Daniel Sjöberg (Lund University, Sweden)
Ben Zion Steinberg (Tel Aviv University, Israel)

This session addresses the most recent advances in electromagnetic theory. It includes all aspects of electromagnetics, and all frequency ranges from statics to optics, including both time and frequency formulations. Of special interest are advances in mathematical and material modeling, solutions of canonical problems, analytic identities, guided waves, mathematical aspects of numerical methods, random and complex media, asymptotic methods, and antenna theory. Owing to the wide scope of the EMTS and to the multi-disciplinary nature of contemporary research in electromagnetism, an extended view of the topics above is also welcome. This includes classical theories, as well as the incorporation of electromagnetism and quantum theory on the nano-scale.

Paul Smith (Macquarie University, Australia)

This session will address recent developments in the mathematical modelling of electromagnetic problems by a variety of analytical, semi-analytical and numerical methods. Papers may consider significant modelling problems in any area of fields and waves including, for example, fundamental aspects of electromagnetic theory, material and media modelling, scattering and diffraction in the time or frequency domain, inverse problems and propagation. As appropriate, papers should discuss the analytical and/or numerical advantages of the chosen modelling framework over alternative approaches.

Andrey Osipov (DLR, Germany)
Piergiorgio Uslenghi (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Paul Smith (Macquarie University, Australia)

The session will address solutions of Maxwell’s equations, in frequency and time domain, in the presence of canonically shaped PEC, impedance and magneto-dielectric bodies. In addition to exact solutions, approximate, low- and high-frequency, as well as semi-numerical solutions and appropriate numerical solutions, for comparison or validation, are invited. Solutions for structures involving engineered materials (e.g. negative refractive index materials, metamaterials and metasurfaces) are particularly welcome. The geometries of interest may include (but are not limited to) spheres, cylinders, wedges or variants of cloaking structures.

Ludger Klinkenbusch (Kiel University, Germany)
Giuliano Manara (University of Pisa, Italy)

The session will review topics covering a wide range of scattering and diffraction problems, including edge diffraction, high-frequency methods, hybridization with high-frequency methods, use of artificial structures for optimal control of wave propagation, scattering from disordered media, and potential applications. Study of scattering from non-linear/anisotropic media as well as mathematical problems will also be emphasized. In addition, scattering and diffraction by canonical structures will be considered. Of interest might be different types of illuminating fields, such as plane waves, rays, and beams.

Francesco Andriulli (Telecom Bretagne, France)
Pasi Ylä-Oijala (Aalto University, Finland)

Integral equation methods play an important role in the electromagnetic modeling of open region radiation and scattering problems. This session deals with recent advanced on integral equation based solvers.

Stefano Maci (University of Siena, Italy)
Timor Melamed (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

The session will address the theory and topical applications of the whole range of high-frequency methods with a special focus on beam methods. By using the wavelength as a small parameter, the methods should lead to simple accurate solutions of complex electromagnetic problems, thus allowing a physical insight into the solution and numerically efficient simulations of problems hardly treatable with direct numerical methods. The beam-method part of the session will focus on EM and scalar beam propagation and scattering as well as on application of beam (phase-space) expansions. Methods of interest include geometrical optics (GO), geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD), uniform theory of diffraction (UTD), physical optics (PO) and the physical theory of diffraction (PTD) and other incremental diffraction theory. The session can also include possible hybrid techniques which use beam and high frequency method with numerical methods.

Rolf Schuhmann (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)
Sebastian Schöps (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany)

This session addresses recent results in all kind of methods to simulate transient electromagnetic fields, such as finite differences (FD), finite integration (FIT), time domain finite elements (FE), or discontinuous Galerkin (DG) approaches. Contributions may cover novel or extended time integration schemes as well the theoretical or experimental study of issues such as numerical dispersion, conservation properties, error estimations, adaptive time stepping, etc. We also welcome contributions of exciting applications from all frequency ranges from quasistatics to optics.

Thomas Eibert (Technische Universität München, Germany)
Francesco Andriulli (Telecom Bretagne, France)

Integral equation solutions provide usually very accurate and robust results of scattering, radiation and field transformation problems. Due to their global nature, they lead, however, to fully-populated operator equations, which in turn result in field solvers with a bad numerical complexity. Fast integral solvers aim at reducing the bad solution complexity and this can be achieved by a variety of different techniques. The focus of this session is primarily on fast iterative and direct solvers, which reduce the solver complexity of the operator equations in the context of radiation, scattering, or field transformation problems, where free-space or other Green's functions (as e.g. for layered media) are used. Already established techniques work e.g. with factorizations of the Green's functions, with mappings to regular discretizations, or specialized basis function representations. Improvements of existing techniques are as welcome as completely new approaches. The techniques can be based on purely algebraic, but also on physics motivated procedures. They can work in time-domain or in frequency domain, where low-frequency, high-frequency, and very wideband techniques are of interest.

Valentin Freilikher (Bar-Ilan University, Israel)
Ehud Heyman (Tel-Aviv University, Israel)

The session will address theoretical and experimental aspects of wave propagation and scattering in such media in various disciplines, including electromagnetics (incl. optics), acoustics (incl. underwater) and elastics (incl. geophysics).

Matteo Pastorino (University of Genoa, Italy)
Lianlin Li (Beijing University, China)

Electromagnetic wave techniques, both active and passive, are gathering strong attention in sensing and imaging related to security applications. They include landmine detection, identification of intruders, finding human bodies in disaster events, vehicle collision avoidance, security checking at airports, etc. Used wavelength now ranges from radio to X-ray waves. One of recent driving forces is the use of UWB (Ultra Wideband) signals, which dramatically improves the range resolution, and thus extends the applicability of radar technique to targets with very short ranges, such as indoor and medical imaging. Many of these applications require super resolution and/or very fast computation in order to provide real time images with high quality and reliability. Advanced inverse scattering algorithms and imaging techniques are the key issues of the session. Theoretical investigations and studies aiming to other type of applications are of course welcome.

Ursula van Rienen (University of Rostock, Germany)
Revathi Appali (University of Rostock, Germany)

Owing to the increasing number of electromagnetic devices in our daily surroundings and therapeutic tools in various medical applications, in the past years, study of electromagnetic phenomena within the biological tissues and their interaction with the external electromagnetic fields has gained increasing attention. This session will review topics in the research area of bio-electromagnetism which includes, but is not limited to

• Bio-electromagnetic phenomena
• Biological Models
• Dielectric properties of biological materials
• Computational Bio-Electromagnetics
• Computational Dosimetry

Ari Sihvola (Aalto University)
Henrik Wallén (Aalto University)

Electromagnetics is a difficult topic to learn, and certainly also difficult to teach. Electromagnetics researchers have often very much expertise and silent knowledge about education. This session gathers together people who want to share their experiences in teaching electromagnetics. All type of contributions are welcome: case studies of individual courses, good practices in teaching physical concepts and phenomena, and electrical engineering education research results.

Ari Sihvola (Aalto University)

150 years have passed since James Clerk Maxwell's unification of electric and magnetic phenomena into four quantitative laws that are today called Maxwell equations. The roots of understanding electricity and magnetism can be traced back to Ancient Greece, and the history of electromagnetism through centuries is a fascinating story. This session welcomes contributions of any aspect of history of electromagnetics.

Jensen Li (University of Birmingham, UK)
Yang Hao (Queen Mary University of London, UK)

Transformation optics has been established as a powerful approach in electromagnetism. Being driven by a coordinate transformation, it provides a unique methodology in designing optical devices or solving complicated electromagnetic problems. In this session, we discuss the recent advances, challenges and future directions in this field.

Kazuya Kobayashi (Chuo University, Japan)
Yury Shestopalov (University of Gävle, Sweden)

This session will cover recent achievements in the area of advanced analytical and numerical methods as applied to various problems arising in all branches of electromagnetics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas: electromagnetic theory; novel mathematical techniques; analytical regularization methods; canonical problems; numerical methods; scattering and diffraction; radar cross section; high-frequency techniques; guided waves; inverse problems; random media and rough surfaces; waves in complex media; time-domain techniques; nonlinear phenomena; computational electromagnetics.

Karri Muinonen (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Daniel Mackowski (Auburn University, Alabama, USA)

The session will focus on theoretical and numerical methods for electromagnetic scattering by complex particle systems that are large compared to the wavelength. Such methods include the exact Superposition T-Matrix Method (STMM) for finite systems of spherical particles, the exact Volume-Integral-Equation Methods (VIEMs) for systems of nonspherical particles (including the Discrete-Dipole Approximation, DDA), as well as the approximate far-field amplitude-matrix methods like RT-CB (Radiative-Transfer Coherent-Backscattering method) for large and infinite systems of particles. In particular, the Special Session addresses prospects for replacing the far fields with rigorous fields in the RT-CB -like methods.

Paolo Nepa (University of Pisa, Italy)
Andrea Michel (University of Pisa, Italy)

Radio frequency identification technology is becoming an effective solution to implement localization and tracking systems, remote sensing devices, and automated access control gates. However, the development of advanced, reliable and high-performance systems has to face with several issues that require a deep knowledge of electromagnetic aspects, such as antenna miniaturization, EM propagation in complex environments, near-field coupling, EM-based sensing, high-efficiency wireless power transfer, energy harvesting, new techniques for low-cost tag manufacturing. This special session aims to address new challenges, open problems and breakthroughs in the promising field of applied electromagnetics for radio frequency identification systems.

Ozgur Ergul (Middle East Technical University, Turkey)
Pasi Ylä-Oijala (Aalto University, Finland)

It is widely accepted that numerical simulations play a crucial role in 3D electromagnetic design. More and more sophisticated algorithms and solvers have been developed and applied to find solutions for very complicated and large problems. Despite of these great advances, there still exists problems that are difficult to solve or are unattainable with the present methods. Also the existing algorithms are plagued with several shortcomings, such as numerical instabilities and ill-conditioned linear systems. This special session reviews present and future challenges in computational electromagnetics on both application and methodology development point of view.

Hendrik Rogier (Ghent University, Belgium)
John Volakis (The Ohio State University, USA)
Sam Agneessens (Ghent University, Belgium)
Asimina Kiourti (The Ohio State University, USA)

This session focusses on all design aspects of body-centric communication systems and wearable antennas. Specific emphasis will be devoted to RF design and performance of these antennas and systems. Both, theory and applications are considered.

Cristina Ponti (“Roma Tre” University, Italy)
Andrea Randazzo (University of Genoa, Italy)

The development of methods to solve forward scattering problems has important applications in the field of remote sensing, buried objects, and through wall detection. Accurate and reliable techniques may be used as benchmarks for novel inversion algorithms and imaging techniques, as well as reference cases for a better understanding of measured data. Goals of the scattering modelling are the target itself and the background scenario. Scattering models should be capable do deal with targets of complex shape, but also objects of canonical shape are correct approximations in several fields. The most difficult challenges are in the simulation of targets in complex scenarios, buried in the subsoil or placed in a building interior. Shadowing effects, attenuation, multipath propagation, refraction, and diffraction need to be addressed in the simulation of outdoor/indoor environments. Methods as, but not limited to, UWB implementations of FDTD, full-wave techniques, or ray tracing approximations might be of interest.

Gregor Tanner (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)
Gabriele Gradoni (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)

Statistical electromagnetics and wave chaos aim at characterizing and understanding the field propagation in complex circuits and environments. In particular, chaotic dynamics offers a unique platform for modelling wave systems with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom. Recent studies in wave chaos have attracted researchers in electromagnetic theory and universal statistical properties have been used to study large electromagnetic systems without solving the full-wave problem. Circuits within printed circuit boards are now modelled as complex statistical sources that can be treated through semiclassical as well as random matrix theories. Novel theoretical models have been developed describing fields through complicated electromagnetic environments – including electromagnetic reverberation chambers – also accounting for coupling through apertures and including losses at both microwave and mmWave regimes.

Sembiam Rengarajan (CSUN)
Yahya Rahmat-Samii (UCLA)

Applications such as medical implants, satellite and wireless communications, and flexible and wearable electronic devices, among others have been pushing the envelope for novel antenna developments. The performance demands of the next generation antennas are stimulating intense research activities on novel artificial materials and advances in antenna/material characterizations and innovative techniques in the design, analysis, development, optimization and measurement of antennas. This session intends to address innovative and diverse applications of antennas by presenting state-of-the-art contributions by international researchers and to create a forum for valuable interactions.