Elsherbeni Establishes Endowed Scholarship Fund

Atef Elsherbeni

After 26 years of teaching and research at the University of Mississippi School of Engineering, Atef Elsherbeni continues to contribute to the educational pursuits of talented students.

With the creation of the Atef Z. Elsherbeni Electrical Engineering Doctoral Scholarship Fund, the retired associate dean offers up to $25,000 in endowment funds to assist full-time students who are Ph.D. candidates in the Department of Electrical Engineering. To enrich the endowment, Elsherbeni is offering a 1:1 match for contributions made by alumni and colleagues for this purpose.

Scholarship recipients must have passed the prospectus examination and must be pursuing electromagnetic research. The goal is for recipients to receive $1,000 per year for a maximum of two years. Recipients will be selected by department faculty in consultation with the School of Engineering Scholarship Committee and the dean.

"Dr. Elsherbeni made great contributions to our students during his tenure at the university," said Dean Alex Cheng. "His benevolence in creating this endowment expands his legacy for the benefit of future electrical engineering scholars."

Elsherbeni made a significant impact on the nation's technology development, particularly in the areas of electromagnetic waves, radar power, miniaturized antennas, radio frequency identification and personal communications systems.

"The department was known for its electromagnetic research all over the world," said Elsherbeni, an electrical engineering professor who notes that the reputation of the department and its faculty helped bring him here back in 1987. His own work, which has garnered more than $10 million in outside funding, has helped bolster that reputation.

But Elsherbeni, associate dean of research and graduate programs for the School of Engineering and recipient of the university's 2012 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award, recently decided to retire. While he, admittedly, will not miss the paperwork, Elsherbeni said he will miss the interaction with students and faculty in uncovering the fascinating and making sense of it all."My efforts in educating undergraduate and graduate students, along with providing them with help when needed for them to have successful future careers after graduation, has been the most fulfilling aspect of my career," Elsherbeni said.

Elsherbeni earned his doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba. He joined the UM faculty in 1987 as an assistant professor, rose to the rank of professor in 1998 and was appointed associate dean in 2009.

After more than two decades at Ole Miss, Elsherbeni looked around for another challenge and found it at the Colorado School of Mines, where he will be in charge of electromagnetics and antenna research and education for both undergraduates and graduate students. He will start his second career as the Dobelman Distinguished Chair and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, but he also plans to continue collaborations with the Ole Miss EE department and School of Engineering.

"I will try to direct my research experience toward energy-related topics," he said.

At Ole Miss, Elsherbeni has supervised and graduated 33 master's and 13 doctoral students. He was engaged in international recruitment that resulted in the enrollment of several Egyptian government-funded Ph.D. students for several departments in the School of Engineering.

He also is leading a group of engineering undergraduate students to build and launch a satellite, "MISSat-1," with its primary mission to capture images of the earth, focusing on the state of Mississippi.

"Dr. Elsherbeni's desire for this scholarship to make an impact for the electrical engineering department is further evidenced by his generous offer to match contributions so that this opportunity is fully realized," said Kevin Gardner, development officer for the School of Engineering. "We appreciate his work here and are so grateful for his lasting legacy."

For further inquiries about supporting the Atef Z. Elsherbeni Electrical Engineering Doctoral Scholarship Fund, please contact Kevin Gardner at kevin@olemiss.edu or 662-915-7601.

Atef Elsherbeni Retires After 26 Years of Service

Atef Elsherbeni received The Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award.

OXFORD, Miss. - During his 26 years of teaching and research at the UM School of Engineering, Atef Elsherbeni has made a significant impact on the nation's technology development, particularly in the areas of electromagnetic waves, radar power, miniaturized antennas, RFID (radio frequency identification) and personal communications systems.

"The department was known for its electromagnetic research all over the world," said Elsherbeni, an electrical engineering professor who notes that the reputation of the EE department and its faculty helped bring him here back in 1987. His own work, which has garnered more than $10 million in outside funding, has helped bolster that reputation.

But Elsherbeni, associate dean of research and graduate programs for the School of Engineering and recipient of the university's 2012 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award, recently decided to retire. While he, admittedly, will not miss the paperwork, Elsherbeni said he will miss the interaction with students and faculty in uncovering the fascinating and making sense of it all.

"My efforts in educating undergraduate and graduate students, along with providing them with help when needed for them to have successful future careers after graduation, has been the most fulfilling aspect of my career," he said.

"My first experience with Dr. Atef Elsherbeni was early in my electrical engineering undergraduate tenure when studying electric circuit theory under his tutelage," said Markeeva Morgan (BSEE '01), manager of the Avionics Hardware Subsystem at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "Electric circuit theory is perhaps the most foundational of the fundamental courses taught or learned while studying electrical engineering at the undergraduate level. Studying under Dr. Elsherbeni was a fortuitous opportunity for me. His teaching ability was paramount in my internalizing the basic concepts on which I would build the rest of my understanding."

Elsherbeni made major contributions toward the continuation of engineering education at Raytheon facility in Forest.

"If one of the missions of the university is to help grow industry in our state, then I can tell you firsthand that Dr. Elsherbeni is a proven resource in this area," said Bill Dykeman (BSEE '85), engineering manage for space and airborne systems at Raytheon Systems Co.

Ercument Arvas, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Syracuse University, praised Elsherbeni's research accomplishments and his national and international recognition.

"I especially want to draw your attention to the fact that being recognized as IEEE Fellow, ACES Fellow, Electromagnetics Academy Fellow and Finland Distinguished Professor is very, very rare in our field," Arvas said. "I knew all along how he encourages those around him to excel. Last summer, I closely observed his dedication towards his students, postdocs and colleagues in general."

Elsherbeni earned his doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba. He joined the UM faculty in 1987 as an assistant professor, rose to the rank of professor in 1998 and was appointed associate dean in 2009.

Elsherbeni serves as the president of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, or ACES.

Vicente Rodriguez, antenna product manager for ETS-Lindgren and vice president of the board of directors of the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association, said, "Dr. Elsherbeni is a great educator, and his door was always open to his students. He was definitely a mentor for me. The achievements of my own career (two U.S. patents for antenna and RF absorbers; numerous antenna designs turned into successful products) would not have happened without his encouragement and his teaching."

Ramanarayanan Viswanathan, UM chair and professor of electrical engineering, has worked with Elsherbeni only briefly, but enjoyed the experience.

"I got to know and work with Dr. Atef Elsherbeni for the past one year," he said. "Atef is a nationally recognized researcher in his area of research. What impressed me most is Atef's ability to apply his knowledge of fundamentals in electromagnetics to real-world practical problems. The EE department will very much miss his presence. On behalf of EE department, I wish him well in his future endeavors."

After more than two decades at Ole Miss, Elsherbeni looked around for another challenge and found it at the Colorado School of Mines, where he will be in charge of electromagnetics and antennas undergraduate and graduate education and research. He will start his second career as the Dobelman Distinguished Chair and Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, but he also plans to continue collaborations with the Ole Miss EE department and School of Engineering.

"I will try to direct my research experience towards energy-related topics," he said.

Elsherbeni is the recipient of the 2003 Outstanding Contributions to Science Award from the Mississippi Academy of Science, the 2002 School of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the 1996 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Memphis Section Outstanding Engineering Educator Award. Earlier this year, he received the first ACES Technical Achievement Award, which recognizes one or more demonstrated, original technical contributions in the field of applied computational electromagnetics, supported by publications, patents and products such as developed computer codes.

Former students can keep track of their mentor by watching progress in the development and application of numerical techniques for electromagnetic problems and in the modeling of antennas. Elsherbeni has published 136 refereed journal articles, 28 chapters, more than 330 professional presentations, 26 short courses, 29 invited seminars and 74 technical reports in these areas.

He has also been named as the 2009-2012 Finland Distinguished Professor by the Academy of Finland, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, the 2002 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award by IEEE, Region 3; the 2001 ACES Exemplary Service Award for leadership and contributions as electronic publishing managing editor and the 1996 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award by IEEE Memphis Section.

At Ole Miss, Elsherbeni has supervised and graduated 33 master's and 13 doctoral students. He was engaged in international recruitment that resulted in the enrollment of several Egyptian government-funded Ph.D. students for several departments in the School of Engineering. He also leads a group of engineering undergraduate students to build and launch a satellite "MISSat-1" with its primary mission to capture images of the earth, focusing on the state of Mississippi.

Electrical Engineering Professor Wins Distinguished Research Award

Alice Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs at the University of Mississippi, presents this year's Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award to Atef Elsherbeni, professor of electrical engineering, during the university's main commencement ceremony Saturday morning in the Grove. UM photo by Kevin Bain.

OXFORD, Miss. - During his 25-year tenure at the University of Mississippi, Atef Elsherbeni has spent a fair share of time in the classroom teaching electrical engineering principles and mentoring students. He also has carved out a legacy of research that has led to significant improvements in the telecommunications industry.

Elsherbeni, professor of electrical engineering and associate dean of research and graduate programs in the UM School of Engineering, added another career accolade this weekend. He has been named the fifth recipient of UM's Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award.

The award, including $7,500 and a personal plaque, was presented during UM's main commencement ceremony Saturday (May 12) by Alice Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs.

"The award was created to recognize and pay tribute to a faculty member whose career and achievements have generated national and international accolades; someone who has been a leader in his chosen field, who has inspired and encouraged others, who is admired and respected by his peers and who has made outstanding lifelong contributions to his profession and to our institution," Clark said.

"Dr. Atef Elsherbeni has done all this. His contributions have made an enormous impact on science, engineering and technology, particularly in the technologies that make the wonders of modern communication possible: electromagnetic waves, radar power, miniaturized antennas and personal communication systems.

"His research projects have garnered support from both government and industry and these projects have advanced basic knowledge, provided educational opportunities for students, provided real-world solutions to important problems and had a tremendous impact on the university research stature and recognition."

Reflecting upon the recognition, Elsherbeni said, "This is a great honor and recognition. I am very pleased to be among those few who received this award. At the same time, I felt the pressure and responsibility to do better and be more productive. It is not easy in today's challenging environment, but we all have to try our best."

He has authored five books, 136 refereed journal articles, 28 book chapters, more than 330 professional presentations, 26 short courses, 29 invited seminars and 74 technical reports throughout the world. Since serving on his first doctoral committee, he has been the dissertation chair for more than 13 doctoral students and 33 master's students.

Presented with the 2009-2012 Finland Distinguished Professor by the Academy of Finland, it was noted that "Professor Elsherbeni simply brings a high-caliber prestige and recognition to any institution/organization he is associated with."

His research efforts have brought more than $10 million to the university. Several Mississippi companies and national corporations have supported his research group activities by direct contracts and gifts.

Elsherbeni is a member of many professional organizations, including the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He served as editor of ACES Journal and assumes major responsibility for the organization's annual symposium.

His stellar reputation is known to have helped bring several Egyptian government-funded doctoral students for various engineering departments to the Oxford campus. Over the years, he has developed with his students many educational software packages that are being used in numerous schools and are referenced in well-known textbooks in the field.

As recipient of the Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award, Elsherbeni said he feels that his family and the engineering school should share in the honor.

"First is my mother, who taught me all elementary school subjects and made me love mathematics in my early stages of my education; my father, for his continuous encouragements especially, at the difficult times while studying for my Ph.D. degree in Canada; my wife, for her continued support and sacrifice for more than 30 years, and my children, who accepted my busy academic life and did not complain."

Elsherbeni also acknowledged his Ph.D. adviser, M. Hamid, his mentor and former department chair Charles E. Smith, his students and colleagues.

"I especially (credit) Dr. Fan Yang with whom we have been successful to maintain good research productivity in very difficult years; my former dean, Dr. Kai-Fong Lee, who provided me with continuous encouragement, support and important contributions to our research group; and my current dean, Dr. Alexander Cheng, who believed in my capabilities and was not reluctant to support unique teaching and research activities and for nominating me for this award," Elsherbeni said.

Elsherbeni joined the Ole Miss faculty in 1987 and has been a visiting professor at UCLA, Magdeburg (Germany) and Syracuse universities. He received both bachelor's and master's degrees from Cairo University, and he holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba.

Elsherbeni is married to Magda Elshemy. They are the parents of two daughters and a son.

The annual Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award is sponsored by Pharmaceutics International Inc., whose CEO, Syed Abidi, is a UM alumnus. The inaugural recipient of the award, in 2008, was Sam Shu-Yi Wang, F.A.P. Barnard Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Larry A. Walker, director of the National Center for Natural Products Research, was the 2009 recipient, Charles Reagan Wilson, the Kelly Gene Cook Chair of History and professor of Southern studies, received it in 2010 and Dale Flesher, Arthur Anderson Lecturer in the Patterson School of Accountancy, was last year's recipient.

Ole Miss Engineering Group to Build and Launch Satellite

UNIVERSITY, MS - For a group of undergraduate engineering students, their research in small satellites will soon become a reality. These students, from both the computer science and electrical engineering departments, have been working for the past year on the development of a small satellite. The satellite, known as the Mississippi Imaging Space Satellite 1 or "MISSat-1", will be launched with the primary mission of imaging the earth with special emphasis on capturing pictures of Mississippi. Captured images will be relayed back to earth via the University's ground station recently configured and tested by the group in Anderson Hall.

The satellite currently under development falls into the CubeSAT category. These satellites are very small in nature, measuring 10x10x10 cm3 and weighing approximately 1 Kg and are designed to operate in the low earth orbit. These CubeSAT's follow the specifications and guidelines laid out by the founders of the CubeSAT project at Cal Poly and Stanford Universities. The mission of the "MISSat-1" project is to quickly and efficiently develop a CubeSAT to perform basic operations. Students are led by their advisors Prof. Atef Elsherbeni and Instructor Matthew J. Inman from the Electrical Engineering Department.

CubeSAT's are generally developed using commodity components in a modular configuration. This allows each student-lead team to select appropriate systems necessary to build a complete satellite. Each student in the MISSat-1 program takes complete responsibility for one of the major system components in the satellite such as power, communications, structure, and programming.

The primary mission of MISSat-1 is to provide the ability to take images of the earth with a small and inexpensive satellite. The advantage of using the CubeSAT platform is the ability to acquire modules to perform the necessary functions of the satellite and assemble them in a "plug-and-play" manner. The student team is currently developing the software necessary for the satellite to operate and build the imaging payload for the system by using a small camera sensor commonly found inside cellphones.

Building the CubeSAT is only a small part of the challenges facing the student team. Being able to make contact with the satellite once it is in orbit requires a new state-of-the-art ground station in order to perform the required communications. This team has recently finished designing and installing a satellite ground station on the roof of Anderson Hall. This new station includes VHF/UHF satellite transceivers, a new antenna structure, high gain satellite antennas, and automated computerized rotator control to track the satellites as they orbit overhead. While many of these components can be purchased, students have assembled them into a working satellite ground station as well as designed and implemented the computerized control of the antenna rotator system. This ground station will give the team a platform to practice making contact with satellites currently in orbit until they launch their own first CubeSAT, MISSat-1.

Several challenges and learning opportunities are facing these young engineers, but they are confident that they will be successful. This project is partially sponsored by a NASA grant, the School of Engineering, and the Electrical Engineering Department. The group is looking for additional sponsors to achieve their goals. For further information please email atef@olemiss.edu

Read More.

Electrical Engineering Professor Named IEEE Fellow

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni

OXFORD, Miss. -- A University of Mississippi professor of electrical engineering has been accorded the prestigious rank of fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Atef Elsherbeni was conferred the fellowship by the IEEE Board of Directors for his contributions to computational electromagnetics, antenna and microwave applications. The total number of IEEE fellows selected in a single year does not exceed 0.1 percent of the total voting institute membership. Only 268 members were selected to the 2007 class.

"I knew that I had been nominated, but receiving the award is a completely different experience," said Elsherbeni, who joined the UM faculty in 1987. "This is the highest recognition in our field. The only thing left for me to do is plan for my retirement."

Elsherbeni is the fifth member of the electrical engineering faculty to receive the honor. Others include Kai Fong Lee, dean of the School of Engineering; Allen Glisson, chair and professor of electrical engineering; and John Daigle and Ahmed Kishk, professors of electrical engineering.

"This is a well-deserved recognition for Dr. Elsherbeni," Glisson said. "The IEEE committees which select fellows consider their many outstanding contributions that have made and continue to make a lasting impact upon society. Atef has been making such contributions for a long time."

"Congratulations to Dr. Elsherbeni for this outstanding accomplishment," Lee said.

Elsherbeni said it is unusual for a department of this small size to have such a high percentage of IEEE Fellows.

"I believe our recognition will be beneficial to the electrical engineering department and the School of Engineering in general," he added.

Elsherbeni is to be officially recognized during both the IEEE Antennas and Propagation International Symposium and the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques International Symposium, to be held in June in Hawaii.

Elsherbeni received his doctoral degree from the University of Manitoba in 1987. At UM, he has advised 37 graduate students, made more than 250 presentations around the world, worked on more than 60 research grants, participated in the development of 15 educational software packages, consulted for more than a dozen businesses and written nearly 200 journal publications, technical reports and book chapters. He is the co-author of two books on radar systems and antenna design.

He is editor in chief of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal, was chairman of the IEEE Region 3 educational activity committee and editor of the Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications.

A member of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Board of Directors and vice president of the society, Elsherbeni served as chair for the 2003 ACES meeting in Monterey, Calif., and co-chair for both the 2004 ACES meeting in Syracuse, N.Y., and the 2005 ACES meeting in Hawaii. He is the Technical Program Chair for the 2007 ACES conference to be held in Verona, Italy.

School of Engineering Faculty Awards

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, received the School of Engineering Senior Faculty Research Award for 2006.

Dr. Mustafa Matalgah, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, received the School of Engineering Junior Faculty Research Award for 2006.

EE Department News Bytes

Dr. Mustafa Matalgah has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.

Dr. Alexander Yakovlev has been awarded tenure.

Dr. Alexander Yakovlev made an invited plenary presentation entitled "Frequency-Plane Branch-Point Singularities in the Analysis of Modal Interactions on Guided-Wave Structures" at the 11th International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Electromagnetic Theory held in Kharkov, Ukraine in June.

Seven faculty members, seven graduate students, and two visiting scholars from the Electrical Engineering Department attended the 2006 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium/URSI National Radio Science Meeting/AMEREM Meeting held in July in Albuquerque, NM. EE Department members contributed to 25 technical papers presented at the meetings.

The Electrical Engineering Department has been awarded a $1.27 million grant to design a low-power radar chip by the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) of Huntsville, Ala. Dr. Ahmed Kishk, Professor of Electrical Engineering, is the principal investigator on the project. Dr. Atef Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Allen Glisson, Chair and Professor of Electrical Engineering, are co-principal investigators.

Prof. Lauri Sydänheimo and graduate student Leena Ukkonen from Tampere University of Technology in Finland visited the EE department during the summer of 2006 and presented a graduate seminar on their work in the area of RFID technology.

Prof. Robert W. Scharstein of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Alabama recently visited in the department and presented a graduate seminar entitled "Low Frequency Scattering by a Rectangular Trough: Variational Solution."

Dr. John Huang, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology recently visited in the EE department and presented a graduate seminar on "Reflectarray Antennas."

EE Department News Bytes

Dr. Lei Cao has been elevated to the grade of Senior Member of the IEEE.

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni served as the Technical Chair for the 2006 Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) conference held in April in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni will serve on a National Science Foundation (NSF) Panel Review in April.

Dr. Ahmed Kishk presented a short course on Dielectric Resonator Antennas at the 2006 ACES conference held in April in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Alexander Yakovlev served as the Short Course Chair for the 2006 ACES conference held in April in Miami, Florida.

Professor Kwai-Man Luk from the Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, visited the EE department and presented a graduate seminar entitled "A New Complimentary Wideband Antenna."

Dr. James C. Rautio, IEEE/MTT Distinguished Microwave Lecturer and President and Founder of Sonnet Software, Inc., recently visited with faculty in the Electrical Engineering Department and presented a seminar entitled "The Life of James Clerk Maxwell."

Dr. Vicente Rodriquez, Senior Principal Antenna Engineer of the RF Group, ETS-Lindgren L.P., recently visited in the department and presented a graduate seminar entitled "EMC Chambers, Standards, Automotive EMC, and APM Chambers."

Prof. Kwok Wa Leung of the City University of Hong Kong visited in the department and presented a graduate seminar entitled "Slot Antennas Cut Onto Probe-Fed Cavities."

EE Department News Bytes

Dr. John Daigle has received a TCCC Outstanding Service Award for long-time contributions and service to the Technical Committee on Computer Communications of the IEEE Communication Society.

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni served as the ACES Co-chair of the 2005 IEEE /ACES (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society) International Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2005.

Dr. Ahmed Kishk and Dr. Atef Elsherbeni offered a short course entitled "Antennas for wideband and phased array applications" at the 2005 IEEE /ACES International Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2005.

Dr. Ahmed Kishk offered a short course entitled "Dielectric resonator antenna, theory and design" at the 2005 IEEE /ACES International Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2005.

Faculty and graduate students from the EE department presented 7 papers at the 2005 IEEE /ACES International Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2005.

Faculty and graduate students from the EE department presented 2 papers at the 2005 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) held in New Orleans, LA in March 2005, 1 paper at the ACS/IEEE International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications (AICCSA'05) held in Cairo, Egypt in January 2005, 1 paper at the 2005 National Radio Science Meeting held in Boulder, Colorado in January 2005, and 1 paper at the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA 2004) Symposium in Atlanta in October 2004.

Dr. Mustafa Matalgah chaired technical sessions at both the 2005 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) held in New Orleans, LA in March 2005 and the ACS/IEEE International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications (AICCSA'05) held in Cairo, Egypt in January 2005.

Dr. Alexander Yakovlev is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Physics and Engineering Division of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.

Student Awards

EE undergraduate student Maxwell Upson Woolsey received the 2005 Mississippi Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award.

EE undergraduate students Lawrence Paul Bennett and Adam Wallace Powers were inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

EE undergraduate students Maxwell Upson Woolsey and John R. Ashmore have each been named to receive a William L. Everett Student Award of Excellence awarded by the International Engineering Consortium.

Electrical Engineering graduate students Manish Hiranandani, Matthew Inman, and Yizhe Zhang received the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place oral student paper competition awards in the Physics and Engineering Division at the 2005 Mississippi Academy of Sciences Conference held in Oxford this past February.

EE graduate student Mohamed Al Sharkawy received a Graduate Achievement Award from the University of Mississippi.

EE graduate student Abdelnasser Eldek (Ph.D. Dec. 2004) received the 1st place award in the 2004 ACES student paper competition for a paper presented at the 2004 ACES International Conference held in Syracuse, New York, in April 2004. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Atef Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Charles Smith, former Chair and Professor of Electrical Engineering.

EE graduate student Said Mikki received a best of category award in the Engineering Sciences division at the Student Research Poster Symposium hosted by the University of Mississippi chapter of Sigma Xi.

EE Department News Bytes

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni served as the Co-chair of the 2004 Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society (ACES) conference

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni offered a short course entitled "The Finite Difference Time Domain for Electromagnetic Applications" at The Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society (ACES) Conference, Monterey, April 2004.

Dr. John Daigle, Professor of Electrical Engineering, has published a revised version of his book on Queuing Theory.

New funding has been received by the EE department faculty for the coming year in excess of $1,000,000.

Ole Miss Participates in DoD 2004 SMD Conference

A large group of Ole Miss faculty, staff, students, and contractors recently attended and participated in the Department of Defense 2004 Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition held in Huntsville, Al on August 16-19, 2004 at the Von Braun Center.

This year's theme is "Missile Defense - Deployment and Beyond." This conference included government and industry representatives with an intense interest in missile defense issues discussing the policy, technology, and operational issues and implications of the ballistic missile defense systems.

This year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a longtime proponent of a welldeveloped national missile defense system, was a featured speaker at the conference.

The Space and Missile Defense Conference is sponsored by the Air Defense Artillery Association, the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Association.

The Ole Miss participation in the SMD Conference was to highlight the research activities of the Electrical Engineering Department and Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR) which is focused primarily on applied electromagnetic theory with the extensive use of our computational and experimental measurement facilities. Related technology developments have been pursued on many different topics with the cooperation and support from Department of Defense including the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and industrial groups.

A major part of our recent developments has been in cooperation and support for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center in Huntsville, AL on technology development for the Radar Power Technology Program which is shown in the following picture of the Ole Miss Exhibit.

The Ole Miss SMD Conference Business Card Raffle for two tickets for the Ole Miss - Auburn football game was won by Ms. Lisa Strickland, Associate Director for Professional Development at the University of Alabama in Huntsville at the drawing at the Wednesday night dinner.

Ole Miss Exhibit at the 2004 SMD Conference

Ole Miss and Radiance Technologies, Inc. Participants at SMD Conference (l-r. Dalia Elsherbeni, Dana Wilson, Randy Ware, Charles Smith, Johnny Jackson, Atef Elsherbeni, and Tom Hall; Not shown James Vaughan, Ellen Lackey, Allen Glisson, and Mik and Winter Wimbrow).

Ole Miss graduates Winter Wimbrow (BSME) and Dalia Elsherbeni (BSEE) of Radiance Technologies, Inc. (l-r) worked several long days at the Ole Miss exhibit to show technology developments to conference attendees.

EE Prof Co-Authors Radar Systems Design Book

MATLAB Simulations for Radar Systems Design by Bassem R Mahafza, Decibel Research, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama and Atef Elsherbeni, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Associate Director of the Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR) at The University of Mississippi, recently teamed with Dr. Bassem R Mahafza, Founder and President of Decibel Research, Inc. of Huntsville, AL, to write a new book on radar simulations. The content of this text includes work developed by Dr. Elsherbeni while teaching radar courses off-campus at the Raytheon Electronic Systems facility in Forest, Ms, over the past few years. The book is illustrated with the accompanying title box and book cover, along with publication information from the publichers.

This new book, MATLAB Simulations for Radar Systems Design, is unlike Dr. Mahafza' other books, Introduction to Radar Analysis and Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using MATLAB, in that the emphasis of this book is on radar system design as opposed to radar analysis. However, the authors include enough theory to provide readers with the tools needed to perform radar systems analysis. Featuring comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the most important radar topics, the book is organized to show the reader how to design a radar system and analyze and perform the necessary calculations. MATLAB code has been included throughout the book to help with both analysis and design of radar systems. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of a design case study that is carried throughout the book with increasing complexity. Main points of text are:

1. Emphasizes radar system design process while providing the detailed coverage necessary for analysis
2. Provides all the MATLAB programs and functions found in the book on the CRC Press Web site or on the Math Works Web site
3. Includes detailed mathematical derivations of all the most important formulas and equations used in radar MATLAB Simulations for Radar Systems Design by Bassem R Mahafza, Decibel Research, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama and Atef Elsherbeni, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi
4. Features comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the most important radar topics such as target tracking systems, synthetic aperture radar, electronic counter measures

The Chapman & Hall/CRC publication date is December 16, 2003.

Dr. Atef Elsherbeni

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi in August 1987 as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. He advanced to the rank of Associate Professor on July 1991, and to the rank of Professor on July 1997. He received The 2003 Mississippi Academy of Science Outstanding Contributions to Science Award, the 2002 IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award, The 2002 School of Engineering Outstanding Engineering Faculty Member of the Year Award, the 2001 Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society (ACES) Exemplary Service Award for leadership and contributions as Electronic Publishing managing Editor 1999-2001, the 2001 Researcher/Scholar of the year award in the Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Mississippi, and the 1996 Outstanding Engineering Educator of the IEEE Memphis Section.

His professional interests include scattering and diffraction of electromagnetic waves, numerical techniques, antennas, remote sensing, and computer applications for electromagnetic education. He has published 58 technical journal articles and 12 book chapters on applied electromagnetics, antenna design, and microwave subjects, and presented over 193 papers at professional conferences.

Dr. Elsherbeni's home page can be found at ee.olemiss.edu/atef and his email address is atef@olemiss.edu.

EE Graduate Student Receives Outstanding Student Paper Award

The Electrical Engineering Department congratulates EE graduate Ph.D. student candidate Mr. Abdelnasser Eldek. Abdelnasser's student paper presentation "Wideband Slot Antennas for Radar Applications" was selected as Outstanding Student Paper at the 2003 IEEE Radar Conference held in Huntsville, Alabama last May. He received a cash award of $100 for his outstanding contribution and presentation. Coauthors of the paper were EE faculty member Atef Z. Elsherbeni, EE emeritus faculty member Charles E. Smith, and Dean of the School of Engineering Kai-Fong Lee.

Abdelnasser Eldek received an honor B.Sc. degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt, in 1993 and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in 1999. He was a research assistant with the Electronic Research Institute, in Cairo, Egypt, from 1995 to 1997, and from 1997 to 1999 he was a Master student at Eindhoven University of Technology with the cooperation of Philips Center For Technology, Eindhoven. From 1999 to 2000 he was assistant teacher in the Industrial Education College, Beni Suif, Egypt. Abdelnasser joined the EE department at the University of Mississippi on January 2001 to pursue his Ph.D. Degree and since then he has contributed to 4 refereed Journal papers and 12 conference presentations.

UMEE/CAESR RPT Group Participates in US Army SMD Conference

UM Display with Participants Charles Smith, Ahmed Kishk, and Atef Elsherbeni from UM.

The Department of Electrical Engineering and the Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR) exhibited and highlighted recent research accomplishments of The University of Mississippi (UM) at the Sixth Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition, "Space and Missile Defense --Evolution or Revolution." The conference was held on 18-21 August 2003, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference was sponsored by the Army Space and Missile Defense Association, the National Defense Industrial Association - Tennessee Valley Chapter, and the Air Defense Artillery Association - Huntsville Chapter. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), a major participant in arranging this conference, is sponsor and supporter of the very successful, multi-year, UM Radar Power Technology (RPT) Research Program at Ole Miss.

The UM RPT Program is investigating technological advances in providing basic, stateof- the-art building blocks for advanced phased array radar systems. The primary initiative of this effort is to develop and integrate solid state radar and power technologies into combined subarray elements that will lead to reductions in the mass, volume, and cost of conventional phased array radar systems having enhanced capability, reliability, maintainability, and manufacturability. This work is based in part on new integrated power technology developments and implementations for radar system advancements in the use and development of advanced transmitter/receiver (T/R) modules, phased array antennas, distributed fuel cells, and electronics and signal processing. The focus of the SMDC Conference was on technology and technical innovation to promote the exchange of thoughts and ideas between Government, University, and Industry researchers, developers, testers, and users to ensure that missile defense systems and components are feasible, affordable, and effective against our nation's threats.

An UM Electrical Engineering Exhibit that highlighted UM based research activities related to the RPT program was on display during the conference covering topics on radar amplifier, T/R module and antenna design, development, testing and thermal management and control. Professors Atef Elsherbeni, Ahmed Kishk and Charles Smith and industrial collaborators, Brian McDaniel and John Walker of Radiance Technologies represented UM and "manned" the exhibit during the conference. The UM research presentation was well received and many new ideas and contacts were pursued and exchanged, while "chewing the fat and passing a few Hotty Toddys" with numerous Ole Miss friends and alums.

Mr. John Beavers received the "luck-of-the-draw" on two free tickets to the Alabama-Ole Miss football game for the UMEE and CAESR Business Card Raffle that was held as part of the SMDC Conference exhibit activities.

The accompanying photographs provide a pictorial sketch of a very successful conference exhibition of The University of Mississippi research accomplishments and potential based on this Ole Miss Technology Review.

2003 APS Conference

The 2003 IEEE AP-S Symposium and North American Radio Science Meeting were held on June 22 -27, 2003 in Columbus, Ohio at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, with a large number of Ole Miss Electrical Engineering students and faculty in attendance. Ten authored and co-authored papers, listed below, where presented by 9 students and faculty members that attended this year's annual symposium/meeting. (Ole Miss students and faculty authors and co-authors are italicized)

The conference addressed advancements and in ovations in the fields of electromagnetics, antennas, wave propagation, and other topics of interest to AP-S and URSI. Two student paper competitions, special sessions, workshops, and short courses were sponsored in addition to the regular sessions that addressed topics of current interest and state-of-the-art advancements.

1. V. A. Klymko, A. B. Yakovlev, A. A. Kishk, A. W. Glisson, Dyadic Green's Functions for Circular Waveguide-Based Spatial Power Combining Applications.
2. A. A. Kishk, Use of Asymptotic Boundary Conditions on the Design of Antennas with Soft and Hard Surfaces.
3. A. A. Kishk, Application of Rotated Sequential Feeding for Circular Polarization Bandwidth Enhancement of Planar Arrays with Single-Fed DRA Elements.
4. I. A. Eshrah, A. A. Kishk, A. B. Yakovlev, A. W. Glisson, Dielectric Resonator Antenna Excited by Waveguide Slot for Radar Applications.
5. G. Zheng, A. A. Kishk, A. B. Yakovlev, A. W. Glisson, Simplified Feeding for a Modified Printed Yagi Antenna.
6. A. A. Kishk, Electromagnetic Scattering from BOR Objects Loaded with Periodic Conducting Narrow Strips using Asymptotic Boundary Conditions.
7. M. Fahmy, Cairo University, Egypt, I. Eshrah, Antenna and Scatterer Modes for Thin Straight Wires using the Equivalent TEM Mode Theory.
8. M. N. Fahmy, Cairo University, Egypt, I. A. Eshrah, Control of the Radiation and Scattering from Straight Wires using the Equivalent TEM Mode Theory.
9. G. W. Hanson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, A. B. Yakovlev, Leaky Wave Effects on Source Driven/Terminated Three-Dimensional Interconnects.
10. A. Z. Elsherbeni, M. H. Al Sarkawy, S. F. Mahmoud, Scattering from Chiral Cylinders of Circular Cross-Sections.

EE Participates in IEEE Radar Con3: Radar -
Exploring the Universe

Photo "Old Friends" by Michael Profitt, published 2 October 1999 Used with the courtesy of The Huntsville Times. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) National Radar Conference, in conjunction with the International Radar Conference, has grown to be the most important radar conference in the world - bringing together innovators, leaders, and users from the civil, space, and military communities to address important issues and share the most recent advances in radar. The 2003 IEEE Radar Conference was recently held nearby at the Marriott Hotel in Huntsville, Alabama on May 5-8, 2003.

The theme for this year's conference is Radar-- Exploring the Universe. Recent advances in digital technology have enabled the implementation of new radar approaches that were just analytical curiosities a few years ago. As a result, dramatic performance improvements have been achieved in clutter processing, target location accuracy, antijamming, and other areas. The challenge is how to best apply these new digital technologies and other advances, while identifying and developing new technologies for the future - a focus that was addressed at this conference.

Three (3) papers, co-authored by 6 students and faculty members from the Electrical Engineering Department at The University of Mississippi, were presented at Radar Con03.

Papers Presented by Electrical Engineering students and faculty:
Matthew J. Inman, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith, Finite Difference Time Domain Simulation of Moving Objects.
Abdelnasser A. Eldek, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Charles E. Smith, and Kai-Fong Lee, Wideband Slot Antennas for Radar Applications.
Ahmed A. Kishk, Dielectric Resonator Antennas, a Candidate for Radar Applications.

For additional information, contact, ewh.ieee.org/r3/huntsville/cmte, the source used for descriptive information for this news item.

UMEE Students and Faculty Present Papers at MAESC 2003

Students and faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) at The University of Mississippi (UM) held their own "Mini-Memphis in May Festival" at the 5th Annual Memphis Area Engineering and Science Conference (MAESC) - Science and Engineering: The Foundation for Success in Economic Development. Thirteen (13) papers, co-authored by 19 UM EE participants, where presented -. a major contribution to the MAESC conference by a single engineering department. MAESC 2003 was hosted by Christian Brothers University (CBU) on Thursday May 15, 2003, and was held in Buckman Hall on the CBU campus on East Parkway South in Memphis, TN. The UM School of Engineering is a major sponsor of this conference.

The purpose of the MAESC Conference is to bring together scientists, engineers, and other professionals in all disciplines to share knowledge and to discuss the current issues in science, technology, and engineering. Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, UM School of Engineering representative on the MAESC Organization Committee and Professor of Electrical Engineering, indicates that that MAESC feels that, "It is an opportunity to share one's expertise with colleagues and students and to highlight significant research being pursed locally in the Mid-South."

These papers were co-authored by a large number of students and faculty as shown in the accompanying list of papers presented. Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni served on the MAESC Organization Committee, and he and Dr. Alexander B. Yakovlev were Moderators for 3 Technical Sessions. On-line post-conference proceedings of paper abstracts and related information can be viewed at cbu.edu/engineering/maesc, the source used for descriptive information on this news item.

List Of Papers Presented At MAESC By EE Faculty and Students:
A.Z. Elsherbeni, R. C-L. Riley, and M. J. Inman, A Finite Difference Simulation Package for Quasi-Static Electromagnetic Analysis.
A.Z. Elsherbeni, M.H. Al Sharkawy, and S.F. Mahmoud, Electromagnetic Scattering from a Chiral Strip Simulated by Circular Cylinders.
P. Chin, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C.E. Smith, Characteristics of Multiple Coplanar Waveguide Structures.
S.C. Kanta and A.A. Kishk, EMPICASSO at Play.
T. Shi and L. Cao, Analysis and Comparison of Turbo Codes-Based Hybrid-ARQ Schemes.
T.S. Sijher and A.A. Kishk, Antenna Simulation for Infinitesimal Dipoles Using Genetic Algorithms.
I.A. Eshrah, A.A. Kishk, A.B. Yakovlev, and A.W. Glisson, Dielectric Resonator Antennas Excited by Slots on the Broad Wall of Matched Waveguide Structures.
M.J. Inman, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C. E. Smith, Moving Object Analysis and Simulation Using the Finite Difference Time Domain Technique.
G. Zheng A.A. Kishk, A.W. Glisson, and A.B. Yakovlev, Performance of Bow-Tie Slot Antennas Fed by a CPW Transmission Line with Tapered Transition.
A. A. Eldek, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C. E. Smith, Quasi-Static Characteristics of a Two-Conductor Microstrip Transmission Line above Free Space Tunnels.
E. Woo, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C.E. Smith, Satellite and Earth Computer Simulation for Remote Sensing Applications.
S. Parakkal, M.D.Tew, and A.Z. Elsherbeni, Scattering by a Circular Conducting Cylinder Coated by and Inhomogeneous Dielectric Shell.
V.K. Klymko, A.B. Yakovlev, A.A. Kishk, and A.W. Glisson, The Input Impedance of a Coaxial Probe in a Cylindrical Waveguide.

EE Students and Faculty Participate in 2003 Sigma Xi and Office of Research Student Poster Symposium

The 2003 Sigma Xi/Office of Research Student Poster Symposium was held from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, on Wednesday, April 2 in the Butler Auditorium of the Triplett Alumni Center. A total of 64 poster papers were presented, with 5 co-authored papers listed below were presented from 11 electrical engineering students and faculty members.

Following the Symposium at 4:00 PM, Dr. Lee Riedinger from Oak Ridge Research Laboratories made the Keynote Presentation, "Future Science Facilities in the Southeast," in the Yerby Center Auditorium, which was sponsored by Sigma Xi, the Office of Research, and the American Chemical Society. At 6:30 PM, the Sigma Xi Wine and Cheese Social was held at the Memory House with all Student Research Poster Symposium presenters invited to attend. Poster award winners were recognized, and the poster paper presented by Taninder S. Sijher, MS Graduate Student in Electrical Engineering, and co-authored by Dr. Ahmed A. Kishk, Professor of Electrical Engineering was awarded the Best Paper Award in the Engineering Sciences II Category of the Poster Symposium.

Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit membership society of nearly 75,000 scientists and engineers who were elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential. Sigma Xi has more than 500 chapters at universities and colleges, government laboratories and industry research centers.

EE Papers Presented at 2003 Sigma Xi and Office of Research Symposium:

Taninder S. Sijher and Ahmed A. Kishk, "Antenna Simulation for Infinitesimal Dipoles Using Genetic Algorithms."

Abdelnasser A. Eldek, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Charles E. Smith, and Kai-Fong Lee, "Rectangular Slot Antenna for Personal Wireless Communication Systems."

Edward Woo, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith,"Strip Mode SAR Simulation for Remote Sensing Applications."

Mohamed H. Al Sharkawy, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Samir F. Mahmoud, "Electromagnetic Scattering from a Chiral Strip of Uniform and Non-Uniform Chirality Distribution."

Brian T, McDaniel, Charles E. Smith, Alexander B. Yakovlev, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Darko Kajfez, "Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Analysis Software Using Matlab and Related Toolboxes for HPIB Data Acquisition and Processing."

EE Professor Selected Associate Editor of Radio Science

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Associate Director of the Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR), recently learned that he was appointed as Associate Editor of Radio Science. Dr. Elsherbeni has been at The University of Mississippi since receiving his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1987. Radio Science is a journal publication of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and publishes original scientific contributions on all aspects of electromagnetic phenomena related to physical problems. Journal focus relates to propagation through and interaction of electromagnetic waves with geophysical media, biological media, plasmas, and man-made structures. Coverage also includes, but is not limited to, the application of electromagnetic techniques to remote sensing of the Earth and its environment, telecommunications, signals and systems, the ionosphere, and radio astronomy. All frequencies (including optical) are considered.

Radio Science is Ranked #9 of 47 titles in the Telecommunications category of the 2000, #12 of 52 titles in Instruments & Instrumentation, and #3 of 9 titles in Remote Sensing Journal Citation Reports.

EE Professor Honored by Mississippi Academy of Science

An electrical engineering professor has made history as the first to receive the Mississippi Academy of Sciences' Outstanding Contributions to Science Award.

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, professor of electrical engineering, received the recognition in February at the MAS annual conference. Dr. Charles Smith, professor emeritus, said Elsherbeni is the first UM engineering professor to win the award.

"Dr. Elsherbeni is a truly worthy and outstanding recipient of this stateside MAS award," said Smith. "Over the past 16 years as a faculty member at Ole Miss, Dr. Elsherbeni has demonstrated enthusiasm, diligence, productivity, and just plain hard work. He's to be commended."

Elsherbeni, who received his doctoral degree from the University of Manitoba, was recognized for his teaching, service, and research. As a teacher, he has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses and has mentored 26 graduate students.

His contributions in the area of service are many. Elsherbeni has served as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of the Applied Computational Electromagnetic Society since 2001, as Editor of the Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications since 1996, and as Electronic Publishing Managing Editor for the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society since 1999. He's served as section chairman or vice-chairman of over 20 national, regional, or local conferences.

Elsherbeni has established himself as a remarkable scholar. While he has several areas of interest, he has performed pioneering research in computational electromagnetics on modeling microwave circuits, microstrip transmission lines, and wireless antennas using MoM (moment methods) and FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain) techniques. Having received 53 funded research grants, published or presented over 230 papers, research reports, and presentations, and contributions to more than 12 books related to his research area, he has distinguished himself among scholars locally, regionally, and nationally. He also serves as an Associate Director for the Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR) at Ole Miss.

"This award is the highest honor the academy presents," said Sarah McGuire, chair of the MAS awards and resolution committee. "Dr. Elsherbeni is truly outstanding."

In 2002, he was named the Region 3 Outstanding Engineering Educator in 2002 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and he was presented with the Outstanding Engineering Faculty Award at The University of Mississippi. In addition, he was selected as the 1996 Outstanding Engineering Educator by the IEEE Memphis Section.

MAS is an association of scientists of all backgrounds from across the state. The Academy aims to bring together scientists in the state to encourage scientific interactions and to better science and science education in the state.

-Tobie Baker, University of Mississippi, Media/Public Relations

Mississippi Academy of Science 2002
Biloxi, Mississippi

Eleven (11) students and three (3) faculty members of the Department of Electrical Engineering participated in the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Science that was held in Biloxi, MS on February 21-22, 2002. Sixteen co-authored papers were presented in the Physics and Engineering Division technical session.

The co-authors and presenters included:

Students:
Guiping Zheng
Andrew Simon
Steve Ong
Milan Lukich
Po-Loong Chin
Brian McDanial
Chris Riley
Edward Woo
Nasser Eldrek
Cuthbert Allen
Matthew Inman

Faculty:
Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni
Dr. Ahmed A. Kishk
Dr. Charles E. Smith
Dr. Mark D. Tew
Dr. Alexander B. Yakovlev
Dr. Kai-Fong Lee

Dr. Ahmed A. Kishk, Professor of Electrical Engineering, was the Division Chairman this year, and Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, was selected for Division Vice-Chairman for the 2002-2003 year.

EE Presentation Selected as Best Paper

Recently, Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and the co-authors of the presented and conference paper, "Slot Antennas for Dual and Wideband operation in Wireless Communication Systems," learned that their paper was selected as one of the best papers presented in the technical session: Wireless/Mobile Networks, Protocols, Applications and Economics IV. This paper presentation was part of the joint 6th World Multi-conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (SCI 2002) and The 8th International conference on Information Systems, Analysis and Synthesis (ISAS 2002) held in Orlando, Fl on July 14-18, 2002. The quality of the paper was cited for contributing to the conference prestige and great success.

Systemics, cybernetics, and informatics are increasingly related to each other in almost every scientific discipline and activity, and this joint conference provided a stimulus for cross-fertilization among the different discipline, inspiring scholars, generating analogies, and provoking innovations in the fundamental aim of cybernetics.

The paper was presented by Dr. Elsherbeni, and all co-authors are listed below along with an abstract and a picture representing this class of antennas.

EE Department Well Represented at 2002 IEEE AP-S & USNC/URSI Meetings in San Antonio, TX

The theme of the 2002 IEEE AP-S Symposium and USNC/URSI conference was "New Frontiers in Antennas and Propagation for a Wireless World." The conference was chaired by DR. Robert (Bob) Nevels of Texas A&M University, a former Ole Miss student (P.hD. '79), and the technical program was Co-Chaired Dr. Krys Michalski and by Dr. Don Wilton of The University of Houston and both former faculty members at Ole Miss. The conference program included an interesting variety of topics from AP-S and commissions A, B, D, F and K of USNC/URSI. The technical program lasted four days, from Monday, June 17th through Thursday, June 20th.

Those attending from Ole Miss were Dean Kai-Fong Lee, and Drs. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Allen W. Glisson, Ahmed A. Kishk, and Alexander B. Yakovlev. A total of 11 authored and co-authored papers by faculty and graduate students where presented in the AP-S/URSI Conference, as given in the following list:

A.B. Yakovlev, M.V. Lukic, A.Z. Elsherbeni, C.E. Smith, and M.B. Steer, "Broadband Printed Antenna for Waveguide-Based Spatial Power Combiners."
P.L. Chin, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C.E. Smith, "Characteristics of Coplanar Bow-Tie Patch Antenna."
G. Zheng, A.Z. Elsherbeni, and C.E. Smith, "A Coplanar Waveguide Bow-Tie Aperture Antenna."
A.Z. Elsherbeni, A.A. Eldek, B.N. Baker, C.E. Smith, and K-F. Lee, "Wideband Coplanar Patch-Slot Antennas for Radar Applications."
A.A. Kishk, "Tetrahedron and Triangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna with Wideband Performance."
A.A. Kishk, A.W Glisson, and X. Zhang, "Analysis of Dielectric Resonator Antennas Exited by a Coaxial Probe with Wideband Performance."
A.W. Glisson, S.M. Rao, and D.R. Wilton, "Physically-Based Approximation of Electromagnetic Field Quantities,"
C.M. Allen, A.Z. Elsherbeni, C.E. Smith, and C-W P. Huang, "Dual Tapered Meander Slot Antenna for Radar Applications."
A.A. Kishk, "Overview of Experimental and Numerical Reducing Blockage From Cylinders."
B. Deboo, K-F Lee, and R. Chair, "Stacked Patch Antenna with Shorting Pins."
G. Hanson and A.B.Yakovlev, "Analytical and Numerical Aspects of Regularization Techniques for Printed Transmission Lines."

In addition, Dr Elsherbeni chaired a technical session on "Bandwidth Enhancement and Minimization For Antennas," Dr. Kishk co-chaired a session on "Compact Reduced Size Antennas," Drs. Glisson and Kishk chaired a session on "Novel Numerical Techniques," and Dr. Yakovlev co-chaired a session on "Ray Methods for Urban and Indoor Propagation Modeling."

One of the major highlights of the conference was the Awards Banquet and Reception--Ranch Roundup held on Wednesday night. This unusual banquet venue featured a chuckwagon supper and cowboy show. Faculty had the opportunity to see real longhorn cattle and participate in events that include armadillo races, line dancing, and a rodeo. Dean Kai-Fong Lee and, Ole Miss Graduate, Dr. Edward K-N Yung (BSEE '73, MS '74, Ph.D. '77) of the City University of Hong Kong, are shown in the accompanying photo getting ready to mingle with the cows and participate in some of cowboy 'events'.

Dr. Edward K-N Yung and Dean Kai-Fong Lee (l-r) Taking It Easy at Some of the Cowboy 'Events' During the 2002 IEEE AP-S and USNC/URSI Conference.

Dr. Allen W. Glisson, New EE Department Chair, Joins the IEEE APS/URSI Crowd to See a Real Cowboy's Texas Ranch Roundup.

UMEE Students and Faculty Present Papers at MAESC

The School of Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering at The University of Mississippi were well represented as a major participants to the 4th Annual Memphis Area Engineering and Science Conference (MAESC) - Building Foundations for a Better Tomorrow - that was hosted by Christian Brothers University (CBU) on Friday, May 10, 2002. The conference was held in Buckman Hall on the CBU campus on East Parkway South in Memphis, TN.

As part of this conference, 9 papers describing electrical engineering research being pursed at The University of Mississippi were presented. These papers were co-authored by a large number of students and faculty as shown in the accompanying list of papers presented. Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni served on the MAESC Organization Committee, and he and Dr. Richard K. Gordon were Moderators for 3 Technical Sessions. On-line post-conference proceedings of paper abstracts can be viewed at cbu.edu/engineering/maesc

List of Papers Presented:
1. Design of Wideband Coplanar Patch-Slot Antennas by Atef Z. Elsherberni, Abdelnasser A. Eldek, Charles E. Smith, and Kai-Fong Lee
2. Analysis of Dual Tapered Meander Slot Printed Antenna by Cuthbert M. Allen, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Chun-Wen P. Huang (Anadigics, Inc.), and Charles E. Smith
3. Broadband Spatial Power Combiners: System Analysis and Antenna Design by Milan V. Lukich, Alexander B. Yakovlev, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith
4. Analysis of Coplanar Bow-Tie Aperture Antennas by Guiping Zheng, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith
5. Characteristics of Coplanar Patch Antennas by Paul L. Chin, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith
6. FDTD Analysis of Losses in Coplanar Waveguide Structures by Abdelnasser A. Eldek, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith
7. Efficiency Considerations for the Use of Wavelet-Like Finite Element Basis Functions by Suppakiat Tuksinvarajan, W. Elliott Hutchcraft, and Richard K. Gordon
8. An Investigation of the Error Associated with the Use of Higher-Order Wavelet-Like Basis Functions in the Finite Element Method by Richard K. Gordon and W. Elliott Hutchcraft
9. Higher-Order Wavelet-Like Basis Functions for the Finite Element Solution of Partial Differential Equations Over Two-Dimensional Regions by W. Elliott Hutchcraft, and Richard K. Gordon

Dr. Elsherbeni Receives the School of Engineering 2002 Outstanding Faculty Member Award

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, was awarded the School of Engineering 2002 Outstanding Faculty Member Award presented by the Engineering Alumni Chapter of The University of Mississippi at its Annual Awards Banquet held on April 26, 2002 at the Downtown Grill in Oxford, MS. The following narrative was used by Mr. William Porter, Alumni Chapter President, as an introduction for Dr. Elsherbeni and his many contributions to his students, his profession, and his department.

"The School of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Award is selected by a lengthy and elaborate process, involving peers, students, the dean, and representatives of the Engineering Alumni Chapter. Faculty are evaluated for their performances of the last 3 years based on 50% teaching, 30% research, and 20% service.

Dr. Elsherbeni obtained his B.Sc. and M.Eng. degrees from Cairo University and his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada in February 1987. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at Ole Miss in August 1987 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1991 and Professor in 1997.

Dr. Elsherbeni has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in Electrical Engineering. He introduced modern teaching techniques in his courses. For example, he introduced the multimedia concept in the electric circuits and microwave labs well before this technology was recognized by the University. He established and directed the electrical engineering visualization lab. He was a major contributor to educational software in electromagnetics that are widely used. He has been advisor to 3 Ph.D. graduates and 17 M.S. graduates

In the last three years, Dr. Elsherbeni's scholarly work included five book chapters, nine journal articles, 18 full length conference papers and 28 conference presentations and abstracts. He was principal investigator and co-principal investigator of research grants totaling $851,583 and is a senior investigator of the radar power technology project, which received $2 Million from the Army in the last two years.

During this same period, Dr. Elsherbeni served on many Department, School and University Committees, including the Research Advisory Board, the Assessment Committee, Faculty Senate, Dean's Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion, and the University's Tenure and Promotion Review Committee. His list of professional services are long and distinguished and have brought honor and recognition to Ole Miss School of Engineering. Only a few will be mentioned here. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, Associate Editor of Computer Applications in Engineering Education Journal, Chair of the IEEE Region 3 Educational Activities Committee, Chairman of the software exchange committee of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, and Member of the Organizing Committee for the Memphis Area Engineering and Science Conference.

Dr. Elsherbeni received the 1996 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award of the IEEE Memphis Section, the 2001 Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Exemplary Service Award, the 2001 Researcher/Scholar of the year award in the Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Mississippi. Just last month, he received the prestigious 2002 IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award."

Dr. Elsherbeni to receive Outstanding Educator Award

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Region 3 recently announced in their February 2002 Newsletter that Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, was selected to receive the Joseph Biedenbach Outstanding Engineering Educator Award at the SoutheastCon 2002 Conference to be held in Columbia, SC. Dr. Elsherbeni receives this award:

For contributions to excellence in teaching for undergraduates in electromagnetics, and for his outstanding research on modeling and simulation of microwave circuits and antennas.

Joseph Biedenbach Outstanding Engineering Educator

Dr. Elsherbeni will receive this award at the 2002 SoutheastCon Conference to be held on April 5-7, 2002. SoutheastCon is the annual IEEE Region 3 Technical, Professional, Student Conference established to bring Electrical and Computer Engineering Professionals, faculty, and students together to share information through technical sessions, tutorials, and exhibits in the southeastern United States. It is the most influential outlet in Region 3 for promoting awareness of technical contributions made by our profession to the advancement of engineering science and society.

EE Prof Co-Authors Two Book Chapters

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, has two co-authored book chapters in the recently published book, "Handbook of Antenna in Wireless Communications," from CRC Press. The two chapters, "The Finite Differences Time Domain (FDTD) Technique for Microstrip Antennas Applications" and "Handheld Antennas", are based on Dr. Elsherbeni's research on the use of the FDTD technique for the analysis, simulation and design of state-of-the-art antennas and other practical electromagnetic applications, that have led to national and international recognition for his work.

Dr. Charles E. Smith, Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Paul Huang, a former graduate student now with Anadigics, Inc. are also co-authors of the Handheld Antennas chapter.

Professors at PIERS 2001

Dr. Allen W. Glisson, Professor of Electrical Engineering, was recently invited to contribute a paper for a special session of the Progress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium, PIERS 2001, that was held in Osaka, Japan on July 18-22, 2001. The PIERS symposium provides an international forum for reporting the latest progress and advances in the modern development of electromagnetic theory and its new and exciting applications, and it is sponsored by the Electromagnetics Academy. Many different areas of electromagnetics are the driving technologies for most of the recent advancements in RF and wireless communication. Dr Glisson's papter, "Formulation of Single Surface Integral Equations via the Equivalence Principle for Scattering for Dielectric Bodies," is related to the analysis and design of a class of low loss dielectric antennas made from small ceramic disks, bars, and other shapes that are of great interest to industry and government groups for use in antennas.

Dr. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Professor of Electrical Engineering, also attended PIERS 2001 and presented a paper "Multi - Term Debye Modeling of Dispersive Media for the Scattered Field FDTD Formulation". This paper presents a technique based on the finite-different-time-domain (FDTD) for simulating the interaction of electromagnetic wave for biological tissues related to medical applications using radio frequency signals. Dr. Elsherbeni also chaired a technical session entitled, "Time-Domain Electromagnetics".

Ole Miss and Auburn Advance Radar Power Technology

On 23 April 2001 at Oxford, MS, the University of Mississippi and Auburn University performed the first of a series of tests in which solid state radar transmit / receive (T/R) modules were powered by a fuel cell. These initial tests proved the feasibility of driving solid-state radar T/R modules with fuel cells. These tests are a major milestone in the development of lightweight, compact, high efficiency power for radars in the Radar Power Technology (RPT) Program. The RPT program is a university advanced technology research program that is managed by the US Army Strategic Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, AL, and includes the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and Auburn University. The University of Mississippi RPT Radar Analysis Group includes Drs. Atef Z. Elsherbeni, Allen W. Glisson, Ahmed A. Kishk, and Charles E. Smith, along with Mr. Brian McDaniel of Radiance Technologies, Inc.

As shown in the photographs above, a small, low power, air cooled fuel cell built by H-Power Corp. and furnished by Auburn University was used to directly power two solid state T/R modules developed by Raytheon Co. at full power for an extended time. The solid-state modules and the fuel cell were controlled by software and hardware developed by the University of Mississippi for the RPT program. The fuel cell in this test was comparable in size, power, and operating temperature with the solid state T/R modules. These tests provide the first step by the RPT team in developing and demonstrating compact, high efficiency power sources and power distribution systems for lightweight, high mobility radars of the future.

Electrical Engineering Professors Named Researcher/Scholars of the Year

Three electrical engineering professors were recognized as 2001 Researcher/Scholars of the Year by The University of Mississippi in a new Office of Research initiative. Drs. Ahmed A. Kishk, Atef Z. Elsherbeni, and Charles E. Smith Professors of Electrical Engineering, received this award for their research and scholarly work during this past year.