1st IEEE Latin American Conference on Antennas & Propagation
December 1-4, 2024
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
- Home
- Program
- Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Yahya Rahmat-Samii
UCLA, US National Academy of Engineering Member, Northrop-Grumman Chair in Electromagnetics, IEEE Life Fellow, IEEE AP-S Past President
9:00 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
Revolutionizing CubeSat Missions: Cutting-Edge Antenna Designs from Concept to Deployment
Abstract: Novel advances in CubeSat technology for communications, remote sensing, and planetary exploration are transforming the satellite industry. Their compact size and cost-effectiveness have made missions once thought impossible with traditional satellites a reality. Among the critical design challenges, antenna systems have taken center stage, driven by the increasing demand for higher data rates and improved spatial resolution in future missions. The balance between mechanical complexity and RF performance offers exciting opportunities for antenna engineers to push the boundaries of innovative and unconventional antenna designs. While early CubeSat missions favored low-gain antennas for their mechanical simplicity, the next generation of CubeSats requires high-gain antennas that are compact for launch and reliably deployable in space.
This keynote talk aims to tackle the challenges and opportunities CubeSats present to antenna engineers, inspiring new concepts and advancements.It will showcase innovative antenna designs, including novel foldable symmetric and offset mesh deployable reflector antennas, 3D-printed lens antennas, and innovative reflectarrays/transmitarrays, all tailored for missions such as remote sensing, deep space exploration, and the Internet of Space (IoS). The discussion will cover the design principles, key features, numerical simulations, prototyping, and measurement validation of these antenna systems. As the vision of affordable space missions and global connectivity becomes a reality, the talk will also explore future prospects and the evolving role of antenna engineering in driving increasingly advanced space missions.
Reinaldo A. Valenzuela
Nokia Bell Laboratories, US National Academy of Engineering Member, IEEE Fellow, Director of the Communication Theory Department
15:30 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
Bell Labs recent mmWave measurements and models
Abstract: Next generation wireless systems are expected to expand into a wide variety of new applications and services. Some of the most promising new areas include drone management and control, aerial platforms, satellite integration, integrated sensing and communications, industrial automation, virtual reality, digital twins and many more. Furthermore, new spectrum bands will be explored in the insatiable quest for higher capacity and better performance and coverage. this talk I will review recent propagation measurements and corresponding models expected to be needed and most useful to plan and evaluate the performance of these new offerings.
Constantine Balanis
Arizona State Univ., IEEE Life Fellow, Celebrated Author of “Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design” and “Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics”
9:00 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
The Evolution of Antenna Technology: Past, Present and Future
Abstract: Antenna technology has undergone a dramatic evolution from the days of Hertz, with his spark-gap with end-loaded dipole, followed by the Yagi-Uda array, helix, log-periodic, microwave antennas such as reflectors, horn, microstrip/patch, bowtie, Vivaldi and others, to today’s multiband designs for smart phones and mobile devices. The introduction of Artificial Magnetics Conductor (AMCs) such as metasurfaces which exhibit unique and intriguing characteristics and phenomena, and their integration and interaction with the radiating elements, have begun to play a pivotal role in the advancement and optimization of modern-day antenna technology and systems. The timelines over which antenna technology leaped forward are identified, and classical antenna configurations developed during those periods are highlighted. Future trends in antenna technology, such as flexible, reconfigurable, multiband, wearable, reflectarrays, and others, are identified and suggested.
Jennifer T. Bernhard
Univ. of Illinois, Donald Biggar Willett Professor, Department Head, ECE Department , IEEE Fellow, IEEE AP-S Past President
11:30 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
Exploration of Antenna Designs with Non-Reciprocal Radiation Characteristics
Abstract: This presentation will highlight historical as well as ongoing investigations of antennas that are designed to deliver controllable and reconfigurable non-reciprocal radiation patterns — that is, antennas that simultaneously possess one pattern for reception and another pattern for transmission at the same frequency. Theoretical and design considerations as well as simulations and experimental results will be provided. Discussions of potential applications as well as implications for security will be included.
Richard W. Ziolkowski
Univ. of Arizona, Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Advanced Science and Technology, IEEE Life Fellow, IEEE AP-S Past President
15:20 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
Superdirective Antennas – Back to the Future
Abstract: this talks reviews the evolution and recent advancements in superdirective antennas, which offer highly directive radiation from electrically small apertures. Initially deemed impractical due to efficiency, sensitivity, and bandwidth challenges, superdirective systems have gained renewed interest thanks to breakthroughs, such as densely packed arrays and unidirectional mixed-multipole antennas (UMMAs). These systems balance electric and magnetic multipoles to achieve efficient superdirective performance. The work underscores that practical superdirective antennas, once thought unattainable, are now achievable, addressing the needs of modern high-directivity applications like NextG wireless systems.
Susan C. Hagness
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Nat. Academy of Inventors Fellow, Philip D. Reed Prof., ECE Dept. Chair, IEEE Fellow, URSI Isaac Koga Gold Medal
9:00 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
Leveraging Microwave Interactions with Human and Plant Tissue for Emerging Technologies in Interventional Radiology and Agricultural Crop Management
Abstract: Innovations that leverage the interactions of microwave-frequency electromagnetic waves with human and plant tissue are at the heart of emerging technologies for real-time monitoring applications in cancer treatment and short-range remote sensing applications in agriculture. In this talk, I will highlight the characteristics of microwave propagation in relevant soft tissues, along with two recent advances: microwave-induced thermoacoustics for image guided thermal ablation of tumors and backscatter-based microwave sensing of cranberry crop yield. These technologies illustrate the potential to transform interventional radiology and agricultural crop management practices of the future with electromagnetics engineering ingenuity.
John C. Mather
NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Nobel Prize in Physics Laureate, James Webb Space Telescope Lead Scientist, Time Magazine World’s 100 Most Influential People
10:30 (ROOM CARTAGENA 1)
New Technology for New Astronomy, from the Big Bang to now
Abstract: The James Webb Space Telescope uses new technologies to enable new discoveries,
ranging from the most distant (and therefore earliest) stars, galaxies, and black holes, to stars
and planets being born today, to molecules on the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. I will review
the discoveries and the technologies that make them possible, and go on to imagine the future
with even more powerful telescopes. We are developing new detectors, new cooling
techniques, new deployment and focusing techniques, and even hybrid space observatories,
combining telescopes on the ground with antennas, beacons, or starshades in space. This is a
golden age of astronomy, and the projects we can imagine today will take a century to complete.