Prof. Ke Wu
Polytechnique Montréal (University of Montréal)
Québec, Canada
As the 2016 president of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), and on behalf of the MTT-S Administrative Committee (AdCom), I warmly welcome you to the MTT-S web site. Our site has become the preeminent global resource for radio frequency (RF) and wireless researchers and practitioners in the field of MHz-through-THz (MTT). Here you will find a wealth of information about MTT-S and the countless opportunities it offers. I invite you to explore our abundant services, networking opportunities and awards.
Spanning over sixty-four years, our Society has a long and rich history of scientific breakthroughs, technical innovations, engineering excellence, and professional development. Well-organized operations and fruitful strategic development, accompanied by a strong volunteer base, have led the MTT-S to reach the apex of our field. As you browse this website and its extensive contents and links, you will discover why our Society has had so much success since its founding. You will understand why I am indeed so proud of being a member and volunteer.
MTT-S is the world’s largest, most vibrant professional and international organization in the field of RF, microwave, millimeter-wave and terahertz sciences and engineering, with a growing presence outside of the United States. For me, MTT-S also means “Megahertz through Terahertz Success.” As one of IEEE’s premier and oldest Societies, the MTT-S enjoys unique status in the hardware-oriented professional community that extends over the entire 10 regions of the IEEE. With more than 11,000 members, 152 joint or professional chapters, and 40 student branch chapters, MTT-S activities can be found globally. Thanks to our member researchers, engineers and companies the MTT-S professional footprint can be found in almost everyone’s life, from smart phones to global positioning systems (GPS) and much more.
Under the outstanding leadership of Tim Lee, our 2015 president, the MTT-S has significantly grown in reach and achievement. In addition to a pair of new IEEE TAB-approved journals jointly developed with other societies, several new initiatives, including the Internet of Space (IoT) and Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT), have been started.
We have much to do in 2016 to ensure the continuing development of our society along the same upward trajectory. As a result of AdCom’s multi-year strategic plan, the Society has a vision and blueprint for becoming the organization of choice for RF and microwave professionals worldwide. This includes improving and expanding our technical publications, membership services, opportunities for professional development, continuing education, professional recognitions and awards, and social networking. Our ultimate goal is to advance RF and microwave technology for humanity and contribute to the wellbeing of society.
However, we live in a fast-paced world. Our technological development and growth is increasingly linked to our ability to engage with multidisciplinary peers from all over the world who are focused on emerging technologies. We also find ourselves in direct competition with other professional societies and entities, both within and outside of IEEE, which are growing increasingly adept at taking advantage of multidisciplinary activities. We also face challenges in our membership development, continued education and societal outreach. Because I believe this can be resolved by fostering an engaging and meaningful relationship between MTT-S and its members, I’d like to candidly ask: what can MTT-S members do for the Society and, in turn, what can the Society do for its members? In fact, these challenges are also our opportunities!
Specifically, I plan to leverage our shared vision and enthusiasm to achieve a number of key objectives in 2016, such as:
- We will continue our transnational efforts, including early-stage programs in China and India such as the IWS and IMaRC conferences; set up an outreach initiative for Latin-America, Africa and Eastern Europe; and develop a revival plan for MTT-S activities in less-active regions of highly-concentrated RF and microwave industries in the US and Europe. This will require recruiting new volunteers in those regions and offering meaningful membership services such as summer and winter schools. Peer-to-peer and peer-to-MTT-S communications and networking will be enhanced through our newsletters and publications.
- We will develop “academic” and continued MTT-S education programs that appeal to researchers and practitioners in any field that uses microwave techniques in their work. In addition to our summer and winter schools, we will develop the first IEEE “short book” series for publishing our long-awaited tutorial articles in collaboration with the IEEE Press and Wiley Publishing. This series will be a collection of our Society’s collective knowledge for anyone who is interested in learning about RF and microwaves. It will also be a tool for reaching our pedagogical and membership drive goals.
- We will formulate a strategy for soliciting application-oriented and fundamental theory-oriented papers to serve both industrial and academic communities in a balanced way. This will allow for both healthy short-term and long-term development of MTT-S. We will actively invite practitioners to contribute to our publications such as Microwave Magazine, which was expanded to 12 annual issue in 2015. We will consider the re-use of some published materials such as IMS workshop presentations for our members’ benefit. Furthermore, we will examine the possibility of creating a new journal focusing on Microwave and Wireless Systems and Applications.
- As a major force in the IEEE field of interests (FOI), MTT-S must further develop cross-society activities such as joint special issues and co-sponsored conferences/meetings in collaboration with other IEEE technical societies and non-IEEE entities. This will make our society more dynamic, open and vital, and better adapted to a technical world increasingly focused on emerging technologies. To our mutual benefit, frequent joint MTT-S meetings and forums with other sister societies will become routine in the future.
- We will continue to give our Society and profession a higher profile through present and future MTT-S initiatives such as our engagement with the popular web site Microwaves101.com. The web sites of our 27 technical committees (TC) under the leadership of the technical coordination committee (TCC) will be completely up-and-running, which offer many technical services to the community. We will add a tag line such as “Enabling Wireless and Radio Frequency” next to our MTT-S logo so that the general public can better see and appreciate what we do in our profession.
Our 2015 fall election resulted in new blood and vision being brought into AdCom. I congratulate Michael Steer on his return, Rashaunda Henderson and Jose Ernesto Rayas-Sanchez on their election, as well as Shiban Koul, George Ponchak, Ramesh Gupta, Greg Lyons on their successful re-elections. I would also like to extend my congratulation to Dylan Williams on his election as the 2016 MTT-S President-Elect.
In 2016, there is indeed much to do and to be achieved. We can accomplish a thousand times more by building relationships, working together, and finding ways for every MTT-S volunteer and member to participate in our shared vision. To our current members, I would like to thank you for being part of the MTT-S family. If you are not a member yet, I invite you to join us, and I promise you will benefit from being part of the new MTT-S.
Over the course of 2016, I will keep you informed through my President’s Column, to be published in Microwave Magazine. Please don’t hesitate to contact me by e-mail (ke.wu@ieee.org) if you have any suggestions and ideas for building and improving our Society. I am looking forward to your active participation in our efforts to make a difference to our shared future.
Dr. Ke Wu
January 2016