Goutam Chattopadhyay of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which completed eighty-five years of its existence in 2021, builds instruments for NASA missions. Exploring the universe and our own planet Earth from space has been the mission of NASA. Robotics missions such as Voyager, which continues to go beyond our solar system, missions to Mars and other planets, exploring the stars and galaxies for astrophysics missions. Fundamental science questions drive the selection of NASA missions and innovative instrument development. We design and build instruments to make measurements that can answer those science questions. In this presentation, we will present an overview of the state-of-the-art instruments that we are currently developing and layout the details of the science questions they will try to answer. Rapid progress on multiple fronts, such as commercial software for component and device modeling, low-loss circuits and interconnect technologies, cell phone technologies, and submicron scale lithographic techniques are making it possible for us to design and develop smart, low-power yet very powerful instruments that can even fit in a SmallSat or CubeSat. We will also discuss the challenges of the future generation instruments in addressing the needs for critical scientific applications. The research described herein was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, under contract with National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Biography:

Goutam Chattopadhyay (Fellow, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA, in 2000., He is currently a Senior Scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, and a Visiting Professor with the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, Caltech. He has authored or coauthored more than 350 publications in international journals and conferences and holds more than 20 patents. His research interests include microwave, millimeter-wave, and terahertz receiver systems and radars, and the development of terahertz instruments for space applications., He is a Fellow of IETE (India) and an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He was the recipient of more than 35 NASA technical achievement and new technology invention awards, the IEEE Region-6 Engineer of the Year Award in 2018, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), India, in 2017, the Best Journal Paper Award in 2020 and 2013 by the IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, the Best Paper Award for antenna design and applications at the European Antennas and Propagation conference (EuCAP) in 2017, and the IETE Prof. S. N. Mitra Memorial Award in 2014. He is the president of the IEEE MTT Society and was the Chair of the Meetings and Symposia Committee.

Email:

Address:United States

Nuno Borges Carvalho of University of Aveiro, Portugal

Integration of Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT) with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks is a way to enhance the energy sustainability of Internet of Things (IoT) systems. This presentation explores the potential of SWIPT-enabled IoT systems that leverage LEO satellite connectivity to extend operational lifetimes and improve network resilience in remote and energy-constrained environments. The proposed integration framework aims to enable ubiquitous, energy-efficient IoT deployments with global coverage, supporting applications in smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and remote sensing.

Biography:

Nuno Borges Carvalho (IEEE Fellow) is a Full Professor and Senior Research Scientist at the Institute of Telecommunications, University of Aveiro, Portugal, where he also serves as Director of the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics. He received his Diploma and Ph.D. in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Aveiro in 1995 and 2000, respectively. He has coauthored several influential books, including Intermodulation in Microwave and Wireless Circuits (2003), Microwave and Wireless Measurement Techniques (2013), White Space Communication Technologies (2014), and Wireless Power Transmission for Sustainable Electronics (2020). He has published over 400 papers and holds six patents. Prof. Carvalho is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Cambridge Wireless Power Transfer Journal and Associate Editor of the IEEE Microwave Magazine. He has also served as an editor for several other prestigious journals. He has published over 400 papers and holds six patents.

His research interests include software-defined radio front-ends, backscatter communications, wireless power transmission, nonlinear distortion analysis, and microwave measurements. He has contributed significantly to the development of radios and systems for emerging wireless technologies. He serves on multiple IEEE and URSI technical committees, including IEEE MTT ADCOM, TC-20, TC-11, TC-25, TC-26, and is Chair of URSI Commission A (Metrology Group). He has also been a Distinguished Lecturer for both the IEEE MTT-S and the IEEE RFID Council. As of 2023, he became the President of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S).

Email:

Address:Egypt

Maurizio Bozzi of University of Pavia, Italy

The emerging applications of RF and microwave technology, in conjunction with the Internet of Things (IoT), the new generation of mobile communication (5G and 6G), and the driving of autonomous vehicles and drones, pose new challenges and requirements to the development of modern systems for microwave communication and sensing, including higher operation frequency, complete system integration, fast and simple design, and low-cost manufacturing technology. This talk will present a variety of examples of components, antennas, and systems, ranging from miniaturized SIW components to 3D printed structures and wearable devices and antennas. In all cases, design, manufacturing, and experimental results will be shown and discussed.

Biography:

Maurizio Bozzi (IEEE Fellow) is a Full Professor of Electromagnetic Fields at the University of Pavia, Italy, where he received his Ph.D. in Electronics and Computer Science in 2000. He has held research and visiting positions at leading institutions worldwide, including Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany), Universitat de Valencia (Spain), École Polytechnique de Montréal (Canada), Tianjin University (China), and Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland). His research focuses on computational electromagnetics, substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology, and the use of novel materials and fabrication techniques—including paper, textile, and 3D printing—for microwave and millimeter-wave circuits. Prof. Bozzi has authored or co-authored over 160 journal papers and 350 conference papers. He co-authored Microstrip Lines and Slotlines (Artech House, 2013) and co-edited Periodic Structures (2006).

He has served in numerous leadership roles within the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), including IEEE MTT-S President in 2024. He is currently a Track Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and has previously served as Associate Editor for several journals including IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters and IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation. Prof. Bozzi was the General Chair of major IEEE conferences, such as IMWS-AMP 2017, NEMO 2014, and IMWS on Millimeter Wave Integration Technologies 2011. He has received several prestigious awards, including: 2015 & 2014 Premium Awards for Best Papers in IET journals, Best Paper and Student Paper Awards at major IEEE and URSI conferences, and MECSA Prize (2000) at the Italian Conference on Electromagnetics.

Email:

Address:Italy

Salah Obayya of Center for Photonics and Smart Materials (CPSM), Egypt.

The emerging trends of advanced computational electromagnetic techniques will be surveyed for both microwaves and photonic applications such as green nanophotonics, particularly computational modeling of nano-photonic devices for low-carbon technologies

Biography:

Salah S. A. Obayya is a Chair Professor and the Founding Director of the Center for Photonics and Smart Materials at Zewail City of Science and Technology, Egypt. He previously held tenured academic positions at Brunel University, University of Leeds, and University of South Wales in the UK, where he founded the Photonics and Broadband Communications Research Center. His research focuses on green nanophotonics, particularly computational modeling of nano-photonic devices for low-carbon technologies. Prof. Obayya has authored over 245 journal papers, 250+ conference papers, and three books widely adopted by institutions such as MIT and Purdue. He has supervised 35 Ph.D. students and developed world-leading numerical simulation tools for nanophotonic design. His work has garnered over 3350 citations, with an h-index of 31.

He serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Photonics Technology Letters and Optical and Quantum Electronics, and is a reviewer and panelist for numerous journals and funding agencies, including EPSRC, Royal Society, and ICTP.  Prof. Obayya is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the Institute of Physics (IoP), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Higher Education Academy (UK). His honors include the Egyptian State Appreciation Award (2019), the Order of Science and Arts (First Class), UNESCO Chair in Photonics (2019), UAE President Khalifa Award, and a D.Sc. in Photonics from City University of London.

Email:

Address:Egypt

Samir EL-Ghazaly of University of Arkansas, USA

Nitrides, particularly GaN and AlGaN, are crucial materials in microwave and millimeter-wave electronics, offering significant potential for current and future high-power devices. This talk reviews recent advancements in high-power RF transistors based on GaN/AlGaN. It will discuss the fundamental material and device requirements for high RF power generation, including wide bandgap semiconductors (for high breakdown voltage), high current density (for increased output power), and high thermal conductivity (for efficient heat dissipation); properties for which GaN/AlGaN are well-suited. Recent technological developments in heterostructure designs, gate engineering, and thermal management strategies will be presented. Furthermore, the talk will address electromagnetic-wave effects on device performance, focusing on the influence of electrode layout, specifically finger width and multi-finger configurations, on high-frequency phenomena such as wave propagation and phase velocity mismatch. As finger width increases, the dimensions become electrically larger, impacting transistor behavior at millimeter-wave frequencies.

Biography:

Samir M. El-Ghazaly (Life Fellow, IEEE) is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Arkansas. He previously served as Department Head at both the University of Arkansas and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Earlier in his career, he was a faculty member at Arizona State University, rising from Assistant to Full Professor. Prof. El-Ghazaly held two leadership roles at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), including Director of the Division of Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (2013–2016), and Program Director for Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetic Devices (2009–2012). His research spans microwave and millimeter-wave semiconductor devices and circuits, electromagnetics, antennas, and numerical techniques for high-frequency circuit design.

He has conducted research at institutions including Cairo University, Université de Lille I, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ETH Zurich, and CST-Motorola. He has also played significant leadership roles within IEEE, serving as President of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) in 2010 and IEEE Vice President in 2018 and 2019. He has chaired several key IEEE and URSI committees and was General Chair of the 2001 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium.  In recognition of his educational contributions, he received the IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Educator Award in 2015.

Email:

Address:United States