We’re sure virtually all of the attendees and guests would agree that the beach was incredible, the weather fabulous, the accommodations superb and the convention center comfortable and accommodating. Microwave Week attracted 6952 attendees— not a record attendance by any means, but certainly a respectable turnout considering its remote location.

This year’s success was a direct result of a lot of hard work by the 2007 general chair, Wayne Shiroma, and his very capable staff of volunteers that labored throughout the year to make this event a memorable experience. The symposium attracted 2392 delegates for the comprehensive technical program, a result that was more than a satisfying reward for their efforts. Congratulations should go to Wayne and his staff for a job well done.


Congratulations should also go to the general chair of the 2007 RFIC Symposium, Luciano Boglione, and his staff, and Dominique Schreurs, the general chair of the ARFTG Measurement Conference, and his team. The theme this year was “Microwaves Across the Pacific” and it was particularly noteworthy that here was the first real military application of radar during that infamous Sunday in 1941 at Pearl Harbor. The world of microwaves came into its own after that fateful day.

The Technical Program

The technical symposium kicked off with two inspiring talks during the Plenary Session. Anil Kripalani, Sr. Vice President for Global Technology Affairs for Qualcomm, spoke of “The Future of Mobile Broadband,” while Ryuji Kohno, Director of the Center of Medical Information and Communication Technology for Yokohama National University, talked of “The Next Direction of Advanced Wireless Communication Technology – Medical ICT.”

The Honolulu venue certainly did not take away from the traditional depth and quality of the technical program. Tatsuo Itoh, this year’s Technical Program Chair, and his team assembled a superb technical program of 523 oral presentations in seven parallel program sessions, seven panel sessions and four interactive forums comprised of 142 individual papers, and 47 workshops and short courses.

The Social Program

The social program kicked off with the traditional MTT-S/Microwave Journal Reception on Monday evening in the ballroom of the Honolulu Convention Center, where old friends and colleagues reacquainted. The Women in Microwaves Reception was held Tuesday evening, as was the Student Reception. Wednesday was the Industry-hosted Cocktail Reception followed by the MTT-S Awards Banquet. In addition, there was an extensive Guest Program that included a day trip to Maui and many other trips and tours. This had to be one of the best symposiums for playing tourist.

The Industry Exhibition

Over 300 companies made the long trip to Hawaii to showcase their new products and make new business contacts. It wasn’t a record turnout, but for the companies that were there it had to be considered a good return on an enjoyable investment. There was an impressive line up of new products from some of the leading companies in the microwave industry. The IMS 2007 Industry Exhibition highlighted several key introductions from exhibitors around the globe. In addition, Microwave Journal published an on-line show daily sponsored by Agilent, M/A-COM and RFMD that highlighted many of the latest product entries being introduced. A comprehensive listing of those new product releases can be viewed on the Microwave Journal Web site at www.mwjournal.com/IMSProducts.

New Year, New Venue: Atlanta

Next year Microwave Week returns to the East Coast. IMS 2008 will be held in Atlanta, GA, June 15 to 20. Atlanta is a great convention city and will no doubt be a gracious host to our annual event. We hope to see you all there next year.