An Insider's Look At The IMS2012 Technical Program
By Paul Kruczkowski, Editor
Last week, I gave you two reasons why I think IMS2012 will be unforgettable. This week, we continue our preview of IMS2012 by looking at the technical program. To get some insight on what we can expect from this year’s program, I contacted Raafat Mansour, the technical chair of IMS2012. We discussed the record number of papers submitted this year, the hot technologies that will be represented in the technical program, and some new and interesting elements you should definitely check out.
Record Number Of Paper Submissions
Mansour was very excited about the fact that 1,225 technical papers were submitted for IMS2012 — an increase of 50% over last year and a new record for the symposium. Of those papers, 350 were submitted by students, also a new record. Submissions came from 49 different countries. U.S. submissions were up 20%; however, the percent increases from Canada, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East were significantly higher, further supporting my earlier claim that IMS2012 will be a more “international” symposium.
When I asked Mansour about the rise in participation, he cited two reasons. The first was the attraction of Montreal as a host city. The second (and I think more fundamental reason) was a rule change requiring symposium papers to be three pages in length, instead of four. “In previous years, the authors of four-page symposium papers that are published in the IEEE Transactions, and detail a significant portion of their research, have a difficult time expanding their work to a journal length paper, and gaining acceptance for journal publication,” Mansour explained. “Reducing the symposium paper to three pages significantly increases the chances of journal publication, which is very important to the author and encourages more participation at IMS.”
The 1,225 submissions covered 40 different technical areas. And what technical areas were the most popular? According to Mansour, the area with the most submissions was passive circuit components, with 95 papers submitted. The emerging area of millimeter-wave and terahertz technology and components claimed second place, with 74 papers submitted. Rounding out the top three, with 72 papers submitted, was power amplifier circuits, an area of continued innovation.
Highlights Of The Program
Here is a rundown of the major elements of the IMS2012 technical program, calling your attention to points of particular interest that Mansour and I discussed.
Workshops And Short Courses
Mansour believes that the workshops and short courses — the bookends of the Microwave Week technical program, occurring on Sunday, Monday, and Friday — are a good indication of the major technology trends for the year. If that is true, here are a few to keep an eye on:
- Research remains focused on wireless applications and the technology associated with it, since there are two workshops dedicated to mobile and wireless systems.
- There are several workshops on power amplifiers, including complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and gallium nitride (GaN), indicating that these remain technologies to watch.
- Two workshops (and a focus session) will concentrate on tunable filters and reconfigurable systems, which will be important to the future of broadband wireless communications due to its dependence on multiple frequency bands.
- New for IMS2012 is a workshop on wireless energy transfer and scavenging techniques. (In fact, an entirely new TPRC subcommittee was established for IMS2012 to review technical submissions on this topic.)
Mansour also pointed out that anyone who attends a workshop will be granted free access any/all workshops held that same day. So for those of you enjoy the workshops, there is opportunity to experience even more this year.
Special Talks
On Monday evening, plenary speaker Steve Mollenkopf, president and COO of Qualcomm, will officially kick off the IMS technical program with his keynote speech “3G/4G Chipsets and the Mobile Data Explosion”, in which he will provide insight into the design and deployment challenges created by the rapid growth of wireless data and complex chipsets. On Thursday afternoon, Stanford University professor Thomas H. Lee will conclude the IMS technical program with his closing talk entitled “The Fourth Age of Wireless and the Internet of Everything”, in which he will present his vision for the future of wireless technology.
In a previous conversation with Ke Wu, IMS2012’s general chair, I asked him what part of the technical program he would be sure to attend, and he said the plenary and closing talks. “I want to hear their vision for the future of wireless technology and get the perspective of experts in both industry and academia,” he said. “This information may influence what we do in our own research.”
Technical Sessions
The IMS technical program continues with the 612 papers selected by the Technical Paper Review Committee (TPRC) serving as the foundation for 83 technical sessions that present approximately 450 papers, and for two interactive sessions that present approximately 80 papers each. In addition, panel and focus sessions provide further opportunities to learn more about today’s research and technology.
Mansour told me that several famous authors will participate in a special session on Wednesday entitled A Retrospective of Field Theory in Microwave Engineering (abstract). One of them is David M. Pozar, author of Microwave Engineering, a textbook that countless electrical and microwave engineering students, including myself, have studied. “I taught that text to my students for many years,” Mansour said, “and I think many people will enjoy the opportunity to see and listen to David, someone whose book they studied.”
Among the topics that feature prominently in the technical sessions is RF micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS); sessions will look at the ruggedness and reliability of MEMS, their future in defense and aerospace, and their application in tunable filters. Millimeter-wave and terahertz technology is also well represented in the program, including a focus session on terahertz imaging. There are also several special sessions celebrating the 60th anniversary of MTT-S, and others paying tribute to the life and work of industry luminaries who recently passed away — Rüdiger Vahldieck and Roger Pollard.
Student R&D, MicroApps, And More
Engineering students, the innovators of tomorrow, will showcase their engineering prowess in the student design and student paper competitions. (Event Chair Ke Wu mentioned that he is particularly interested in the student paper competition because of the advanced research that many of the students are conducting.) If that’s not enough technology for you, plan to attend some of the 79 Microwave Application Seminars, or “MicroApps”, that will be presented by industry leaders on the exhibition floor. For more information on these and all other aspects of the technical program, download the final program book (PDF) or check out the interactive program grid on the IMS2012 website.
I am expecting a diverse and compelling technical program, one that I can’t wait to attend — and one that I hope you will be able attend, too. If you are unable to join me in Montreal, stay tuned for RF Globalnet’s ongoing editorial coverage of IMS2012. We will provide written and video reporting throughout the show, including continuous coverage on our IMS2012 Resource Center, daily recap e-newsletters, and a big-picture view of the entire Microwave Week in our post-show report e-newsletter.