Shri L C Mangal of DRDO

Biography:

Shri L. C. Mangal is Distinguished Scientist and Director General (TM), DRDO. An IIT Kanpur alumnus with over 35 years of experience, he has led the design of strategic communication systems for the armed forces. His contributions include indigenous development of satellite communication systems, combat net radios, and software-defined radios. He has played a pivotal role in the integration of advanced ECCM systems, crypto-controlled frequency hopping, and ad hoc networking protocols. Shri Mangal is also spearheading national efforts toward the standardization of SDR software, ensuring interoperability across defense platforms and contributing to the long-term vision of secure tactical communications. Honored with awards like the Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance  and DRDO Award for Performance Excellence, his work embodies IEEE’s vision of leveraging technology for national security and transformation.

Address:Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DRDO Bhawan, Rajaji Marg, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, India, 110011

Prof. A R Harish of IIT KANPUR

Biography:

Prof. A. R. Harish is a faculty of Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, who has also served as the Dean of Research & Development and is a leading expert in microwave engineering and applied electromagnetics. His research encompasses antennas, RFID, phased arrays, and EMI/EMC applications. He has contributed extensively to microwave technologies for defence applications and has authored numerous high-impact publications.

Email:

Address:ACES Building, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, KANPUR, Uttar Pradesh, India, 208016

Prof. J Ramkumar of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Biography:

Prof. Ramkumar, Dean of Infrastructure & Planning at IIT Kanpur, has over 20 years of experience in research, academia, and industry. He has significantly contributed to micro/nano machining technologies used in defense systems, UAVs, and missile components like the Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM). He has established assistive technologies in locomotive (and visual) disability to overcome architectural barriers and tools for the Agritech. He founded labs like Imagineering, MedTech, and RuTAG at IIT Kanpur, and has mentored 15+ startups. He contributed to innovation of SWASA masks and Sanjeevani (Oxygen Concentrator). With eight MOOCs and 100+ workshops in Design Thinking, his pioneering work makes him a prominent figure in Indian Manufacturing Engineering.

Email:

Address:Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 208016

Prof. Kumar Vaibhav Srivastava of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Biography:

Dr. Kumar Vaibhav Srivastava, Dean of Administration, IIT Kanpur, Sanjay & Rachna Pradhan Chair Professor at IIT Kanpur, has authored more than 340 journal and conference papers. His works have received more than 6400 citations. He is also involved with several research projects with Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), General Electric (GE) etc. He is recipient Motohisa Kanda Award 2022, Excellence in Teaching Award 2020 , Dr. Shukla Faculty Research Fellowship in 2017, Institution of Engineer INDIA Young Engineer Award for year 2014-15, Class of 1979 Research Fellowship in 2013. A Senior IEEE member, he has served as Executive Committee Member of IEEE India Council and Chairman of IEEE UP Section, and founded its AP Society Chapter.

Email:

Address:ACES Building, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 208016

Prof. Raghvendra Kumar Chaudhary of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Biography:

Dr. Raghvendra Kumar Chaudhary is an Associate Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, India. He has published over 270 papers along with a reference book published by Artech House, London, UK. He is recipient of the Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award (2021) of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), the Young Engineers Award (2020) of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Young Scientist Award (2020) of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), Young Engineers Award (2019) of the Institution of Engineers, India (IEI). Dr. Chaudhary is serving as the Associate Editor of three journals namely IET Microwave Antennas & Propagation, IEEE Access, and Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, Wiley. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, Senior Member of URSI, INAE Young Associate, and life member of InRaSS.

Email:

Address:ACES BUILDING, DEPT. OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, , KANPUR, India, 208016

Dr. Amit Singh of Indian Institute of Technology Patna

Biography:

Dr. Amit Kumar Singh is Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India. He was Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, India from March 2020 to February 2022. From November 2018 to February 2020, he was a Post-doctoral Researcher with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea. Dr. Singh is a recipient of Young Scientist Award-2021 for Excellence in Research by the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) USA in July 2021. 

Email:

Address:Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Patna, Patna, India, 801106

Mr. Ashutosh Kedar of LRDE, DRDO

Biography:

Mr. Ashutosh Kedar is with the ‘Directorate of Radar Antennas and Microwaves’ of LRDE and leading a project on Advanced RF and Microwave Technologies related to radar applications. Over the years in DRDO, he has contributed  in design, development and realization of first active phased array radar (APAR) in the country. He has been awarded ‘Hari Ramji Toshniwal’ Award-2023 from IETE India, Best paper awards in ICMARS-2100, ATMS 2018, WAMS 2020 and Viterbi/CMI Vitesse Award in WAMS 2023, ‘IETE CDIL 2024’ Award; “Technology group award’ for realization of first APAR in 2011, and first four-walled search on move APAR in 2018. He has around 110 technical publications and a book on ‘Sparse Phased Array Antennas: Theory and Applications’ from Artech House, USA. He has also contributed a chapter on Phased Array Antennas in Handbook of Microwave and Meterology, Springer Nature. He has an Indian patent on ‘Radiating element for phased arrays’. At present he is serving as an Editor of IETE Journal of Research and is on the board of reviewers of IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Open Journal of Propagation and IEEE ACCESS. He is the Chair of the IEEE AP/MTT Jt. Chapter, Bangalore, Secretary IEEE AESS Chapter, Bangalore and Execom Member IEEE Bangalore Section, TPC chair for IEEE SPACE 2025 and Track and Industry Engagement Chair for MAPCON-2025. 

Address:LRDER, DRDO, Banglore, India, 560093

Dr. Kushmanda Saurav of Indian Institute of Technology Jammu

Biography:

Dr. Kushmanda Saurav (Senior Member, IEEE) is currently working as an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, India. His research interests include microwave and millimetre wave antennas and frequency selective surfaces. He has published around 100 research papers in esteemed journals/conferences and authored three book chapters. He has served as reviewers in IEEE, IET and Wiley Journals and Conferences. He is actively involved in the professional activities of the IEEE. He has the experience of supervising M.Tech. and PhD students and undertaking sponsored research projects.

Email:

Address:Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Jammu, Jammu, India, 181221

Prof. M. Jaleel Akhtar of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Biography:

M. Jaleel Akhtar is Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the IIT Kanpur, India. He is a Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of IETE (India). He is an elected Administrative Committee (AdCom) member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S), and 2025 MTT-S Education Committee Chair. He has more than 400 publications and two books, four book chapters, and holds three patents on planar RF sensors. He has been the lead investigator of more than 15 projects in various domains of RF and microwave technology. He is a recipient of the Excellence-in-Teaching Award (ETA) 2021 from IIT Kanpur. He served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Sensors Journal during 2020-2023 and is currently an Editor of the IETE Technical Review, IETE Journal of Research and SADHANA - Academy Proceedings in Engineering Journal.

Email:

Address:Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India, 208016

Ms. Indira Srivastava of BEL Ghaziabad

Biography:

Ms Indira Srivastava received her Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from NIT Hamirpur in 2011. In 2011 she joined Bharat Electronics Limited in the Development & Engineering (D&E) Department of Antenna SBU in Ghaziabad. She has a wide experience of 14 years in the design, realization, qualification & final deployment of various Antennas & RF Modules for passive & active radars for defence application. Currently, she is working as project manager of Active Arrays for radar & SATCOM application, Ka Band Antenna for tracking & Communication Antenna for Military Application in which she is responsible for the realization, testing & deployment of antenna system in field.

Address:Site IV, Sahibabad Industrial Area, Bharat Nagar Post, , Ghaziabad, India, 201 010

Prof. Saptarshi Ghosh of Indian Institute of Technology Indore

Biography:

Dr. Saptarshi Ghosh is Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Dr. Ghosh and his research groups are recipients of several awards and accolades, including YFR Fellowship, INAE Awards, IEEE AP-S Fellowships, Young Scientist Awards, Best Paper Awards, International Travel Grants, Outstanding Reviewer Awards, etc. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor in IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters since January 2021. His research interests include frequency-selective surfaces, microwave absorbers, electromagnetic metamaterials, and other periodic structures.

Email:

Address:Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Indore, Indore, India, 453552

Mr. Pramendra Kumar Verma of Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL), DRDO Dehradun

Biography:

Pramendra Kumar Verma is a Scientist-‘F’ at the Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL), DRDO, Dehradun. He holds a B.Tech. in Electronics Engineering from Purvanchal University (2001) and an M.E. in Microwave Engineering from Government Engineering College, Jabalpur (2005) and joined the DRDO in 2007 . With extensive expertise in antenna technologies, his work encompasses the design and development of antenna systems for military communication across a wide frequency range, from very low to millimeter-wave bands. His key contributions include conformal phased array antennas for SATCOM-on-the-move, PQHA for satellite phones, slotted array antennas for Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), millimeter-wave omni-directional antennas, low radar cross-section (RCS) antennas, W-band reflector systems for active denial applications, and multimode Ku-band tropo antennas.  He currently serves as Deputy Project Director for the AESA-CS project and as Project Manager for the VLF loop antenna for submarine and the integrated antenna test range facility. In recognition of his contributions, he has received several prestigious awards, including the Technology Day Award (2013), Laboratory Scientist of the Year (2015), and DRDO Group Technology Awards (2019 and 2020). He is a Life Fellow of the IETE and the Antenna Test & Measurement Society and currently serves as the Honourable Secretary of the IETE Dehradun Centre. Mr. Verma has published more than 35 papers in reputed journals and IEEE conferences, and he actively serves as a reviewer for several international peer-reviewed journals, including the International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies (USA), Microwave and Optical Technology Letters (UK), Antenna and Propagation (Egypt), Progress in Electromagnetics Research (USA).

Address:Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL), DRDO, Dehradun, , Dehradun, India, 248001

Dr. Nagaditya Poluri of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Biography:

Dr. Nagaditya Poluri is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering department at IIT Kanpur. He completed his PhD at the University of Sheffield, where he worked on Second Harmonic Manipulated high-efficiency power amplifier modes, known as continuum modes. During his PhD, he fabricated a 2.6 GHz Class B/J/J* amplifier prototype that demonstrated the highest output power and efficiency at P1dB among narrowband linear amplifiers. He also proposed a new class of amplifiers called Class BJF-1, which offers a higher power factor and efficiency compared to the conventional Class B. Additionally, he developed a novel design methodology capable of predicting input and output matching networks, resulting in a 25 W amplifier that delivered superior efficiency and fractional bandwidth. After his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield on the design of 29 GHz monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) for 5G applications.

Email:

Address:Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India, 208016