainable growth of these technologies, the exploration of alternative materials such as biodegradable polymers, graphene, and nanomaterials is becoming increasingly vital. When paired with advancements in electromagnetic design techniques, these materials pave the way for more efficient, eco-friendly sensing and communication platforms. In this talk, recent progress in integrating novel materials into microwave structures for emerging sensing applications will be explored. Special attention will be given to materials such as MXene and conductive polymers as potential alternatives to traditional metal-based components.

Akram Alomainy

Biography: Akram Alomainy is the Deputy Dean for Postgraduate Research in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Head of the Antennas and Electromagnetics Research Group, Lead of the Centre for Electronics and a Professor of Antennas & Applied EM in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), UK. He has authored and co-authored 5 books, 6 book chapters and more than 500 technical papers (13000+ citations) in leading journals and peer-reviewed conferences. Prof Alomainy won the Isambard Brunel Kingdom Award, in 2011, for outstanding young science and engineering communicator and both the education and research excellence awards at QMUL in 2019 and 2021, respectively. He chairs EU and international funding panels including FWO in Belgium and serves as associate editor for various journals including IEEE AWPL, J-ERM and Nature Scientific Reports. He was the UK URSI Panel B representative until 2020 and serves as external examiner for many UK and international universities.

Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akramalomainy/?originalSubdomain=uk

Resilient, Scalable and Flexible Wearable &EM Technologies for Next Generation Healthcare

Abstract: With the advent of commercial products, such as Google Glass, Samsung Galaxy Gear and the expected iWatch, body-centric communication has increasingly garnered the public attention and smoothly translated state-of-the-art research work into reality. With the development of nanotechnology, the idea of connecting nano-devices to conduct complicated tasks and communicate the information collected by these sesnors was a natural progression in order to complete the overall picture of a new generation of body-centric wireless networks. Connecting these nano-machines (or nano-devices) together in order for them to execute a useful function and deliver information between nano-nodes and ultimately interfacing to users or the outside world, the birth of nano-communication and networking was a necessity. Nano-scale communication is referred to the exchange of information at the nanoscale and it is the basis of any wired/wireless interconnection of nano-devices in a nano-network. The way the nano-devices communicate with each other has strong dependence on the way in which they are realised. In addition, the specific application of the nano-network determines the deployment of the nano-networks, thus constraining the choice on the particular type of nano-communication. The talk will present development of reliable and comprehensive channel modelling, human tissue electric properties in the THz band and networking technologies to address the major challenges of the nano-scale electromagnetic channels needed for body-centric wireless nano-networks deployed in future healthcare applications. With the advancement of nano-scale machine fabrication and the deep understanding of molecular behaviour within the human body, future healthcare monitoring and feedback systems are expected to be comprehensive, efficient and ubiquitous hence coupling existing wireless wearable sensors and implantable units with nano-machines and networks.

Guido Valerio

Biography: Guido Valerio received the Ph.D. degree in electromagnetics from La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, in 2005 and 2009, respectively. From February to August 2008, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA. From 2011 to 2014, he was a Researcher at the Institute d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), Rennes, France. Since September 2014, he has been with Sorbonne Université, Paris, France, where he is currently a Professor with the Laboratoire de Genie Electrique et Electronique de Paris. His scientific research interests involve antenna design and numerical methods for wave propagation and scattering in complex structures, namely, periodic Green’s function computation, modal properties of multilayered structures, modeling and design of periodic structures, metamaterials, and substrateintegrated waveguides. Dr. Valerio was the co-author of Best Papers at the European Conference on Antennas and Propagation in 2018 and 2020 and 2022. He was a recipient of the “Leopold B. Felsen Award for Excellence in Electrodynamics” in 2008; the “Barzilai Prize” for the best paper at the National Italian Congress of Electromagnetism (XVIII RiNEm) in 2010; and the RMTG Award for junior researchers at the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Symposium, Memphis, TN, USA, in 2014. He was the Main Chair of the COST Action SyMat on “Future communications with higher symmetric engineered artificial materials” from 2019 to 2024 and is currently the coordinator of the MSCA Doctoral Network GENIUS “Glide-symmetric metamaterials for innovative radio frequency communication and sensing.” He served as an Associate Editor for IEEE ACCESS and is currently serving as Associate Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTION ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION

Modeling challenges of metamaterial-based waveguides and leaky-wave antennas for sensing applications

Abstract: Examples of metamaterial-based guided-wave structures are proposed for different sensing applications. 10 July 2025 at 14:51 Automotive radars operating at millimeter waves strive to reduce fabrication costs leading to low-cost manufacturing techniques, such as printed circuit board (PCB). Contactless air filled substrate-integrated waveguides are an attractive solution, but their realization is not straightforward in stacked configurations. We propose a simple solution for the design of a PCB-based Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG) metamaterial, suitable for the development of staked EBG in CLAF waveguides. Other natural candidates for sensing at millimeter waves are leaky-wave antennas, thanks to their frequency-scanning properties. However, their application at millimeter waves is limited due to a number of design difficulties and complex tradeoffs (size, losses, bandwidth). Designs of all-metal corrugated leaky-wave antennas are discussed, starting from analyses performed with a rigorous periodic Method of Moments.

Kaushik Sengupta

Biography: Dr. Sengupta received a B.Tech/M.Tech (dual degree) in Electronics and Electrical Communication Eng. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 2007, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech in 2012. Dr. Sengupta joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, as a Faculty Member in 2013, where he is currently a Full Professor. His research interests include novel chip-scale architectures for intelligent sensing and communication for a wide range of emerging applications.

Dr. Sengupta is an IEEE Fellow. He received the DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2018, the Bell Labs Prize in 2017, the Young Investigator Program Award from the Office of Naval Research in 2017, the Prime Minister Gold Medal Award from IIT Kharagpur in 2007, the Charles Wilts Prize at Caltech for the best Electrical Engineering Ph.D. thesis in 2013, and the inaugural Young Alumni Achievement Award from IIT Kharagpur in 2018. He served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society from 2019 to 2020 and for the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society from 2021 to 2023. He is a recipient of the 2021 IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Outstanding Young Engineer Award and the 2022 IEEE Solid-state Circuits New Frontier Award. He currently serves as the co-chair of the IEEE Solid-state Directions Sub-committee and as a technical advisor for the wireless start-up company, GuRu, based in Pasadena, CA.

AI-Enabled RF/mmWave IC Design: Can we Design a Chip a Day and Discover New Design Spaces?

Abstract: Traditionally, chip-scale RF system design has been in the domain of the expert, dominated by thumb rules and trial and error techniques. Designing these ICs, that form the bedrock of the wireless networks, is complex, time-consuming, requires years of expertise, and therefore, can be very expensive. Historically, the design process of RF IC design has relied on intuition based approaches with standard templates that are subsequently optimized, time-consuming parameter sweeps, or ad-hoc population-based metaheuristic optimization methods. There is no reason to believe that this approach is optimal in any sense.

This talk will discuss how inverse design with AI-based approaches can open a new design space and allow rapid designs on demand. It will discuss deep-learning based modeling and generative AI approaches, that are transferrable across process design technologies, for inverse design and automated synthesis of mmWave/sub-THz circuits and antennas.

Enabling Advanced Digital Communications Systems With RF/Microwave Filters With Beyond-Transmission-Band Flat Group Delay

Abstract: When designing RF/microwave filters, especial attention is commonly paid to the obtaining of high-selectivity filtering responses with sharp-rejection characteristics and high amplitude flatness within the transmission band. Nevertheless, this generally involves high in-band group-delay variations, which may be prohibitive in some applications, such as digital communication scenarios due to inter-symbol interference issues. The purpose of this talk is to present recent advances in the development of RF/microwave filters featuring quasi-flat group-delay response well beyond their 3-dB transmission bands. These RF filters simultaneously exhibit transmission zeros in their out-of-band regions as a step further with regard to more-classic Bessel/Gaussian-type filter approaches. To start with, the motivation of the necessity of low-phase-distortion RF filters is introduced. Subsequently, different solutions for the design of constant-in-band-group-delay RF filters with transmission zeros, going from lowpass to bandpass applications with moderate-to-ultra-wideband characteristics, are revised. They exploit various classes of RF circuit structures, such as multi-transmission-line transversal circuit networks or complementary-diplexer schemes for reflectionless/absorptive implementations, as well as RF power couplers in transversal mode for reflective realizations. For all these families of RF filters with beyond-transmission-band flat group delay, experimental results of manufactured proof-of-concept prototypes are shown.

Dr. Satish Kumar Sharma

Dr. Satish Kumar Sharma, IEEE Fellow, received his Ph. D. degree in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India, in August 1997. He received his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics Engineering from Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology, India 1991. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Manitoba, Canada, from March 1999 to May 2001. He joined InfoMagnetics Technologies (IMT) Corporation, Winnipeg, Canada, as a Senior Antenna Engineer from May 2001 to August 2006. While at IMT, he was also a Part-Time Research Associate at the University of Manitoba until August 2006. Dr. Sharma joined San Diego State University (SDSU) as an Assistant Professor in August 2006. He established the Antenna and Microwave Laboratory (AML) shortly after joining SDSU and has led the AML as its Director since then. He became a tenured Associate Professor in August 2010. He was promoted to full Professor in August 2014 and currently holds this position. He received the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s prestigious faculty early career development (CAREER) award 2009. He also received the 2015 IEEE AP-S Harold A. Wheeler Prize Paper Award. He was Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation and IEEE Antennas, Wireless & Propagation Letters. He is an IEEE AP-S Distinguished Lecturer (2025-2027), IEEE AP-S AdCom member (2025-2027), and the 2025 inaugural Chair of the Technical Committee on Security (TC9): Security, Defense, Disaster Management. His research lab can analyze, design, develop, and verify antennas from VHF to millimeter wave (110 GHz) frequencies. He has advised and mentored more than 110 undergraduate/graduate students and Post-Doctoral Fellows/visiting research scholars.

Dr. Sharma has published over 335 journal and conference papers and holds three US and Canadian patents. He co-edited three volumes of “Handbook of Reflector Antennas and Feed Systems”, published by Artech House in May/June 2013. His other co-authored book, “Multifunctional Antennas and Arrays for Wireless Communication Systems”, was published by IEEE-Press/Wiley in April 2021. He has collaborated with industry professionals on SBIR/STTR Phase I and II projects funded by DARPA, SPAWAR, Missile Defense Agency, and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in addition to projects from the NSF, NASA and Office of Naval Research (ONR). He has also served as an engineer/consultant for several wireless and defense companies. He is also the CEO/founder of 5GAntennaTech, LLC. His research interests include microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies, beam steering antennas, flat panel phased array antennas, reconfigurable and tunable antennas, 3D printed antennas, inkjet printed conformal antennas, massive MIMO antennas, antennas for Cube-Satellites, reflector antennas and their feed systems, and metasurface antennas.

Phased Array Antennas for Wireless and Satellite Communication Applications

Dr. Satish Kumar Sharma, IEEE Fellow, received his Ph. D. degree in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India, in August 1997. He received his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics Engineering from Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology, India 1991. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Manitoba, Canada, from March 1999 to May 2001. He joined InfoMagnetics Technologies (IMT) Corporation, Winnipeg, Canada, as a Senior Antenna Engineer from May 2001 to August 2006. While at IMT, he was also a Part-Time Research Associate at the University of Manitoba until August 2006. Dr. Sharma joined San Diego State University (SDSU) as an Assistant Professor in August 2006. He established the Antenna and Microwave Laboratory (AML) shortly after joining SDSU and has led the AML as its Director since then. He became a tenured Associate Professor in August 2010. He was promoted to full Professor in August 2014 and currently holds this position. He received the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s prestigious faculty early career development (CAREER) award 2009. He also received the 2015 IEEE AP-S Harold A. Wheeler Prize Paper Award. He was Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation and IEEE Antennas, Wireless & Propagation Letters. He is an IEEE AP-S Distinguished Lecturer (2025-2027), IEEE AP-S AdCom member (2025-2027), and the 2025 inaugural Chair of the Technical Committee on Security (TC9): Security, Defense, Disaster Management. His research lab can analyze, design, develop, and verify antennas from VHF to millimeter wave (110 GHz) frequencies. He has advised and mentored more than 110 undergraduate/graduate students and Post-Doctoral Fellows/visiting research scholars.

Dr. Sharma has published over 335 journal and conference papers and holds three US and Canadian patents. He co-edited three volumes of “Handbook of Reflector Antennas and Feed Systems”, published by Artech House in May/June 2013. His other co-authored book, “Multifunctional Antennas and Arrays for Wireless Communication Systems”, was published by IEEE-Press/Wiley in April 2021. He has collaborated with industry professionals on SBIR/STTR Phase I and II projects funded by DARPA, SPAWAR, Missile Defense Agency, and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in addition to projects from the NSF, NASA and Office of Naval Research (ONR). He has also served as an engineer/consultant for several wireless and defense companies. He is also the CEO/founder of 5GAntennaTech, LLC. His research interests include microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies, beam steering antennas, flat panel phased array antennas, reconfigurable and tunable antennas, 3D printed antennas, inkjet printed conformal antennas, massive MIMO antennas, antennas for Cube-Satellites, reflector antennas and their feed systems, and metasurface antennas.

Francesco P. Andriulli

Biography: Francesco P. Andriulli received the Laurea in electrical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2004, the MSc in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004, and the PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 2008. From 2008 to 2010 he was a Research Associate with the Politecnico di Torino. From 2010 to 2017 he was an Associate Professor (2010-2014) and then Full Professor with the École Nationale Supérieure Mines-Télécom Atlantique (IMT Atlantique), Brest, France. Since 2017 he has been a Full Professor with the Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy. His research interests are in computational electromagnetics including frequency- and time-domain integral equation solvers, well-conditioned formulations, fast solvers, low-frequency electromagnetic analyses, and modeling techniques for antennas, wireless components, microwave circuits, and biomedical applications with a special focus on brain imaging.

Prof. Andriulli received several best paper awards at conferences and symposia (URSI NA 2007, IEEE AP-S 2008, ICEAA IEEE-APWC 2015) also in co-authorship with his students and collaborators (EMTS 2025, ICEAA IEEE-APWC 2021, EMTS 2016, URSI-DE Meeting 2014, ICEAA 2009) with whom received also a second prize conference paper (URSI GASS 2014), a third prize conference paper (IEEE–APS 2018), seven honorable mention conference papers (ICEAA 2011, URSI/IEEE–APS 2013, 4 in URSI/IEEE–APS 2022, URSI/IEEE–APS 2023) and other three finalist conference papers (URSI/IEEE-APS 2012, URSI/IEEE-APS 2007, URSI/IEEE-APS 2006, URSI/IEEE–APS 2022)). Moreover, he received the 2014 IEEE AP-S Donald G. Dudley Jr. Undergraduate Teaching Award, the triennium 2014-2016 URSI Issac Koga Gold Medal, and the 2015 L. B. Felsen Award for Excellence in Electrodynamics.

Prof. Andriulli is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI), and a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi. He serves as Vice-President of Publications of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society and as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. He served as Track Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation and as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, IEEE Access, URSI Radio Science Letters, and IET-MAP.

Website: https://it.linkedin.com/in/francesco-p-andriulli-3a129b2

Complexity Breaking Complexities in Computational Electromagnetics.

Abstract: Best Practices for Leading through Difficult (Computational) Times

Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) is a scientific discipline positioned at the intersection of electrical engineering, high-performance computing, and applied mathematics. It is primarily concerned with the modeling and simulation of complex electromagnetic phenomena that arise in advanced technological and scientific contexts. Historically, CEM has provided the predictive framework underlying a wide spectrum of applications in electrical and electronic engineering, optics, wireless communications, geophysical exploration, and biomedical systems.

In recent years, the scope of CEM has broadened significantly, engaging with an expanding range of interdisciplinary fields, including information retrieval, computational neuroscience, machine learning, and brain-computer interfaces. A pervasive trend across these domains is the substantial growth in the dimensionality and scale of the problems to be addressed, driven by system miniaturization and increased component density. This evolution has led to escalating levels of computational complexity and, consequently, increased cost and effort associated with electromagnetic modeling, design, and simulation.

This talk will provide a comprehensive overview of the major challenges both longstanding and emerging, facing the field of CEM, with examples spanning from canonical problems to those of “Holy Grail”-like complexity. Emphasis will be placed on recent research efforts aimed at achieving paradigm shifts in simulation methodologies, with the objective of overcoming the computational bottlenecks inherent in conventional approaches and enabling significant performance gains. Applications discussed will include brain imaging and modeling, electromagnetic dosimetry, epilepsy diagnosis, and the development of brain-computer interfaces.

Changzhi Li

Biography: Changzhi Li received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Zhejiang University, China, in 2004, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, in 2009. He is a Professor at Texas Tech University. His research interests are microwave/millimeter-wave sensing for healthcare, security, energy efficiency, structural monitoring, and human-machine interface.

Dr. Li served as an IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) Distinguished Microwave Lecturer in the Tatsuo Itoh Class of 2022–2024 and as General Chair of the 2024 IEEE Radio & Wireless Week (RWW) in San Antonio, TX. He was a recipient of the IET A F Harvey Prize, the IEEE MTT-S Outstanding Young Engineer Award, the IEEE Sensors Council Early Career Technical Achievement Award, the ASEE Frederick Emmons Terman Award, the IEEE-HKN Outstanding Young Professional Award, and the NSF Faculty CAREER Award. Dr. Li is a Fellow of the IEEE, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He will assume the role of Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques in 2026.

Compound-Eye RF: Advancing Active and Passive Sensing at the Human-Microwave Frontier

Abstract: By analyzing the response of low-power radio waves reflected from human subjects, biomedical radar sensors are revolutionizing healthcare and enhancing human-machine interfaces, enabling remote monitoring without the need for wearable devices. This presentation will first review applications at this exciting human-microwave frontier, including physiological signal sensing, non-contact human-computer interfaces, driving behavior recognition, human tracking, and early-stage clinical studies. Despite the rapid growth of radar-based biomedical sensing, its integration into everyday life remains limited due to challenges associated with body orientation and movement, which impact the reliability of high-quality signal acquisition. This presentation will address these issues by exploring spatial and wavelength diversities to optimize detection in a vision-like data fusion approach. Advancements in semiconductor technology have made it possible to access highly compact radio frequency and millimeter-wave integrated chips with antenna-in-package, allowing for the creation of remarkably compact devices. To this end, the presenter will introduce bio-inspired compound-eye RF vision, which has the potential to transform smart radar sensor’s capabilities by providing high-fidelity depth and angular information, allowing to accurately target specific body areas in search of the desired physiological signals. To optimize the utilization and sharing of spectrum resources, this presentation will also explore indoor passive sensing based on ambient wireless signals, highlighting the critical roles of advanced beamforming and multistatic detection.

Almudena Suárez

Biography: Almudena Suárez received her Ph.D. in Physical Sciences from the Universidad de Cantabria in 1992, and her Ph.D. in Electronics from the University of Limoges, France, in 1993. She is a full professor at Universidad de Cantabria (Spain) and head of the research group Microwave Engineering and Radiocommunication Systems. She has been an IEEE Fellow since 2012 (“For applications of stability analysis to the computer aided design of microwave circuits”) since 2012. She was an IEEE Distinguished Microwave Lecturer from 2006 to 2008. She has published 117 papers in IEEE journals, with more than 80 papers in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques (IEEE T-MTT). She has authored the book “Analysis and Design of Autonomous Microwave Circuits” (IEEE-Wiley, 2009) and co-authored the book “Stability Analysis of Nonlinear Microwave Circuits” (Artech House, 2003). She was a member of the Board of Directors of European Microwave Association (EuMA) from 2012 to 2020. She received the Research Award of the Social Council of the University of Cantabria in 2021. She received the IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Educator Award in 2025. She was the coordinator of the Communications and Electronic Technology Area for the Spanish National Evaluation and Foresight Agency (ANEP) from 2009 to 2013. She was the chair of the 2014 and 2015 editions of IEEE Topical Conference on RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers (PAWR). She was the General TPC Chair of European Microwave Week in 2018. She was the Editor-in-Chief of IJMWT from Cambridge University Press from 2013 to 2018. She has been an Associate Editor for IEEE Microwave Magazine since 2014 and was an Associate Editor for IEEE T-MTT in 2019-2022. Since 2023 she is the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE T-MTT.

Efficient Analysis of Compact Oscillator-Based Implementations in Self-Injection-Locked Radar, RFID Readers, and Wireless Power Transfer

Abstract: As the demand for connectivity grows, the need for compact, energy-efficient communication systems has led to new oscillator-based approaches capable of integrating multiple functions. This presentation explores various oscillator-based systems, including self-injection-locked radar, RFID readers, and compact transmitters for wireless power transfer. Self-injection-locked radar offers high sensitivity to target movement, producing instantaneous variations in the oscillation frequency that can be easily demodulated using a frequency discriminator. Chipless RFID readers employ a chirped oscillator that adjusts its frequency to cover the full range of tag resonances by introducing a low-frequency sawtooth signal into the bias line. When placed near a tag, the oscillator’s frequency is influenced by the tag’s resonators, imprinting their signature. Additionally, near-field wireless power transfer employing high-power oscillators eliminates the need for independent sources and driver amplifiers, thereby reducing energy consumption by minimizing system components. However, simulating these oscillator-based systems with standard methods, such as harmonic balance, is challenging due to the coexistence of steady-state solutions and convergence failures caused by ill-conditioning. To overcome these limitations, semi-analytical formulations have been recently proposed. These rely on a numerical admittance-type model of the standalone oscillator, extracted from harmonic balance, which is integrated into an analytical framework to describe the interaction between the oscillator and external elements. This combined analytical–numerical approach provides deeper insights into the system’s operation, as well as an efficient and exhaustive analysis procedure. As will be demonstrated, the semi-analytical equations are solved using a contour procedure that identifies all coexisting periodic solutions for the same parameter values. The analysis methods will be illustrated through practical applications, with experimental results validating the proposed approaches.

Ashwin Iyer

Biography: Dr. Ashwin Iyer is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and has 25 years of experience in developing novel high-frequency antennas, circuits, sensors, and engineered materials and surfaces. He received his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto, where he was involved in the discovery and development of the transmission-line approach to metamaterial design and the realization of metamaterial lenses for free-space microwave subdiffraction imaging.

Dr. Iyer is the founding Director of the University of Alberta’s Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-use Technologies (CARDD-Tech), as well as founding director of its Microwave, Millimetre-wave, and MetaDevices (M3) Laboratory. He serves as Lead PI for a Department of National Defence (DND) project developing compact soldier-worn sensors and engineered surfaces for situational awareness of troop health in challenging environments, and one of two Co-PIs on a recently completed DND project realizing robust sensors for fixed CAF assets in harsh Arctic conditions. He also leads multiple projects with defence and adjacent industry in the areas of low-SWaPC antenna and sensor platforms. He has trained 25 graduate students, 6 postdoctoral fellows, and 2 research associates.

Dr. Iyer has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and 4 book chapters in the earliest reference texts on metamaterials/metasurfaces and is considered one of the pioneers in this field. He holds 3 issued and 4 pending US and Canadian patents. He has been recognized as a Senior Member of both the IEEE and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) and has served the IEEE’s Antennas and Propagation Society in multiple capacities, including on the editorial board of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation from 2012 to 2025. He has served as Co-chair of the Technical Program Committees of the 2025, 2020, 2016, and 2015 IEEE International Symposia on Antennas and Propagation. In 2023, he was invited to participate in the Royal Canadian Navy’s Canadian Leaders at Sea program and helped organize the 2024 and 2025 instalments of the Navy’s Canadian Students at Sea program jointly with the U of A Faculty of Engineering. He has also participated in the Canadian Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force North (JTFN) Arctic Security Working Group.

Development of a Defence and Dual-use RDT&E Ecosystem at the University of Alberta: Focus on Antenna and Microwave Engineering

Abstract: The University of Alberta is a place of historical significance in the antenna- and microwave-engineering communities. Beginning with a brief historical overview, this talk will summarize the evolution of its antennas and microwave R&D program at the Microwave, Millimetre-wave, and MetaDevices (M3) Laboratory. This will be followed by a discussion on its efforts to create and maintain a secure ecosystem for defence, dual-use, and sensitive research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) including its recent designation as a NATO DIANA test centre and the establishment of its Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-use Technologies (CARDD-Tech), whose mandate is to partner with defence industry to respond to emerging security challenges, particularly in Canada’s North, through innovation, RDT&E, and commercialization.