8 March 2019

■ Dominique Schreurs

Rich in Our Diversity

The motto for the IEEE Micro-wave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) states that the

Society encompasses the “MHz to THz community.” In fact, our com-munity represents a global member-ship, spanning 10 regions worldwide.

As I travel to our regional con-ferences, such as the International Microwave and RF Conference (IMaRC), Latin America Microwave Conference, Asia-Pacif ic Micro-wave Conference (APMC), and Inter-national Wireless Symposium, my appreciation for the cultural diversity among MTT-S members grows. Each Region has specific traditions that find their way, explicitly or implicitly, into the conference program, such as “lighting the lamp” at the 2018 IMaRC opening ceremony (Figure 1) or “breaking the barrel” at the 2018 APMC (Figure 2).

Among conference attendees, there is also great diversity in terms of career status. I always like to talk to students who are first-time attendees at any particular microwave conference. Their enthusiasm and bright ideas are inspira-tional. At the other end of the spectrum

are the IEEE Life Members who con-tinue attending MTT-S events if their circum stances allow. It is incredible how these individuals managed to ad -vance the state of the art during their careers, i.e., before the existence of the IEEE Xplore digital library, Google, and

other advanced tools for communica-tion and sharing information.

It is also encouraging to see at our events an increasing number of women involved in the field (Fig-

ure 3). Gender, c u lt u ra l , and age diversity all make our com-munity richer.

The phrase “MHz to THz com-munity” in the motto refers to the broad scientific scope of MTT-S, ranging from over-the-horizon

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2018.2885678

Date of publication: 7 February 2019

Figure 1. The lighting the lamp ceremony at the 2018 IMaRC in Kolkata, India. (Photo courtesy of Jawad Y. Siddiqui.)

Dominique Schreurs (dominique.schreurs@kuleuven.be), MTT-S president, is with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

image licensed by ingram publishing

March 2019 9

wireless communications through tera-hertz imaging of nanostructures. The MTT-S’s technical field is presently sub-divided into 27 technical committees (TCs), each focusing on a particular core technique (filter design, ampli-fier design, measurements, and oth-ers) or application area (automotive applications, wireless communica-tions, biomedical applica tions, and others). Each TC offers a range of activities to educate the MTT-S mem-bership (e.g., Distinguished Mi cro -wave Lectures or the Student Design Competitions at the IEEE MTT-S In -ternational Microwave Symposium) and disseminate scientific results to a broad audience (e.g., theme issues in IEEE Microwave Magazine and confer-ence workshops). The present issue covers a range of topics demonstrating the scope of the MTT-S.

Figure 3. Some of the women who attended the 2018 IMaRC. (Photo courtesy of Jawad Y. Siddiqui.)

Figure 2. The breaking the barrel event at the 2018 APMC opening ceremony in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo courtesy of Timothy Lee.)

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