Dean of School is elected a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering
Professor Vardaxoglou (standing far left) and the other new Fellows are welcomed into the Royal Academy of Engineering at a ceremony at the magnificent Drapers' Hall, London.
Professor Yiannis Vardaxoglou, Dean of the School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has been recognised by the UK engineering fraternity for his long-term and significant contribution to wireless engineering and especially to the research, design and development of antennas.
Professor Vardaxoglou has pioneered research, design and development of antennas and has commercially exploited a number of his innovations. One of the pioneers of Frequency Selective Surfaces work in the UK, his closely-coupled surfaces discovery has led to efficient electromagnetic screen designs. Crucial for low Radar Cross Section of radomes, BAE Systems have invested in and exploited this technique. In recent years he has been active in the field of Metamaterials and has demonstrated outstanding technical leadership across Europe in promoting this innovative technology. Although in its early stages, he maintains that combined with nanotechnology, new materials could be synthesised that will offer an application explosion in wireless engineering.
Driven by the mobile communications market growth, he founded Antrum Ltd and acts as Technical Director in the supply of antenna products to UK service providers such as Orange Plc and handset manufacturers such as Sendo Ltd. Antrum also provides testing services to a number of companies, such as Francis & Lewis International and Compro Ltd. Antrum are embarking onto the next generation [beyond 3G] of mobile communications, through exploiting breakthrough (patented) tunable antenna technologies based on metamaterials. A DTI Smart award (granted to Antrum Ltd) and an ESA contract has provided the investment support for exploiting metamaterials in fabric antennas for search and rescue applications. Under Prof Vardaxoglou’s leadership the company has embarked on the development of the world’s first UHF antenna using metamanterials.
His major breakthrough has been the development (taken from initial research stages) and mass production of high performance and low specific absorption rate (SAR) miniaturised antennas for mobile phones. Partially funded by Sarantel Ltd (a start-up company financed by 3i) Prof Vardaxoglou established a world-class Centre for Mobile Communications Research (CMCR) at Loughborough. Employing seven research and technical staff, the CMCR designs and develops miniaturised antennas for wireless telephony. Owing to media reports, the SAR requirements are now widespread and mobile phone handsets will have to produce lower exposure levels. The debate by medical experts on emissions affecting health will continue.
Under Prof Vardaxoglou’s leadership, the CMCR produced the world’s first low SAR antenna by reducing near field emissions by more than 90% compared to existing technology. This new antenna is based on a hybrid ferrite/dielectric material and can be installed very close to electronic circuits, mechanical objects and human tissue, while still performing efficiently. It reduces the need for filters (thus lower component costs) and also reduces the need for a large ground plane and handset interaction. The manufacture uses robotic and laser techniques to ensure that high volume and low cost requirements are achieved. Both the design and manufacture process are protected by a significant patent portfolio. This has given the UK industry a strong lead in licensing and mass-producing mobile telephony products.
Light Switched Silicon Frequency Selective Surface