KAUST ECE students selected among top 10 finalists in the 2023 IEEE AP-S Student Paper Competition

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By David Murphy

KAUST Ph.D. students Sebastian Celis Sierra and Zere Iman were selected among the top 10 finalists in the recent 2023 IEEE AP-S Student Paper Competition. The paper competition was held as part of the 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting (IEEE AP-S/URSI) held from July 23 to 28 in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The annually held IEEE AP-S/URSI provides an international forum for exchanging information on antennas, propagation, electromagnetic engineering and radio science.

Celis Sierra, who is working towards his PhD in the KAUST Computational Electromagnetics Group under the supervision of Professor Hakan Bagci, secured third place in the Student Paper Competition. His paper—titled "An SIE-GSTC Solver for Simulation of Monoanisotropic Metasurfaces"—is a joint work of Celis Sierra and his colleagues Ran Zhao, Rui Chen and Professor Bagci.   

As two-dimensional metamaterials, metasurfaces have the potential to revolutionize a wide range of fields in engineering and physics. Their simulation, however, poses a significant challenge, as it requires substantial computing power.

To address this issue, Celis Sierra and his colleagues are currently developing an advanced solver based on integral equations with generalized sheet transitions. “This innovative approach aims to enable more efficient and streamlined simulations of metasurfaces, significantly reducing the computational burden associated with these simulations,” he explained.

“I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to participate in this contest, especially as the sole finalist focusing on computational electromagnetics,” Celis Sierra said of his AP-S Student Paper Competition finish. “I take great joy in showcasing to everyone the immense potential of developing new solvers and highlighting the abundant opportunities that lie ahead in this dynamic field.”

Iman, meanwhile, secured a top-ten finish with her entry "Method for Tackling the Variations in the Material Properties of 3D Printed Substrates for Microstrip Antennas." Her paper is a joint work with Zubair Akhter and Professor Atif Shamim. Iman is a member of the KAUST Integrated Microwaves Packaging Antennas and Circuits Technology Research Group (IMPACT) Lab.

Working under the supervision of Professor Shamim, Iman’s research focuses on millimeter-wave antennas, on-chip antennas, electromagnetism and 3-D printing.

“The 2023 IEEE AP-S Student Paper Competition provided a unique experience for my personal growth and learning,” she emphasized. “It was an honor to have been selected to compete alongside some of the brightest minds in my field. All of this was possible thanks to the unwavering support I received from my professor and postdoc.”