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.