As December rolls around once again, we would like to thank all of our contributors for a great year of editorial. The industry really stepped up to the plate with new products and technologies, robust components for a wide range of challenging applications and great marketing to support the engineering effort. As electronic systems get increasingly complex, the engineering gets harder and so it is fitting that we acknowledge these accomplishments in the media. It is also wonderfully self-serving to let end-users know what you have been up to. With this in mind, here’s what to expect in MWJ as we wrap-up this year and head into the next.
December focuses on emerging RF and microwave applications in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) sectors. One such example of rapidly growing technologies in these sectors is that of wireless sensing, which is being adapted from defense and security applications into industrial uses such as smart energy monitoring and control as well as machine-to-machine (M2M) technology. And so, this year’s cover article looks toward the future at what is being conceived as 5G, the wireless connectivity of machines, i.e. the internet of everything. I have come to think of our December issue as a kind of Popular Mechanics for microwave folks. We certainly live up to that concept this year.
On the medical front, we hear from NYU professor, Ted Rappaport, a pioneer in radio wave propagation for cellular and personal communications, wireless communication system design, and broadband wireless communications circuits and systems at millimeter wave frequencies. His research has influenced many international wireless-standards bodies, and he and his students invented the technology of site-specific radio frequency (RF) channel modeling and design for wireless network deployment – a technology he writes about in his perspective piece in our December issue.
January starts 2013 off with a bang featuring Raytheon fellow and world-renown phased array antenna guru, Eli Brookner, demystifying MIMO radar in our invited paper cover story. Antennas and radar get our full attention this month. Look for Remcom’s application note that will highlight the company’s new conformal antenna analysis software. Also included is a technical feature from SELEX Sistemi and National Instruments that presents an application in passive radar analysis.
The industry barely took a break during the summer months and seems poised to announce many new technologies and products through the fall and into the New Year. The Microwave Journal editorial staff encourages all media relations professionals to submit editorial ideas at least four months in advance for featured articles or products features and at least 2 months for new products announcements.
In February, we take a look at the state of RF and microwave circuitry at the board level, including all the hybrid, MCM and PCB technology used in subsystems from handsets to EW systems. In a way, transmission line technology defined a major milestone in the development and adoption of RF circuitry in early defense systems and it continues to be a source of considerable design effort as we struggle to make devices that are smaller, cheaper, lighter and more robust. For marketers of surface mount technology, active and passive devices, packaging and high-frequency substrates, this issue should find its way to your target audience.
Strap on a set of wings and let’s hang-glide our way off the pending “fiscal cliff” into the New Year. With the election behind us, I am bullish that better products that help companies to be more efficient, reduce costs or enter new markets will always be welcome by paying customers. Once you help the Journal get the word out.