Event

Abstract: Electromagnetic theory has always been taught the physicist's way: scalar and vector potentials, and the method of separation of variables. For communication and signal processing theory there is a better way based on the fact that Maxwell's equations describe a linear space/time-invariant system. This formulation yields directly the fact that the external field due to any electric current distribution can be represented exactly as a superposition of plane-waves. Any system of antennas is completely described by an impedance matrix which relates voltages and currents on the antenna ports, and is therefore amenable to analysis by classical network theory. After taking my course you will be equipped to undertake advanced research in wireless communications, acoustics, ultrasound, or geophysics.

 

Bio: Tom Marzetta was born in Washington, DC. He had a thirty-nine year industrial career (petroleum exploration, defense, and telecommunications) before beginning an academic career at New York University in 2017. He is the originator of Massive MIMO - the most spectrally efficient wireless scheme yet devised. He joined the University of Maryland in 2025, where he is a Clark Distinguished Chair Professor in the ECE department. Marzetta's research is seeking 100x improvements over Massive MIMO through a closer fusion of electromagnetic theory and communication theory.