Cover Feature
Welcome to the 2002 International Microwave Symposium
Donn Harvey
General Chairman, 2002 International Microwave Symposium
Welcome to Seattle, Washington for the 2002 International Microwave Symposium, the 50th anniversary of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. This marks the first year the Symposium is held in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. A dedicated team of over 60 volunteers from Northwest industry and academia has been working together for over seven years to put together this year's symposium. We are proud to present Microwave Week 2002.
The 50th Anniversary of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society
Microwave Week is the highlight of the year for our industry. It is a time to present breakthrough research or make new product announcements, a time to learn about a new technology or find the missing piece to a design problem, a time to make contact with industry experts, a time for user groups, workshops, side meetings, social events and friends. The following are some of the highlights of Microwave Week 2002. It is a full week with something for everyone and more than can be absorbed by most.
Microwave Week kicks off on Sunday, June 2, with three all day tutorials. These tutorials are intended to be a primer on selected topics for people new to the industry or new to that particular technology. Workshops continue to be popular and are held on Sunday, June 2, Monday, June 3 and Friday, June 7. The local steering committee, with the help of the MTT technical committees, has selected a total of 30 workshops for this year's Symposium. Workshops are either full-day or half-day in length, allowing more time for an in-depth investigation of the topics presented. The heart of Microwave Week is the Technical Sessions, which are held on Tuesday, June 4, Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6, with lunchtime panel sessions. The technical sessions are launched with the Plenary Session on Tuesday morning. The Plenary Session sets the tone for the conference with a keynote speaker and presentation of IEEE MTT awards. In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the MTT-S a special Interactive Forum is being held jointly with the historical exhibit on Tuesday through Thursday. This Interactive Forum includes posters selected from a special 50th anniversary Transactions issue on key microwave technologies of the last 50 years.
The Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) symposium is held on Monday with Joint RFIC/IMS sessions held on Tuesday. The RFIC symposium technical sessions and workshops provide focused presentations on integrated circuit technologies for radio frequency applications. Microwave Week wraps up with the Automatic Radio Frequency Techniques Group (ARFTG) Conference on Friday. ARFTG presents focused sessions on measurement techniques for high frequency circuits and devices.
An important part of the International Microwave Symposium is the exhibits. This year over 450 exhibitors will be joining us in Seattle for the largest trade show of the RF and microwave industry. Many exhibitors use this opportunity to make announcements and launch new products. To facilitate these product announcements and other product presentations we are again hosting the Microwave Applications Seminars (µAPS) throughout the day on Tuesday through Thursday.
Microwave technology is a big industry but a small community. This week we have a number of social events scheduled to allow time to gather with old acquaintances and make new friends. Social events include the RFIC Reception on Sunday evening and the Microwave Journal /MTT-S Reception on Monday. This year we are having a Tuesday evening boat trip to Tillicum Village on Blake Island where we will be treated to a traditional Salmon Bake and Native American show. The premier social event of the week is the MTT-S Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening preceded by the Industry-hosted Cocktail Reception. The Awards Banquet includes dinner and the opportunity to recognize the achievements of our colleagues. Stay tuned after the awards presentation for a special screening of "MT-TV."
The guest program is packed with exciting side trips. The Pacific Northwest is consistently rated as one of the nation's best vacation locations due to its abundant natural beauty. Trips this year include sightseeing at Mt. Rainer, Snoqualmie Falls or a stay in town to visit the Space Needle, take a boat cruise or visit a winery. If you still need more technology be sure to sign up for the Boeing Everett plant tour where they assemble the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet.
I hope you enjoy Microwave Week 2002. I sincerely believe we will all leave here better equipped for our profession.
Donn Harvey , founder of Techlink, a company developed to help fast moving companies succeed by having access to the best development engineering talent available, worked for over 12 years as a microwave and RF design engineer in the aerospace industry and six years as a hiring manager at a fast growing telecommunications startup. He is very involved with the technical community, has published a number of technical papers and delivered many technical presentations at industry conferences. He has four patents.
As a manager he was responsible for staffing and managing a number of engineering departments including RF design, systems, verification, digital, sustaining, CAD and laboratory support. Donn worked for a year as director of advanced development where he investigated new technologies in the area of broadband wireless and smart antennas. Donn has been an active IEEE member since 1981 volunteering many hours for the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S). He was past Chairman of the Seattle Section and is the General Chairman of the 2002 International Microwave Symposium in Seattle, WA. As General Chair he leads a team of over 60 volunteers from local industry and academia to organize the symposium. The symposium takes place over seven days with over 500 technical presentations and over 5000 attendees. Donn is on the technical program committee for the Wireless Workshop and the Radio and Wireless Convention.