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UA engineering student awarded research grant

By Alana Norris

Student Katelyn Isbell, left, is part of a team of engineering students designing a small antenna for an international contest. Dr. Yang-ki Hong, center, is the team’s adviser.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A member of UA’s antenna team was recently awarded a grant from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Katelyn Isbell, an electrical and computer engineering senior from Chesapeake, Virginia, received the Eugene F. Knott Memorial Pre-Doctoral Research Grant worth $1,500 from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society.

“Winning this grant means that I can begin working on my research proposal ‘Archimedean Spiral Antenna Array with Backing Cavity for Deep Space CubeSats.’ I will be developing a high gain antenna for small satellites with lunar or planetary destinations,” Isbell said.

Grant selection is based on a proposal submitted by applicants and chosen by a committee. Funds are given to enable students to continue their electromagnetics education. Recipients of the grant are also given a free year of membership in IEEE and in AP-S.

The grant is named for an IEEE Life Fellow and distinguished member of the IEEE AP-S who was well known for his contributions to the theory, reduction and measurement of radar cross section.

Isbell is a member of the UA student team selected for two consecutive years to the Student Antenna Design Contest held by the IEEE AP-S. The goal of the international contest is to design an antenna system to sound wireless channels and locate radio signals. The UA team won the contest a year ago and came in second this summer.

“Under the direction of my mentor, Dr. Yang-Ki Hong, I have been researching antennas for CubeSats since my sophomore year, and I plan to continue the research in my senior year and as a graduate student at UA,” Isbell said.

IEEE AP-S is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s College of Engineering has more than 5,200 students and more than 170 faculty. In recent years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater, Hollings, Portz, Boren, Mitchell and Truman scholars.


Author: Alana Norris    /    Posted on: July 31, 2018    /    Posted in:   Awards and Honors, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Research, Students    /    Features: