Check out our full coverage of IMS 2021.
Every business and industry under the sun has its conferences and exhibitions. My older brother, now retired, owned and operated a carpet and upholstery cleaning business for decades, and every couple of years he’d take a day or two off and hit the industry’s convention. He’d come back having learned a ton about things like stain-removal technology and how to properly apply fabric protectants like Scotchgard. It was mundane, sure, but it was good, practical information that made him better at his work.
When RF and microwave engineers think “conference and exhibition,” the first—and maybe only—one that comes to mind is the International Microwave Symposium (IMS). IMS is happening this month, with a live event taking place in Atlanta (June 7-10) and a virtual version (June 20-25). Last year, of course, was unlike any other in recent memory, and the live event obviously didn’t happen, with only a virtual IMS occurring in September. The organizers went with the split approach for this year, because some exhibitors and attendees remain understandably wary of the risks of travel and large public gatherings.
Just like at a carpet cleaners’ convention, you can learn an awful lot at IMS. If you don’t, it won’t be because the opportunity isn’t there. Both the live and virtual events have tremendous technical programs this year. In Atlanta, the program kicks off with traditional plenary keynotes by the chief technology officers of Honeywell and Texas Instruments. There’s also a pair of invited lectures, one on software-defined radio and the other covering the unfolding commercialization of terahertz technology, once solidly the domain of researchers and scientists. That’s changing quickly.
The slate of technical sessions offered at both the live and virtual events is exciting. IMS has mobile apps for both IOS and Android—by now, you can likely download the technical content of sessions in which you registered. Sessions cover everything from front-end circuit building blocks to new array-based wireless systems to physical-layer security, the latter being of great concern these days.
Both portions of IMS also will feature what’s being called Microwave Application Seminars, or MicroApps. These 15-minute sponsored presentations take place right on the exhibition floor in a theatre setup. Whereas the traditional technical sessions lean toward the theoretical and academic side, MicroApps promise to be very practical in nature. You can hear about all kinds of test-and-measurement topics, design techniques, and production-related information. It’s the sort of thing you can just wander over to when you have a few minutes, and who knows, you might pick up something that’s immediately useful or sparks an idea. Hey, it’s got to be better than hearing about stain removers, right?