The Centre for Wireless Innovation celebrates 60 years of Microwave Engineering at QUB
The Centre for Wireless Innovation (CWI) at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) hosted a workshop on "Research Advances in Radio Frequency Through Millimetre Wave Radio Communications Technologies" to celebrate 60 years of Microwave Engineering at QUB.
The event, which was hosted at the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT), brought together leading international researchers to share the most recent advances in hardware, system and signal processing technologies that will advance radio communications to its next evolution.
Faculty PVC, Professor Mark Price, opened the event at ECIT and welcomed guests from around the UK and Ireland, which included invited speakers from the University of Sheffield, Trinity College Dublin, University of Bristol, University of Surrey, Heriot-Watt University, University of Edinburgh, University College London and Queen’s University Belfast.
Professor Vince Fusco, Chief Technology Officer at ECIT, explained the history of Microwave Engineering at QUB:
“The original microwave group was set up by Prof Peter Clarricoates.
One of his first PhD students, Carson Stewart FIEEE, went on to lead the group through the 1970s until the mid-1980s when I had the privilege to take over as head of the group.
Carson established a solid foundation on which the group would flourish. In addition, he ensured that the QUB Microwave group interacted strongly with the University of Leeds’ Microwave Group through Prof Mike Howes, who then led the activity there.
This work necessitated advanced measurement and circuit CAD with which we interacted often with Hewlett Packard, subsequently Agilent and Keysight Technologies on ways to improve microwave measurement automation.
A relationship which continues to this day with Keysight and our Nonlinear mm-wave lab.”
The next generation of wireless systems will act as a platform enabling growth in areas such as smart cities and independent living. It is expected that systems will evolve to give ubiquitous connections at multi-Gbps data transmission rates. There are many challenges involved in the delivery of such systems spanning spectrum regulation through system architecture to network management. The researchers at CWI are working to continuously provide innovative solutions to these challenges at and beyond 5G.
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Media enquiries to Helen McCrory: H.McCrory@qub.ac.uk