AMTA 2025 Keynote Speaker
Monday, November 3rd, 2025 8:15-8:55 a.m.
Pursuing Disruptive Technologies in Electromagnetics & Additive Manufacturing
Professor ECE, University of Texas at El Paso
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Kraetonics LLC
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, EMPossible
Pursuing high-risk/high-reward technologies is motivating and exciting, but it is plagued with frustrations in the lab, embarrassing failures of “crazy” ideas, and challenges obtaining funding for high-risk ideas. This presentation will cover some of my pursuits of highly ambitious technologies, and the experiences and lessons they gave me. The purpose of the presentation is not to encourage or discourage the most ambitious research, but to motivate all types of research and to help people get through the struggles using humor, humility, and tenacity.
Topics will include my team’s exploration of antenna technologies including ultra-thin all-dielectric antennas, 3D printed volumetric antennas, and antennas approaching and exceeding fundamental limits. It will include my team’s contributions to additive manufacturing in the pursuit of 3D volumetric circuits and electromagnetic devices. It will cover preservational spatially-variant lattices (PSVLs) and the numerous breakthroughs this new concept has enabled. A PSVL is a periodic structure (array antenna, frequency selective surface, metamaterial, photonic crystal, etc.) that is bent, twisted, conformed, or otherwise adjusted as a function of position in a special way that preserves the electromagnetic properties by minimizing deformations to the unit cells. The presentation will include my beginnings in electromagnetics, as well as the various skills and practices I have observed that help advance people’s careers and contribute to their success.
Dr. Raymond C. Rumpf is a pioneer in electromagnetics, photonics and additive manufacturing. He founded the EMLab at the University of Texas at El Paso to focus exclusively on developing disruptive technologies in these areas. He co-founded Kraetonics LLC to commercialize the breakthrough technologies and develop the tools to put these new capabilities in the hands of others. Key achievements include a 3D printed antenna operating closer to the fundamental limit than any other known 3D printed antenna, developing the first-ever layout and routing tool for 3D volumetric circuits, automating hybrid 3D printing to build 3D parts with any distribution of conductors and dielectrics, constructing the world’s highest power frequency selective surface (> 2.0 GW), inventing a new mechanism to control light that led to world’s tightest bend of an unguided optical beam and Best Photonics Technology 2015, and more. Rumpf is currently working on many other exciting topics in the areas of antennas, frequency selective surfaces, hybrid 3D printing, 3D volumetric circuits, new CAD tool capabilities, metamaterials, metasurfaces, photonic crystals, and computational electromagnetics.
Dr. Rumpf is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and has a joint appointment in the Computational Science program. He is a Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Kraetonics LLC. Prior to these positions, Rumpf was the Chief Technology Officer for Prime Photonics where he helped transform the company’s technology portfolio from exclusively fiber optic sensors to an array of technologies for extreme applications. Before Prime Photonics, Raymond was a senior electrical engineer for Harris Corporation (now L3Harris) where he researched and developed a wide range of technologies to radically miniaturize communications systems. Technologies included antennas, power generation, thermal management, circuit design, and advanced packaging. Raymond earned his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995 and 1997 respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in Optics in 2006 from CREOL at the University of Central Florida. In 2010, Raymond was awarded the prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award that seeded multiple breakthroughs. In 2015, Raymond was awarded the highly esteemed University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the top teaching award offered by the largest university system in the United States. In 2020, he was inducted into the Florida Tech Career Hall of Fame. Rumpf has been awarded over a dozen United States patents and has authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles. He published a Best-Selling book through Artech House that teaches the art of computational electromagnetics to the complete beginner through the finite-difference frequency-domain method. He is a Fellow of SPIE, Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of the Optical Society (Optica). He is a member of ARRL and an Extra Class amateur radio operator (call sign is AG4YV). He holds five world records in skydiving for largest parachute formation. Raymond is active in outreach and philanthropy, including coaching of numerous students in third-world countries and throughout the world.
IEEE AP-S Invited Speaker
Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 8:00-8:25 a.m.
Beamforming with Compact Multi-Port Multi-Mode Antennas
The growing requirements of wireless communications technologies place unique challenges on antenna design. Antenna systems with increasing complexity and multiple dynamically accessible functionalities are required to enhance capacity and/or serve various purposes, such as simultaneous communications and sensing.
This presentation will focus on the concept of multi-port multi-mode antennas, where several independent radiating modes operating in the same frequency band are generated in a shared aperture (or a shared volume). Such uncorrelated modes packed in a compact form factor can be exploited to enhance the agility and capacity of a communications link, either through pattern diversity or Multiple-Input Multiple-Output operation (MIMO).
In this context, this presentation will describe various techniques for packing multiple independent modes in a limited volume. It will then demonstrate how a large number of collocated radiating modes can enable beam-steering and nulling in a full hemisphere, with high consistency and in any polarization. The presented concept opens new perspectives for future distributed sensing and communications systems.
Christophe Fumeaux received his Ph.D. degree from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997. From 1998 to 2008, he held various positions at the University of Central Florida, the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology, and ETH Zurich. From 2008 to 2023, he was a Professor with The University of Adelaide. In 2023, he joined the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Queensland, as Chair Professor in Optical and Microwave Engineering. His main research interests concern applied electromagnetics, antenna engineering, and the application of RF design principles across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Prof. Fumeaux was the recipient of the ETH Medal for his doctoral dissertation. He was the recipient of the 2018 Edward E. Altshuler Prize, the 2014 IEEE Sensors Journal and the 2004 ACES Journal best paper awards. He was the recipient of the University of Adelaide 2018 Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in PhD Supervision. From 2017 to early 2023, he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the 2025 President of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society.
EurAAP Invited Speaker
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025 8:00-8:25 a.m.
Overview of the latest antenna measurement developments and techniques at the European Space Agency
Head of the Antennas and Sub-millimeter Waves Section
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
European Space Agency (ESA)
The ESA/ESTEC Antenna Laboratory is dedicated to developing advanced RF testing facilities in collaboration with European companies, supporting industry growth and enabling future ESA missions with better-defined and validated requirements. In recent years, the lab has advanced several projects: the Low-temperature Near-field Terahertz chamber (LORENTZ), enabling planar near-field measurements from 50 GHz to 1.5 THz at cryogenic temperatures, first used with the SWI instrument for the JUICE mission; and a submmVAST validation antenna, stable at cryogenic conditions, now used to calculate measurement uncertainty budgets at 89 GHz and 183 GHz.
Deployable antennas (10–20 m) are under development for multiple missions. To measure their performance in radiated mode, a dolly–gimbal system was built to fly over the Antenna Under Test, with a laser tracker ensuring precise sampling positions for accurate near- to far-field transformation.
For navigation, the GENESIS mission requires <1 mm (3σ) uncertainty in the L-Band antenna phase centre. With limited satellite acquisitions, the lab is developing spherical near-field methods to achieve this accuracy using a minimum of measured spheres. Additional activities include: a large film system to measure phased arrays in fractions of a second, a facility for modulated signal near-field testing, and free-space impedance measurements of long dipoles in anechoic chambers. This presentation reviews these efforts, showing how they support future space missions while addressing trends and challenges in antenna and RF material characterization.
Elena Saenz was born in Viana, Navarra, Spain, in 1981. She received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), Pamplona, Spain, in 2004 and 2008, respectively, both in Telecommunication Engineering. Her doctoral research was focused on the analysis and design of meta-surfaces with emphasis on their application as superstrates for planar antennas.
Since 2008, she has been working at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk, The Netherlands with main interest in frequency/polarization selective surfaces, (sub)millimetre wave technologies and applications, antenna measurements and material characterization. Since 2023, she is the Head of the Antennas and Sub-millimeter Waves Section.
She has supported several ESA missions for Earth Observation (MetOp Second Generation), Science (SPICA, JUICE), Robotic Exploration (ExoMars) and Telecommunication (SGEO) applications.
Dr. Saenz received the Loughborough Antennas and Propagation Conference (LAPC) 2006 and 2007 Best Paper Awards and the International Workshop on Antenna Technology (IWAT) 2007 Best Paper Award. In 2008, she received the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Graduate Research Award. She was co-author of the best paper in measurements at EuCAP 2018.
Lunch and Learn Speaker
Thursday, November 6th, 2025 12:10-1:30 p.m.
Waiting for the Go Code: Communications in the Titan II ICBM Program
Historian (retired), Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley, AZ
Fellow, Antique Wireless Association (AWA)
Titan II was the nation’s preeminent nuclear deterrent and a cornerstone of the United States’ Cold War deterrence strategy, standing guard for 25 years from 1963 to 1987. The missile represented a significant leap in nuclear capabilities, with storable propellant, a 58-second response time, and a nuclear punch more than 600 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Titan II was designed specifically to convince the Soviets that any nuclear attack on the United States would be answered with a counterstrike of unspeakable devastation.
In warfare, and in preparation for fighting a war, there may be no higher priority than command and control. Simply put, command and control is a suite of systems designed to maintain a constant line of communication between headquarters and war-fighting commanders in the field. With the nation’s nuclear forces on hair-trigger alert, the importance of reliable command and control cannot be overstated. This talk will explore the critical role of command and control systems in the Titan II program and how its effectiveness hinged on robust, reliable, and secure communication. We will delve into the various layers of communication infrastructure, from the hardened underground launch control center to the missile itself, and discuss the wireline and redundant radio links designed to ensure command and control even under duress. By analyzing the Titan II’s communication architecture, this presentation aims to shed light on the complex interplay of technology, strategy, and human factors in maintaining nuclear readiness during a pivotal period in global history. For added clarity and context we will also review key design features of the complex and talk about the very simple but extremely secure process of launching the missile. I would like to dedicate this presentation to the men and women of the United States Air Force who worked in the Titan II program, to the civilians who built the system, and to those who died in several accidents.
Chuck Penson served as archivist and historian for the Titan Missile Museum and National Historic Landmark from 1997 to 2020, retiring at the onset of the pandemic. He is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on the Titan II missile weapon system, and is the author of The Titan II Handbook: A Civilian’s Guide to the Most Power ICBM American Ever Built. He also scripted, directed, and presented an hour-long film–Big, Fast, Deadly: Titan II, America’s Biggest ICBM.
In addition to his work in the archives, Penson wrote, produced, and presented the museum’s visitor orientation video; wrote docent training manuals; wrote, produced, and presented numerous informal docent training videos (many of which are still on YouTube); developed a browser-based information kiosk for visitors; engineered the construction of a full-scale replica nuclear warhead; and provided extensive technical support for both topside and underground structures and artifacts. Over time, these efforts transformed the museum from a simple tourist attraction to a sophisticated educational experience.
Penson has also acted as technical advisor to two PBS documentaries, Uranium (2015) and Command and Control (2016); numerous History Channel programs; and a soon-to-be-released Hollywood feature film–a fictional story based on an actual missile silo crisis.
From 1981 to 1997 Penson worked as director of the Computer Education Center at the Science Museum of Minnesota, in St. Paul. He started the Center from scratch and grew it into a multi-million dollar program. He also served as the museum’s unofficial astronomer, writing for its monthly magazine and leading various field trips.
Penson holds an amateur radio license, and in 2020 was invited to sit on the Historical Committee of the ARRL: The National Association for Amateur Radio. In 2021 he was named a Fellow of the Antique Wireless Association.
With a life-long passion for the history of science and technology, Penson has done extensive research into the history of twentieth century electronics, resulting in five books on the subject. Currently, he is developing an on-line research library documenting the history of amateur radio, on behalf of the ARRL.
A native of St. Paul Minnesota, after herniating a disk in his back while shoveling snow, he made the decision to move to sunny Arizona where he lives with his wife on a small ranch west of Tucson.