Director's Greetings

Welcome to a New Research Group for Analog and RF IC and Antenna Research

Welcome to the first newsletter of the MICS (multifunctional integrated circuits and systems) group. It is indeed exciting to start a new research group focusing on analog and RF ICs and antennas. The need for such a research group within ECE Department has been recognized for years, but there were not enough faculty members in the area to form a group.  Fortunately, Prof. Koh, specializing RF IC, joined ECE Department in November 2011, and Prof. Ha, computer engineering by discipline, focused on analog and RF ICs in recent years. With the addition of the two faculty members, a critical mass was formed, and the MICS group with four faculty members (Dong Ha, Kwang-Jin Koh, Majid Manteghi, and Sanjay Raman) was created officially on September 28, 2012.

The MICS group conducts research in the area of multifunctional integrated circuits and systems, specifically analog, mixed-signal, RF IC designs, antenna systems, RF interfaces, advanced silicon, and related emerging technologies such as GaN, 3D semiconductors, and MEMS. Target applications for such circuits and systems include: wireless / wireline communications; millimeter-wave and terahertz radios, radars and imaging sensors; wireless sensor networks and RFID; energy harvesting and wireless power transfer; and beyond. The capabilities of the MICS group faculty, students, and design and measurement infrastructure enable us to research and develop complete solutions to emerging problems in these areas.

The mission of the MICS group is to conduct innovative research in integrated circuits and antenna/RF interface systems to expand the knowledge base. Their research impacts commercial and national security applications, while providing a high caliber educational experience for graduate and undergraduate students to become future leaders in academia and industry. Towards this mission, the MICS group actively publishes research findings in top tier international conference proceedings and journals, and establishes industry partnerships, government sponsored programs, and collaborations with other research groups and institutes.

To prospective industry partners:

MICS offers several means to work with companies. We actively assist companies to recruit MICS students and Virginia Tech ECE students for permanent positions, co-ops, and summer interns. Profiles and resumes for MICS graduate students and undergraduate students are available to help your recruiting efforts. We will also help you to identify prospective students and facilitate meetings with them during your campus visits.

The MICS group is also strongly committed to research collaborations with industry through sponsored research contracts and an Industry Affiliates Program (IAP). Becoming a member of the MICS IAP is an excellent way to get broad access to MICS’s research and intellectual property (IP) and to direct the focus of the MICS research. The MICS faculty will be happy to visit your company for technical presentations and discussions.

To prospective students:

We enjoy what we are doing both inside and outside of the MICS laboratories. MICS students have opportunities to publish and present their work at top tier international conferences in the US and overseas. We often get together for lunch, drinks, or hike along the Appalachian trail and nearby national forests. If you are inquisitive, passionate, and energetic, we invite you to join us! We work hard together while enjoying life!

We are looking forward to opportunities to collaborate with you! For details, refer to our web site, http://www.mics.ece.vt.edu. Thank you very much. Dong Ha, Director