Dr Robert N Foster

I received my first class M.Eng. degree in electronics and communications engineering and Ph.D. degree from the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, U.K., in 2004 and 2008, respectively, as a member of the School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering. I was awarded the Paul Webb Prize for best exam results in my graduating year (2004), and also the Gordon Tucker Bursary, to enable me to publish my final year project research on ultra-wideband antennas and arrays.

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Currently, I am a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, researching low terahertz antennas. Previously, I was the QUEST Research Programme Manager and Researcher in the Antennas Research group, part of the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary College, University of London, London, U.K. I have authored or co-authored a number of conference and journal papers, including contributions in Proceedings of the IEEE and IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. My current research interests include metamaterials, nano-composite materials, absorbers, material characterisation, transformation electromagnetics, antenna metrology, body-centric wireless communications, wireless sensors, low-power systems, UWB systems, millimetre-wave systems, automotive radar, RF-based positioning systems, RFID, adaptive antennas, cognitive radio, smart homes, and the Internet of Things.

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I am a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the IEEE, the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, and the IEEE Communications Society. I have presented papers at a number of established international conferences and presented invited talks at a number of events, including LAPC 2011 and the IET Seminar on Wireless Communication in Buildings, 2011. I have acted as a reviewer for a number of international journals, including Proceedings of the IEEE, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, IEEE Sensors Journal, IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, and MDPI Sensors. I co-organised the 2012 European School of Antennas short course "Transformation Electromagnetics for Antenna Design" and the 2012 IET Seminar on Transformation Optics, noth in October 2012, as well as the 2015 European School of Antennas short course "Transformation Electromagnetics for Antenna Design" in January 2015. I was on the organising committee for IMWS-Bio 2014, held in December 2014 as part of the IEEE International Microwave Workshop Series on RF and Wireless Technologies for Biomedical and Healthcare Applications, for the Royal Society Scientific Discussion Meeting "Spatial Transformations: From Fundamentals to Applications", held in January 2015, and for MOBIHEALTH 2015, held in London in October 2015.