Author: Josef Frankhouse | Major: Mechanical Engineering | Semester: Fall 2024

The research I’ve done is over a self-antennuating antenna, or an antenna that
can change the bandwidth it can resonate at. This antenna, unlike many others,
does not require any manual adjustment to attenuate its bandwidth; instead, it
utilizes a piezoelectric material that changes the shape of the substrate, and thus
changes the bandwidth that the antenna resonates at. This research was
presented at the second International Microwaves and Antennas Symposium
(IMAS) 2024.

Me and my professor, Uche Wejinya, at IMAS 2024

This conference is designed to empower African researchers, so they
choose destinations in Africa, and thus, this year they chose Morocco.
The conference contained a wide range of academics; containing both legacy
professors presenting their decade long research, as well as plenty of new blood
starting their careers that all collectively provided a comprehensive advancements
into the field. This was an innovative experience for me as it has allowed for me
further my understanding in a rather opaque field. Many of the legacy professors
that attended IMAS 2024 are fairly well known in their field for developing forward
thinking theory, so to hear the fundamentals taught from their point of view was
refreshing.

The immense amount of information also helped reaffirm the work I’ve
completed for my honors proposal. Instead of receiving high criticism for the work
I’ve presented at the conference, most researchers asked plenty of leading
questions, and pointers of how to direct my research in the future, as simply put.
They shared their expertise, as well as their own experiences for further developing
my research.
I’ve also networked intensively at the conference. I was one of the very few
students that attended from the United States, as most of the professors
presenting were either from Europe or Morocco itself. At the conference, I’ve
connected with two PhD students from Calabria Italy, which were presenting their
research on the environmental impact of microwaves. There were also many
students around the same age from Tetouan, Morocco, in which they presented
theoretical models for their research, and we were able to bounce ideas off one
another. Most notably, there was a graduate student from Spain that showed up
the capabilities to fabricate a similar version of my designed antenna, which can
prove fruitful for a practical prototype.
One notable fact that I’ve gathered from this conference, was how much more
well-funded graduate research endeavors were in colleges within Europe. Many
graduate students were able to build fully fledged prototypes, and test their
practical theory in real terms. Knowing this, and that the school that represented
me fell short of funding my trip to Morocco, nevertheless unable to receive funding
for the prototype that I would like to construct, my best advice would be to
partake in a graduate program in Europe, as they may have better funding, well
rounded professors, and a wide range of academic fields to partake.
Since I’m not attending graduate school, I will not be going forward with the
research I’ve presented. The grant received from the honors college was negligible
for a proper conference, and I fear if I plant to attend another conference of this
scale, then it could be detrimental to my finances. I fear this would translate to
graduate school, and could be impeding my development. Industry is just too
lucrative as a broke college student not to attend.