Dine & Learn at CU Boulder on Antenna Design

#simulation #Dine #IEEE #physical-design #antenna #compliance #dielectrics #electromagnetic #fcc #design
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Join the IEEE Denver Section along with the ComSoc/VT and AP/MTT Societies, and CU Boulder Student Branch for our first Dine & Learn of 2026!

The event will take place on March 3rd at CU Boulder’s Center for Community (C4C) Dining Center - Treehouse Room. 

We are pleased to welcome Mark Zakhem of Inovonics, who will present on antenna design enabled by simulation.

The evening will begin at 6:00 PM with networking and dinner, followed by the presentation starting at 6:30 PM.

Registration Details:

  • Meal cards will be provided at the C4C Dinning Hall entrance.

  • Students/Faculty/Post-Docs: Free registration

  • Other Members: $10 (includes dinner and parking)
  • Parking instructions will be shared with event registrants.

We look forward to seeing you there for an engaging technical discussion and great networking opportunities!


  Date and Time

  Location

  Hosts

  Registration


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  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • 249 Willard Loop Dr.
  • Boulder, Colorado
  • United States 80305
  • Building: CU Boulder Center for Community (C4C) Dining
  • Room Number: The Treehouse Room
  • Click here for Map
  • Contact Event Hosts
  • Starts 20 February 2026 06:30 PM UTC
  • Ends 03 March 2026 07:00 AM UTC
  • Admission fee ?

  Speakers

Mark Zakhem of Inovonics

Topic:

Antenna Design Enabled by Simulation

EMAG Design Optimization with CST STUDIO: Antenna Integration and Regulatory Analysis
Designing antenna systems on a single PCB presents significant challenges in balancing electromagnetic performance, physical design constraints, and regulatory compliance. This presentation addresses critical design considerations including dielectric detuning effects from nearby materials and enclosures, optimal antenna placement to minimize interference, and structure optimization for improved radiation efficiency. By embedding electromagnetic simulation directly into the design phase, engineers can rapidly evaluate how surrounding dielectrics shift antenna resonance, how antenna proximity drives coupling losses, and whether radiated emissions meet FCC compliance thresholds—all before committing to hardware. The approach reduces design iterations and downstream development costs by surfacing performance trade-offs and regulatory risks early in the design process. 
 
Company: Inovonics
 

Biography:

Mark Zakhem is a Staff Hardware Design and Regulatory Engineer at Inovonics. Mark received his undergraduate degree from CU Boulder in Electrical Engineering and my master’s degree from CU Boulder with a focus on RF and high-speed design. He has been with Inovonics for over 2 years and his focus of work has been designing custom-printed antennas for new products. Over the past few years, he used CST Studio to design our most complicated and unique antennas to date. He presented at CATI (CATI TRAINING SYSTEMS)for their webinar and at the SIMULIA Americas Users Conference, where he highlighted all the unique solutions and methods used through CST to achieve these complex and unique antenna design solutions. Mark showcased the capabilities of building unique environments for the antennas, optimizing through parameters, using the 2D/3D results (Electric & Magnetic Fields) and Far Field results for further validation, and an overview of the CST software concerning antenna simulation.

Address:United States




Agenda

6:00 PM: Dinner & Networking
6:30 PM: Presentation
7:15 PM: Q&A