Distinguished Lecturers

Robert (Bob) Johnk (M’91 – SM’07) received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado in 1990, where he specialized in electromagnetics and antennas. Bob is currently a research engineer at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (NTIA/ITS) where he is engaged in advancing the state of the art in radio-channel propagation measurements/analysis and mentoring new engineers in the art of measurement science. During the development of the FirstNet National Public Safety Radio System, Bob conducted research on in-building wireless propagation and methods for improving in-building public safety communications. Prior to joining NTIA/ITS in 2007, he worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado for 17 years, where he was the leader of the time-domain fields project. Bob has received best paper awards from the IEEE EMC Society, NTIA, and NIST. In 2011, Bob received the IEEE EMC Society’s Technical Achievement Award for his work “in the development of free-space time-domain measurement techniques”. Bob has also received a U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal award for his work in Public Safety communications. Bob is a Life Senior member of the IEEE and a member of both Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi. He is available to present the following talks:

Talk 1: A Comprehensive Study of In-Building Wireless Coverage at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus (UCB) in the 700 MHz Band.

This talk describes comprehensive measurements of two buildings on the UCB campus. This talk describes the special drive test equipment and measurement techniques that are needed to map signal levels/data rates and quantify in-building coverage. This talk will also describe techniques that are used to mitigate low-signal areas and improve in-building coverage. Data sets obtained from comprehensive measurement campaigns in two large buildings will be presented. This talk will be of interest to wireless engineers and folks who are interested in effective in-building communications.;

Talk 2: A Low-Cost Way to Assess In-Building Coverage Using Android Devices.

This talk is a companion to Talk 1. In this talk, a low-cost method is described that involves a specialized Android app which was developed at NTIA. This provides a quick and easy way to test in-building coverage and identify problem areas with indoor coverage. The approach described in this talk is low-cost and does not require a high level of operator expertise. The app and associated measurement techniques can be quickly mastered with very little knowledge of RF measurements. This talk will summarize results from six different buildings in Harris County, Texas and Boulder, Colorado. An in-building coverage scoring methodology is presented to determine the quality of coverage and to identify problem areas inside of buildings. Data from a few different in-building scenarios will be presented. This talk will be of interest to folks who are interested in simple tests that can identify problem areas to ensure robust in-building communications and improved safety.

Talk 3: How to Perform Mobile Channel Measurements Using a CW System.

This talk describes how to conduct mobile channel measurements in a wide range of outdoor environments, ranging from open rural to heavily cluttered urban areas. The talk will describe the methods, equipment, and the post processing of data to obtain useful propagation parameters such as path loss, Doppler spreading, and K-factors. This talk will be of interest to both the wireless and EMC communities. The results of these types of measurements are used by spectrum managers to inform national policy. Results from measurement campaigns at 1700MHz and 3500 MHz will be presented. The methods presented in this talk could be used to evaluate the performance of EMC testing facilities such as Anechoic/Semi-Anechoic chambers and Open-Area testing facilities.

Talk 4: Taking your Measurements Underground

This talk describes a comprehensive measurement campaign that was conducted in a coal mine with the sponsorship of DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge. Two mobile measurement systems were developed to both time- and frequency-domain radio propagation measurements in the200 MHz-6GHz at the CDC’s experimental mine in Bruceton, Pennsylvania. The talk describes the measurements systems, the mobility solutions, data post processing, and propagation data obtained. This talk should be of interest to mining safety engineers, wireless engineers, and EMC engineers who want to better understand subterranean radio propagation issues.

Mathias Magdowski received his Dipl.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. Degree in electrical engineering from the Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany in 2008 and 2012, respectively, where he is currently working as a scientific co-worker at the Institute for Medical Engineering. His current research interests include analytical and statistical methods for modeling EMC problems, especially the field-to-wire coupling of statistic fields in mode-stirred chambers. He is a member of the corporate research group 767.3-767.4 within the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies and serves as the co-convenor of the Joint Working Group on Reverberation Chambers within the IEC and CISPR. Mathias Magdowski also volunteers as a marketing and member services coordinator within the IEEE German EMC Chapter and in the IEEE Student Branch in Magdeburg. He is available to present the following talks:

Talk 1: Well Stirred is Half Measured – EMC Tests in Reverberation Chambers

This talk explains basic properties of reverberation chambers and presents some exemplary practical chambers with their parameters. The normative chamber validation as well as emission measurements and immunity tests are briefly explained. Finally, advantages and disadvantages in comparison with other EMC test environments are discussed.

Talk 2: Why the Wire is on Fire – Electromagnetic Field Coupling to Transmission Lines

Cables and transmission lines attached to devices and complex systems may act as parasitic receiving antennas and can guide unwanted radiated electromagnetic disturbances into connected sensitive electronics like sensors or measurement units. In this talk, the basic field-to-wire coupling phenomena will be described. Analytical and numerical calculations will be explained and compared with experimental results.

Talk 3: Robust, Precise, Fast – Chose Two for Radiated EMC Measurements!

Efficient and accurate measurement of the radiated emission at high frequencies can be a challenge, especially for electrically large unintentional radiators and devices under test. This talk will explain the procedure as well as the corresponding advantages and disadvantages for different EMC test environments such as anechoic rooms, wave guides, and reverberation chambers.

Yarú Méndez is engaged as a principal engineer at the wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power in Denmark and as a lecturer in electrical engineering (EE) at the Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB) in Venezuela. The main focus of his professional and academic activity is power systems and renewable energy based power generation. Previously, he was Director of Engineering at the company Raycap GmbH in Germany and Research Engineer at the company General Electric Global Research (GEGR) in Germany. His primary responsibilities included renewable energy based systems (wind and solar) and their interaction to the grid with a main focus on electromagnetic transients. Concerning his education, he earned a degree in electrical engineering in power systems from the Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), a Dr.-Ing. Degree from the University of Kassel (UNIK) in Germany, and an MBA degree from the University of Applied Sciences Munich (HM) in Germany. Currently, he holds 17 patents and has published 59 scientific publications as author and coauthor. He is available to present the following talks:

Talk 1: An Experimental Validation of the Bergeron Transmission Line Model Applied to Rotor Blades During Lightning.

Composite materials application in modern wind turbine rotor blades, such as carbon fiber-reinforced (CFRP) and glass fiber-reinforced (GFRP) polymer composites, are dominating the blade manufacturing process. Carbon pultruded blades, which are widely implemented in blades with lengths above 50 m, can be approximated as a multi-conductor cable, where the carbon spar caps and the lightning current down conductor cable form a multiple phase model. The aim of this lecture is to adapt the Bergeron transmission line model to a carbon pultrusion blade and validate its transient response against impulse currents measured in the high voltage lab. Bergeron’s transmission line modeling shows an acceptable alternative concerning transient response compared to the oscillographs obtained in the lab.

Talk 2: Electromagnetic Transients Caused by Lightning in Utility Scale PV-Plants.

The connection to ground of the negative or positive terminal of photovoltaic (PV) generators is a common practice to mitigate the effects of the potential induced degradation (PID), which is attributed to chemical reactions (ion’s exchange) between the materials that constitute the PV-module during operation. Furthermore, the complex topology of a utility scale PV-plant, its dimensions and the stored energy in the central PV-inverter’s DC-link suggest the hypothesis that overvoltage at the DC- and AC-side of the PV-plant may arise during transients caused by impulse currents. The objective of this lecture is to explore the effects of this practice on the operation of utility scale MW-class PV-plants during transients caused by lightning.

Talk 3: Effects of Wind Turbine Grounding System Interconnection on Electromagnetic Transients Caused by Lightning.

The latest edition of the norm IEC-61400-24 recommends that the wind turbine’s grounding system should be interconnected to the other wind turbine’s grounding system erected in the wind park; this is in order to reduce abnormal earth potential distribution and mitigate dangerous overvoltage. A comparison between a stand-alone wind turbine (without grounding system interconnection) and a set of interconnected wind turbines (with grounding system interconnection) is presented and analyzed during this lecture. Overvoltage and overcurrent in the form of surges may be the result of electromagnetic traveling waves caused by lightning; these effects may impose additional requirements for the reliable operation of a low voltage and medium voltage grid against surges caused by lightning strikes.

Jianqing Wang is a Full Professor at Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) and Vice Director of Center for Future Communications Research, NITech, Japan. He received the B.E. degree in electronic engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, in 1984, and the M.E. and D. Eng. degrees in electrical and communication engineering from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, in 1988 and 1991, respectively. He was a Senior Engineer with Sophia Systems Company Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, before joining NITech, Nagoya, Japan, in 1997. His research interests include electromagnetic compatibility and biomedical communications. He authored Body Area Communications (Wiley-IEEE) in 2012 and received the Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE EMC Society in 2019. In 2021, he was elevated to IEEE Fellow for his contributions to EMC of biological and wearable/implant devices. Since 2020, he has been focusing his research on EMC aspects and international standardization of automobile Ethernet devices and components at the Center for Future Communications Research, NITech, which aims to evaluate the reliability of communication that contributes to the realization of a safe and secure autonomous driving system. He is available to present the following talks:

Talk 1: Wearable Devices EMC.

This talk will first introduce our developed wearable devices such as a wearable electrocardiogram and a wearable robotic hand by combining vital sensors and human body communication technology, The basic EMI mechanism of external electromagnetic field to wearable devices will be clarified from the viewpoint of conversion from common mode to differential mode, and a countermeasure at the design stage will be shown. Moreover, an immunity test system for wearable devices will also be presented.

Talk 2: ESD Test Methods for Electronic Components Used in Automobile Ethernet.

This talk will introduce test methods of common mode choke and ESD suppression device characteristics used in automobile Ethernet. It includes mixed-mode S-parameter measurement, de-embedding, ESD (electrostatic discharge) damage test, TLP (transmission line pulse) saturation test, and the potential for as well as challenges of using a TLP-HMM (human metal model) to replace the usual ESD gun.

Talk 3: Body Area Communications.

This talk will introduce the basic principle and mechanism of body area communications, and provide some examples of its application to on-body communication and in-body communication. It will involve body-area channel modeling, modulation and demodulation, and EMC aspects.

Karen Burnham is a Principal Scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications in Denver, CO. She is an iNARTE certified EMC engineer with experience in both the aerospace/defense and automotive industries. At NASA JSC, she worked on the Orion spacecraft and pyrotechnic systems. She was able to work on the Dream Chaser spacecraft and the F-35 fighter jet. She spent several years working at Ford Motor Company on traditional vehicles like the Ford Edge and Lincoln Continental as well as on their line of electric hybrid vehicles such as the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator. Ms. Burnham is a member of the IEEE EMC Society Board of Directors where she serves as Assistant Vice President of Standards. She holds a BS degree in Physics from Northern Arizona University and an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Houston.

Talk 1: Lightning Protection of Aircraft: Simulation and Test

This talk covers lightning basics as well as specific techniques to both protect aircraft from these strikes and prove to certifying agencies that the protection is adequate. This will cover both historical approaches and cutting-edge combinations of simulation and testing.

Talk 2: Software Defined Radio (SDR) – EMC Applications

SDR hardware can now be purchased easily for under $30 USD and SDR software packages are available free for any platform you like. Low cost SDRs can be a useful troubleshooting tool for the practicing EMC engineer. In this talk, Ms. Burnham will demonstrate some of the handy capabilities of a low cost SDR system, from determining relative signal strengths to characterizing noise or interfering signals.

Talk 3: Noise Sources in Electric Vehicles

With electric vehicles becoming more common, the electromagnetic noise they generate is an issue that more designers must face. Ms. Burnham brings lessons learned from several years of troubleshooting electric vehicles, both hybrid and plug in, to discuss some of the most important EV noise factors.

Talk 4: Unintentional Antennas

One of the biggest causes of EMC test failures is radiating structures in a unit, whether from the PCB or cabling, that are acting in ways designers never intended. This talk covers basics of antenna theory and how to identify potential radiating “antennas” in your product.

Garth D’Abreu is the Director, Automotive Solutions at ETS-Lindgren based at the corporate headquarters office in Cedar Park, Texas. He currently has primary responsibility for the design and development functions within the Systems Engineering group, specializing in turnkey solutions for Automotive EMC, Wireless and OTA test integration. Some of these more complex full vehicle and ESA test chambers involve his coordination with the RF engineering team on custom components, and the certified, internal Building Information Modeling (BIM) team at ETS-Lindgren.

He is also the ETS-Lindgren subject matter expert responsible for the ongoing research and development of Reverberation chambers, GTEM cells, and supports the RF filters, EMP applications and wireless device test systems groups. Automotive EMC, Antenna Measurement, and Wireless Test Systems for modern vehicles, incorporate multiple measurement techniques and chamber combinations, for which his expertise is well suited.

Mr. D’Abreu is a Senior Member of the IEEE EMC Society and active participant in standards development as a member of the US ISO and CISPR D automotive EMC standards committees. He has over 27 years of experience in the RF industry and holds a BSc degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering, from North London University, UK.

Talk 1: Reverberation Chambers

Interest in reverberation chambers has grown in the last 15 years, almost in step with the increasing complexity and, in some cases, vulnerability of electronic systems. The severity of this test environment, especially for immunity testing, is due to the inherent attributes of a well-designed chamber. There are many parameters that can be optimized to suit the type of testing to be done, ranging from the traditional EMC tests to the more recently developed sensitivity and radiated power tests performed on wireless communication devices. Mr. D’Abreu discusses the importanat aspects of the design, validation, and testing of reverb chambers, including a look at some of the pitfalls, while drawing on his years of experience in designing chamber installations for EMC and wireless applications.

Talk 2: EMC Chambers and Testing

Anechoic chambers in their various iterations have been around for several decades; the basic principles are fairly well understood and chambers are routinely designed to meet a wide range of test requirements. In this talk, Mr. D’Abreu discusses the intricacies of EMC chamber design with specific emphasis on the importance of RF absorber performance and chamber layout as well as its impact on overall performance. He also looks at some of the compromises involved in optimizing a design for a specific application, the development of EMC test chamber standards, and the technology available to produce compliant test environments.

Talk 3: Vehicle Antenna Measurement

This relatively new branch of automotive testing is in its infancy, with test standards still being developed as technology progresses at a rapid pace. This talk focusses on antenna pattern measurement techniques and over-the-air (OTA) performance testing of the communication systems installed in vehicle platforms. Mr. D’Abreu reviews the adaptation of some of the techniques used in other industries and the design details required to obtain a facility capable of providing accurate and useable vehicle antenna patterns and communication performance data.

Talk 4: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) EMC Testing

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have become an ubiquitous feature on almost all new vehicles. With the development of any new test, there is the process of first determining the purpose of the test by identifying known and potential vulnerabilities, then finding effective ways of exercising and verifying performance. The systems employed in providing ADAS use several technologies, some of which are relatively new to EMC testing methods. This talk discusses the details of traditional EMC testing and the adaptation of some of these to meet the needs of adequately exercising ADAS related features, and the special considerations associated with testing safety systems that are integral to a driver’s safe operation of a vehicle.

Robert Kebel is an IEEE Senior Member and is a world renowned expert in EMC and lightning protection. He has been involved in various tasks for integrating electric and electronic systems into aircraft and has studied root-cause and impact of environmental electromagnetic factors on aircraft electric power systems.

Dr. Kebel works for Airbus in Hamburg, Germany since 2001 where he directs the aircraft wing integration, ensures lightning protection for aircraft, and oversees EMC and lightning protection. Prior to Airbus, Dr. Kebel worked for EADS Germany’s military aircraft section where his responsibilities were in the field of signature technology. After receiving his diploma in electrical engineering from Hanover University in 1995, Robert joined the research group of Professor Heyno Garbe at the University’s Institute for Basic Electromagnetics and Measurement Technology where he was a research assistant. In 1996, Dr. Kebel became a research assistant and was employed by the German Armed Forces University in Hamburg, now Helmut-Schmidt University Hamburg.

Dr. Kebel received his Ph.D. in 1999. He is the author of numerous publications in the field of electromagnetic compatibility and lightning protection.

Talk 1: Conducted EMI of an Inverter-Driven Electric Power Train

Due to the electrification in mobility applications, electric (high) power trains become an increasingly important subject of investigating EMI. This talk provides an overview about the systematic root cause of electromagnetic conducted emissions of a power train. Direct current (DC) power sources such as batteries or fuel cells provide the energy for propulsion. Alternating current (AC) electric engines drive the vehicle, because AC engines have advantages in maintenance and reliability. Pulse-width modulating (PWM) inverters convert DC into AC voltages. PWM technology can lead to significant electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues pending e.g. on power level and more electric parameters, which should be chosen early for mitigating the EMI risk. A simple predictive simulation model supports making integration decisions in view of the EMI risk.

Typical power levels for smaller aircraft power trains start at 100 kW; levels up to some 10 MW are necessary for the propulsion of large transport aircraft. Fast switching inverters converting high power levels imply a high dV/dt and a significant EMI potential in common mode (CM). This talk will also show how the choice of the inverter and the choice of the power system (IT versus TN network) limits or exacerbates interference. Crosstalk to wiring looms routed adjacently to power train AC cables will further illustrate the effects and provide options for an optimization of a power train from an EMI point of view.

Talk 2: Optimization of Shielding in an Aircraft Wing – Focus on Lightning Induced Effects

A raceway eases the wire bundle installation and bundle maintenance significantly compared to an over shielded bundle solution, also the raceway provides multiple electric functions where a major function is the lightning induced effects protection. For the aircraft wing, a raceway approach is investigated. The aim is to predict the transfer function for lightning induced effects and to anticipate the optimum design. The technology is well known from various aircraft installations and the integration has been based on testing and measurements. A simple reapplication of previously set requirements does not account for the increased use of composite material and resulting differences in lightning current paths.

Also today, numerical tools enable a visibility of the electromagnetic effects prior to hardware availability. However, their use also has constraints, which need to be considered. Single methods such as only FDTD or only method of moments may result into a limited flexibility or significant modelling effort as the size of a model creates some workload and time constraint when just a model detail is being changed during the development process. A FDTD cell size of 10 cm for example will be satisfactory to analyze the lightning current path, but it will not allow judging the performance of a particular raceway with dimensions of just a few centimeters cross section in the same size FDTD model. A simulation technique is needed that allows modelling of small details as well as large sections.

As previously shown, the position of wire routings, raceways or even wires in raceways have a significant influence on the needed protection performance. Geometry of the wing structure is another parameter as well as the design of the raceways and its fastening brackets. This presentation outlines how small details of a model as well as the overall size of an aircraft section can be combined with the help of a dedicated analytic transfer impedance model. How improvements and potential mitigations may be anticipated will be reviewed. The impact of a transient lightning strike can be anticipated while directly giving conclusions for improvement potential and optimum design.

Nicolas Mora (M’07 – SM ‘18) received a B. S. degree in Electronics Engineering in 2007, and a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering with a major in High Voltage Engineering in 2009, both from the National University of Colombia. He joined the EMC Research Group of the National University of Colombia in 2007. In 2009 he joined the EMC Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). He received his Ph. D degree in Electrical Engineering from EPFL in 2016. From 2015 to 2019 he worked as an R & D Engineer for montena technology. In 2020 he joined the Directed Energy Research Center of the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, where he was the Senior Director of Electromagnetic Effects. In 2023 he joined the Research and Extension Directorate of the National University of Colombia. In 2011, he received the Frank Gunther Award of the Radio Club of America and the Young Scientist Award from URSI. From 2013-2016, he was the president of the Colombian Association of Researchers in Switzerland. In 2015 he received the Young Scientist Award from the Summa Foundation. He was appointed Distinguished Reviewer of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. He was the chair of the joint EMC / AP / MTT chapter of IEEE in Switzerland between 2016 and 2019. In 2016, he received the Best Paper Award from the EMC Europe 2016 Wroclaw Symposium. In 2018, he received the HPEM Fellow award from the Summa Foundation, and in 2019 the Motohisa Kanda Most Cited IEEE Transactions in EMC Paper Award. Since 2021 he has served as Associate Editor of the IEEE Letters on Electromagnetic Compatibility Practice and Application. Since 2022 he has been an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility. He was elected IEEE EMC Distinguished Lecturer for the period 2022-2023. In 2023 he joined the Board of Directors of the IEEE EMC Society as a representative of R9.

Talk 1: Protection of Critical Infrastructures Against IEMI

The progress of high power electromagnetic (HPEM) sources during the late 1990s raised concern in the EMC community that they could be deployed for criminal purposes to interfere with the operation of modern electronic systems. It is well established that sufficiently intense electromagnetic fields can cause upset or damage in electronic systems and, therefore, can affect almost every critical infrastructure (CI) based on information and communication technologies (ICT).

Protection against Intentional Electromagnetic Interferences (IEMI) threats can be acknowledged as a reminiscence of the cold war period and the research programs on protection against HEMP. This talk reviews the assessment techniques of the vulnerability of CI against IEMI. To quantify their impact, the IEMI environments need to be characterized, the susceptible components and subsystems of the CI should be identified, and the expected disturbances have to be evaluated.

Talk 2: HPEM Threats and Immunity Test Methods

Understanding the current technical capabilities in developing HPEM sources is important to design adequate hardening strategies for critical equipment. This talk presents a general overview of publicly reported HPEM interference sources’ capabilities and the global considerations for their detection, identification, and localization. In addition, an assessment of the maximum expected outputs of HPEM sources is made by looking at the physical limitations that constrain the development of current technologies. The main HPEM immunity test methods are explained, emphasizing protection according to the IEC and MIL standards

Talk 3: Early-Time HEMP Conducted Environment

The design of protection schemes for military and civilian infrastructure against High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulses (HEMP) requires testing the efficiency of the installed protection devices. The test must reproduce the high current levels induced on overhead lines when exposed to the expected impinging fields. Extensive work was performed several decades ago in the US and the IEC SC 77C to calculate the electromagnetic environment produced by HEMP. Several standards have been issued to define the testing parameters of the protection devices. In this talk, we investigate the accuracy of past results by revisiting the calculations using advanced techniques. Understanding the work methodology and predicting the HEMP conducted environment is paramount to properly planning electromagnetic protections.