Kanpur: The annual IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and RF Conference (IMaRC 2021) was held recently in a hybrid mode at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur from December 17-19. IMaRC is the flagship conference of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), which is held annually in India for the global academic, scientific, and industrial community working in the broad areas of RF and microwave engineering.
The major theme of IMaRC 2021 was RF technologies for Telecommunications/5G, Space and Defense applications. A total of about 300 participants from all over the world attended the event, with about 70 attendees being present at the IIT Kanpur campus. Dignitaries from across the world delivered talks on various themes related to the field, in the three-day event. The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, on December 16. Dr. Ramesh Gupta, Ligado Networks, USA, welcomed the delegates on behalf of IMaRC 2021, while Prof. Rajesh Hegde, Head, EE- Department, welcomed the delegates to the IIT Kanpur Campus.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “Research and innovation in the areas of microwaves and RF at IIT Kanpur dates back to the 70’s with some pioneering work in the area of microstrip technology being carried out in the department of electrical engineering. With that continuing legacy, IIT Kanpur is honored to host this event. I believe this conference would act as a prime platform for all the researchers globally to come together and share the latest state-of-the-art achievements, especially in the field of microwaves and RF.”
After the formal inauguration, Prof. Abhay Karandikar delivered the Plenary Talk on the topic titled “Connecting the Unconnected in 5G and Beyond”, where he spoke about the 5G mobile network outlining its significance for the underprivileged, especially the ones living in rural areas of developing countries. He spoke about the key challenges in connecting the unconnected and the need to rethink the requirements of 5G and beyond systems in rural areas. He also discussed two rural broadband standardization initiatives, namely 5Gi and Frugal 5G (IEEE P2061), and the concept of IMT-2020 LMLC (Low Mobility Large Cell) test configuration for viable rural broadband connectivity. In the concluding part, Prof.
Karandikar presented a detailed overview of the architecture of “Frugal 5G” recently proposed by his research group for providing affordable connectivity. In the inaugural session, Prof. Nagendra P. Pathak, IIT Roorkee, and Prof. Maurizio Bozzi, University of Pavia, Italy, provided a brief summary of the technical papers to be presented during the conference. Dr. Goutam Chattopadhyay from JPL-NASA, USA provided a glimpse of the prestigious IMaRC event being held in India every year to facilitate effective interaction between researchers, engineers and scientists working in the field of RF and microwave engineering. Dr. K Maheswara Reddy, Director, DLRL-DRDO, was also present on the occasion.
The three-day event featured various Plenary Talk sessions such as “This is your Brain on 5G” by Dr. Peter H. Siegel, Principal Staff/Senior Research Scientist Emeritus, NASA Je Propulsion Laboratory; “Futuristic Evolution of Space Technology: Prospects and Possibilities” by Dr. Radhakrishnan K. Koppillil, Ex-Chairman, ISRO, to name a few. It also had a “Women in Microwaves” session where talks such as “Introduction to Women in Engineering/Women in Microwaves” by Sherry Hess, MTT-S WiM Chair; “Contribution of Women for Microwave Remote Sensing Payloads” by Dr. Jolly Dhar, Head, Microwave Sensors Receiver Division, Space Applications Centre, ISRO, were featured, among others.
