In Memoriam
André Vander Vorst passed away on December 25, 2025. He was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1935. He received the degree of Electrical and Mechanical Engineer in 1958 and the Ph.D. degree in Applied Sciences in 1965 from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium. As a NATO Fellow, he was a Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1964 to 1965, where he obtained the M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering, and at Stanford University from 1965 to 1966, working in the field of radio astronomy.
In 1966, Prof. Vander Vorst founded the Microwave Laboratory at UCL in Belgium. Under his direction for more than three decades, the laboratory became internationally recognized for research in microwave and millimeter-wave engineering, including loaded waveguides, cavity analysis, and atmospheric propagation, as well as opto-microwave and bio-microwave interactions. He was a distinguished professor at four Belgian universities. He authored or co-authored numerous books and book chapters, and more than 160 scientific articles. Prof. Vander Vorst held significant academic positions at UCL, serving as Head of the Electrical Engineering Department, Dean of Engineering, Vice-President of the Academic Council, and President of the Open School in Economic and Social Politics. He became an Emeritus Professor at UCL.
Prof. Vander Vorst was one of the key people behind the evolution of the European Microwave Association (EuMA). He was a founder member of EuMA. He served as EuMA Secretary General for over 17 years. Prof. Vander Vorst was also involved in the European Microwave Conference (EuMC) since its first edition in 1969 in London. He was the General Chair of the EuMC-1984 in Liège, Belgium. In recognition of his extraordinary service, EuMA awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in 2016.
Prof. André Vander Vorst was also very active in the then IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), as well as in the IEEE Region 8. His contributions were recognized with several IEEE MTT-S prestigious awards, including his elevation as an IEEE Fellow in 1985, the IEEE MTT-S Meritorious Service Award (1994), the IEEE Third Millennium Medal (2000), and the IEEE MTT-S Microwave Career Award (2004) for leadership, creativity, and outstanding contributions to microwave theory and techniques.