RF & Microwave Summit

Title: RF & Microwave Summit: AI in RF

Date: September 9, 2025

Time: 9am PT / 12pm ET

Sponsored by: RapidRF, Cadence, Keysight and MathWorks

Abstract:
This 3-hour event includes four 30-minute technical sessions given by industry experts followed by a panel session to discuss the various ways AI is being used in the design and development of RF and microwave products. From MMIC simulation and design automation to real-time optimization of operating parameters to determining the best algorithms/channels to use in communications systems, the possibilities of AI in RF are unlimited. Join us for this unique online event and learn how companies are using AI and be inspired to come up with new ways it can help your organization.

Moderator: Pat Hindle, Media Director, Microwave Journal^®
Panelist: Eduard Heidebrecht, DCTO and Co-Founder, RapidRF
Panelist: Michael Thompson, Distinguished Engineer in the Virtuoso R&D Group, Cadence Design Systems (CDS)
Panelist: Alexander Petr, Senior Director, Keysight EDA
Panelist: Giorgia Zucchelli, Product Manager, MathWorks

Panel Participant Bios:

Moderator – Microwave Journal^®
Pat Hindle, Media Director

Pat Hindle is media director for Microwave Journal® and has been with the magazine for more than 17 years. He parlayed his process engineering background into a management role in marketing communications for several leading microwave semiconductor manufacturers including MACOM, Raytheon and Skyworks (Alpha Industries), in addition to working at MIT Nanostructures Laboratory manufacturing X-ray diffraction gratings for space research telescopes like Chandra. He has a B.S. in Materials Science Engineering from Cornell University and MBA from Northeastern University. In his current role as MWJ editorial director, he is responsible for setting MWJ’s editorial direction and developing marketing opportunities for industry clients. He created the RF and Microwave Community on LinkedIn with more than 100,000 members plus co-hosts the popular Frequency Matters videos and podcast series.

RapidRF
Eduard Heidebrecht, CTO and Co-Founder
9am PT / 12pm ET

Eduard Heidebrecht is CTO of RapidRF, where he leads the development of state-of-the-art solutions for the AI-driven design of RF integrated circuits. Prior to RapidRF, Eduard worked as an RFIC research engineer at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, where he also received his PhD. His research focused on novel RFIC architectures, including innovations in integrated Doherty power amplifiers and the automation of RF circuit design. At RapidRF, Eduard is driving the transformation of RFIC design to significantly reduce design time, lower cost, and increase reliability of manufactured circuits through AI-driven automation.

Cadence
Michael Thompson, Distinguished Engineer in the Virtuoso R&D Group
9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET

Michael Thompson is a Distinguished Engineer in the Virtuoso R&D group at Cadence Design Systems (CDS). His current charter is the development of design solutions for Heterogenous Integration across digital, analog, and high-frequency domains. These solutions require complete flows allowing initial design concepts through detailed design and analysis, verification, manufacturability, and tape-out. He works closely with software developers, end-users, and foundries to implement complete deployable development flows.

Before joining Cadence, Michael had various roles in Keysight/Agilent/HP EEsof field organization from AE with specialties in EM, RFIC, and MMIC design, AE District Manager, and Enterprise Account Manager. Before joining HP, Michael was a Senior Specialist at Aerojet ElectroSystems, designing antennas and subsystems for radiometric sensors for the EOS and SSMIS satellite platforms and passive and active sensor antennas and transceivers for the SADARM and STAFF programs. Before Aerojet, he was a member of the technical staff of the Phased Array Antenna Lab at Hughes Aircraft. He was responsible for the design of active and passive beam steering modules. He has a BSECE and MSEE from Cal Poly and did Post-Grad work at USC.

Keysight
Alexander Petr, Senior Director
10am PT / 1pm ET

Alexander Petr is the Senior Director for Keysight EDA, overseeing the portfolio for RF-microwave, Power Electronics, and Device Modeling, while also spearheading AI/ML initiatives. With a Master's degree in nano-electronics from the Technical University of Dresden (TU-Dresden) in Germany, Alex has a diverse career spanning three continents, working in various leadership roles across the Foundry, Analog/Mixed-Signal, RF design and EDA supply chain. An expert in Foundry technologies, metrology/measurements, design support, and EDA software development, Alex has recently focused on driving AI/ML initiatives at Keysight to enable the next generation of AI-enabled circuit design and MLOps solutions.

MathWorks
Giorgia Zucchelli, Product Manager
10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET

Giorgia Zucchelli is the product manager for RF and Mixed-Signal at MathWorks. Before moving to this role in 2013, she was an application engineer focusing on signal processing and communications systems and specializing in analog simulation. Before joining MathWorks in 2009, Giorgia worked at NXP Semiconductors on mixed-signal verification methodologies and at Philips Research developing system-level models for innovative communications systems. Giorgia has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in electronics for telecommunications from the University of Bologna.

Please Note: By registering for this webinar, the details of your profile may be used by Microwave Journal^®, the presenters and the sponsors to contact you by email.