Speech Title: Prior Knowledge-Guided Deep Learning-enabled Generative Antenna Design

Abstract: Antenna technology has a rich history dating back to the 19th century, with continuous advancements aimed at meeting the escalating demands of wireless systems development. Over the past two decades, metamaterial-based antenna technologies have emerged as a significant avenue for enhancing various antenna parameters such as bandwidth, size reduction, gain enhancement, and mutual coupling suppression. Concurrently, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative neural network methodologies, presents a promising frontier in antenna design innovation.

This keynote speech explores the transformative potential of deep learning (DL), a subset of machine learning (ML) within AI, in revolutionizing antenna design. The presentation begins by outlining the prospective impact of DL on antenna innovation, followed by the introduction of two design exemplars employing generative adversarial networks (GANs). These examples illustrate novel approaches to metacell design within metasurfaces, achieved through pixelization techniques and DL-driven algorithms. Notably, the incorporation of prior knowledge (PK) in DL-enabled synthesis is elucidated, showcasing its efficacy in synthesizing metacells for metalens applications.

Furthermore, the presentation showcases how metalenses synthesized using PK-DL techniques exhibit breakthrough performance and offer additional functionalities in metalens antenna design. The discourse concludes by contemplating the future trajectory of Antenna+AI integration, highlighting its potential to redefine the boundaries of antenna engineering.

Biography: Zhi Ning Chen received his two PhD degrees in 1993 and 2003, respectively. Dr. Chen has worked in academic, research organizations, and industry since 1988. He is currently a Provost Chair Professor and the Director of the Advanced Research and Technology Innovation Center at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Chen is the founding General Chair of several international workshops and symposiums, including the International Workshop on Antenna Technology (iWAT in 2005), International Symposium on InfoComm & Mechatronics Technology in Bio-Medical & Healthcare Application (IS 3Tin3A in 2010), International Microwave Forum (IMWF in 2010), Asia-Pacific Conference on Antennas and Propagation (APCAP in 2012), and Marina Forum (Mar-For in 2021). He has also been involved in many international events as a general chair, chair, and member of technical program committees and international advisory committees. He has been invited to deliver over 110 keynote, plenary, and invited speeches at international academic and industry events. Dr. Chen has published over 700 academic papers and seven books, as well as held over 36 granted/filed patents and completed over 42 technology licensing deals with industry. He is a pioneer in developing small and ultra-wideband antennas, wearable/implanted medical antennas, package antennas, near-field antennas/coils, three-dimensional integrated LTCC arrays, microwave metamaterial-metasurface antennas. Currently, Dr. Chen is focusing on the translational research of metasurfaces into antenna engineering as well as the development of algorithms, particularly machine-learning-enabled synthesis methods for metantennas. Dr. Chen is the recipient of the IEEE John Kraus Antenna Award (2021) and many other academic and engineering awards. He was elevated to the Fellow of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore in 2019, Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA), and is serving as Vice President of AAIA. He was also elevated to Fellow of the IEEE for his contribution to small and broadband antennas for wireless applications in 2007. He is serving as a Member of the AdCom of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (since 2023). He served on the IEEE Council on RFID as a Vice President and a Distinguished Lecturer (2015-2021), as well as on the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation as an Associate Editor (2012-2018, 2023-), and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society as a Distinguished Lecturer (2009-2012).

 

Biography: Mohamad Sawan, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Sciences of Canada, Fellow of the IEEE, is an internationally renowned scientist in the field of smart medical devices. He has made significant contributions in implantable and wearable medical devices based on smart microsystems. Professor Sawan got a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Sherbrooke in 1990, was a postdoc fellow in Biomedical Engineering in McGill University in 1991, and was assistant professor, associate professor and full professor from 1991 to 2018 in Polytechnique, the Engineering School of University of Montreal. He joined the School of Engineering of Westlake University as a Chair Professor in 2018, he is the Founder and Principle Investigator the Center of Excellence in Biomedical Research on Advances-in-Chips Neurotechnologies (CenBRAIN Neurotech) in Westlake University.