Atif Shamim

Professor Shamim is an accomplished electrical engineer specializing in wireless communication and sensing components and systems. His work aims to improve the performance of wireless communication and sensing systems through low-cost additive manufacturing techniques.

Biography

Atif Shamim received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Carleton University, Canada, in 2004 and 2009, respectively. He was an NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Graduate Scholar at Carleton University from 2007 to 2009 and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow from 2009 to 2010 at the Royal Military College Canada and KAUST.

In 2006, he joined the VTT Micro-Modules Research Center (Oulu, Finland) as an invited researcher. In August 2010, he joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Program at KAUST, where he is currently a full professor, chair of the ECE Program, and principal investigator of the IMPACTS Lab.

His research work has earned numerous awards, including Best Paper Awards at IEEE ICMAC 2021, IEEE IMS 2016, IEEE MECAP 2016, and IEEE EuWiT 2008. He also received first prize in the IEEE IMS 2019 3MT Competition, the IEEE AP-S Design Competition 2022, and second prize in the IEEE IMS Design Competition 2024. Additionally, he was recognized with finalist or honorable mention awards in several prestigious competitions, including the IEEE AP-S Design Competition 2020 and the R.W.P. King Prize for journal papers in IEEE TAP 2017 and 2020. He has been selected as a Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE AP-S (2022–2024).

In addition to his research accolades, Professor Shamim’s work has been recognized for its broader impact across innovation, industry and entrepreneurship. He received the King’s Prize for the Best Innovation of the Year (2018) for his work on sensors for the oil industry. In 2008, he was honored with the Ottawa Centre of Research Innovation (OCRI) Researcher of the Year Award in Canada. His innovative Wireless Dosimeter earned the ITAC SMC Award at the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation TEXPO in 2007. He has also won several business-related honors, including first prize in Canada’s National Business Plan Competition and the OCRI Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010.

Professor Shamim has been actively involved in contributing to the IEEE community through various technical, editorial, and leadership roles. He is a Fellow of IEEE and founded the first IEEE AP/MTT chapter in Saudi Arabia (2013). He served on the editorial board of IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (2013–2019), as a Guest Editor for an IEEE AWPL Special Issue (2019), and as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (2020–2024). He has also participated in several IEEE Technical Committees, including those on Antenna Measurements (AP-S), Microwave Controls (MTT-S 13), and Additive Manufacturing (CRFID). 

He currently chairs the IEEE AP-S Technical Committee on Wireless Communication and serves as Vice Chair of the IEEE AP-S MGA Committee.

Research Interests

Professor Shamim's research focuses on innovative antenna designs and their integration strategies with circuits and sensors for flexible and wearable wireless sensing systems through a combination of CMOS and additive manufacturing technologies. Shamim is particularly interested in developing wearable wireless sensor systems to measure physiological parameters in real time.

Specific research interests include:

  • Antenna-on-Chip (AoC) design, integration and efficiency enhancement strategies
  • Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS)
    Additive manufacturing (Inkjet, Screen, and 3D printing)
  • Wearable and disposable wireless sensors realized through printing technologies
  • Mechanically flexible RF electronics and sensing systems
  • Reconfigurable microwave components (magnetically controlled)
  • Phase Change Materials (PCM) for low cost RF and mm-Wave switching applications
  • Terahertz plasmonics antennas and their characterization techniques
     

Professional Profile

Awards and Distinctions

  • Interviews on CBC TV “News at Six”, CTV Show “Tech Now”, CBC Radio Show “All in a Day”, 2024
  • Interviews in newspapers and magazines “USA Today”, “Ottawa Citizen”, “Ottawa Sun”, “Muslim Link”, “Research Works”, “Carleton Now”, “Charlatan”, 2024
  • Biography listed in "Who is Who in the World" Edition 2012, 2012
  • Named in Carleton University Great Grads Honors list, 22 Scientists since 1942, 2009
  • NSERC PDF Scholarship for excellence in PhD research, Canada, 2009
  • NSERC PDF Scholarship for excellence in PhD research, Canada, 2010
  • Overall Best Paper Prize in European Microwave Week Conference, Netherlands, 2008
  • Ottawa Centre of Research Innovation (OCRI) Researcher of the Year Award, Canada, 2008
  • Commendation Letter from Minister of Research & Innovation, Canada, 2008
  • Strategic Microelectronics Council Industrial Collaboration Award at CMC TEXPO, Canada, 2007
  • Invited Researcher at Micro Modules Group, VTT Electronics, Finland, 2006
  • Best Student Paper Finalist Prize at IEEE APS conference, USA, 2005
  • Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) NSERC for excellence in research, 2007 - 2010
  • Elevated to IEEE Fellow Grade, IEEE, 2024
  • Selected as IEEE Distinguished Lecturer (DL) for IEEE AP Society, IEEE AP Society, 2022 - 2024
  • Awarded King’s Prize for Best Innovation of the Year, King’s Prize, 2018
  • Received Best Paper Award, IEEE ICMAC, 2021
  • Received Best Paper Award, IEEE IMS, 2016
  • Received Best Paper Award, IEEE MECAP, 2016
  • Received Best Paper Award, IEEE EuWiT, 2008
  • First Prize in Student Design Contest, IEEE APS, 2022
  • Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition Winner, IEEE IMS, 2019
  • Finalist/Honorable Mention Prize, IEEE APS, 2023
  • Finalist/Honorable Mention Prize, IEEE APS, 2005
  • Finalist/Honorable Mention Prize, IEEE IMS, 2014
  • Finalist/Honorable Mention Prize, IEEE IMS, 2017
  • Finalist/Honorable Mention Prize, IEEE APS, 2020
  • R. W. P. King Prize for Journal Papers, IEEE TAP, 2017
  • R. W. P. King Prize for Journal Papers, IEEE TAP, 2020
  • Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (TAP), IEEE, 2013 - 2019
  • Guest Editor for IEEE AWPL Special Cluster, IEEE AWPL, 2019
  • Guest Editor for Focus Collection in IoP Flexible and Printed Electronics, IoP Flexible and Printed Electronics, 2022
  • Guest Editor for Special Issue in Frontiers of Communication, Frontiers of Communication, 2021
  • Associate Editor for IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (J-ERM), IEEE J-ERM, 2024
  • Associate Editor for Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) Journal, ACES Journal, 2024
  • Associate Editor for Frontiers in Communications and Networks, Frontiers in Communications and Networks, 2024
  • OCRI Researcher of the Year Award, Ottawa Centre of Research Innovation (OCRI), 2008
  • OCRI Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Ottawa Centre of Research Innovation (OCRI), 2010
  • Best Project Through Industrial Collaboration, Canadian Microelectronics Corporation (CMC), 2007
  • Commendation Letter from Minister of Research & Innovation, 2008
  • Winner of Canada-wide Business Plan Competition, Canada-wide Business Plan Competition, 2009
  • Innovation Challenge Award, National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), 2010

Professional Memberships

  • Fellow, IEEE, 2024
  • Founder, IEEE AP/MTT Chapter in Saudi Arabia, 2024
  • Vice Chair, IEEE APS MGA Committee, 2024
  • Member, IEEE Technical Committee on Antenna Measurements (AP-S), 2024
  • Member, IEEE Technical Committee on Microwave Controls (MTT-S 13), 2024
  • Member, IEEE Technical Committee on Additive Manufacturing (CRFID), 2024

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Electrical Engineering, Carleton University, Canada, 2009
Master of Science (M.S.)
Electrical Engineering, Carleton University, Canada, 2004

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