Prof. Dr. Amin Abbosh
University of Queensland, Australia
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hossein Zarifi
University of British Columbia, Canada
Ir. Ts. Dr. Lee Yeng Seng
Keysight Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Prof. Dr. Amin Abbosh
Fellow IEEE, University of Queensland, Australia
Title: Breaking the Bottleneck: Physics-Guided Deep Learning for Realtime Microwave Imaging
Abstract: Microwave tomography holds promise for non-invasive imaging, yet its practical deployment is hindered by the ill-posed nature of the inverse problem and the high computational cost of conventional solvers. Deep learning offers a compelling alternative, capable of solving inverse electromagnetic problems in real time. However, ensuring physical fidelity of the results remains a critical challenge, particularly for methods relying on Green’s functions, which are often impractical to compute and fail to highlight relevant imaged regions that are critical in many applications, such as medical diagnosis. This keynote will discuss a deep learning framework designed to overcome these limitations. It eliminates the need for Green’s functions while integrating two core components: a set of unsupervised forward neural network solvers and a sequence of inverse neural network blocks that iteratively update the dielectric properties of the imaged domain. The unsupervised forward solver is guided by the physics of the problem, thus ensuring both global and local accuracy. On the other hand, the inverse solver is regularized using a loss function composed of supervised and unsupervised components, enabling accurate reconstruction of subtle details of the imaged domain, thus ensuring accurate and timely diagnosis. Extensive validation demonstrates that the method is general and thus suitable for a wide range of applications, achieving high accuracy while being much faster than traditional solvers. This advancement will hopefully pave the way for practical, real-time, and reliable deep learning-based microwave imaging systems.
Biography: Professor and Director of Electromagnetic Innovations (ƐMAGIN) at The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Previously, Prof Abbosh was the Head of the School of ITEE-UQ, which includes five Departments (Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science & Human Centred Computing). He also served as Director of Research and Director of Research Training at UQ. Moreover, Prof Abbosh was the Director of the Medical Electromagnetic Imaging (MEI) Cooperative Research Centre. He is the chief inventor of more than 20 patents licensed to the medical industry. His patents form the core IP of two Australian companies. Prof Abbosh has authored over 600 papers, with ~17,000 citations and an h-index of 67. He won many awards, including the IEEE King Prize twice (2016 & 2019), for his excellence in fundamental, applied, and translational research. UQ Excellence in HDR Supervision (2016) & Entrepreneurship Award (2018), and many best paper awards in premier international conferences.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hossein Zarifi
University of British Columbia, Canada
Title: Microwave Sensors in Transition From Lab Innovation to Industrial Impact
Abstract: Microwave sensors are evolving from laboratory prototypes to industrially deployable systems, driven by needs in the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, and large-scale monitoring applications. Operating from UHF to THz frequencies, these sensors leverage the sensitivity of microwaves to material electromagnetic properties for dielectric characterization and the measurement of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Planar implementations enable cost-effective fabrication, compatibility with flexible substrates, and integration with signal generation, processing, and communication electronics. This transition supports applications in biosensing, healthcare, agriculture, structural health monitoring, automotive, and space industries. However, industrial adoption must address challenges such as conductor and radiation losses, fabrication tolerances, and electromagnetic interference. Ongoing research focuses on improving sensitivity, resolution, and selectivity while ensuring scalability and robustness. This talk will review the evolution of microwave sensors, highlighting enabling technologies, performance optimization strategies, and pathways from research concepts to reliable, high-volume industrial solutions.
Biography: Mohammad Hossein Zarifi (Ph.D. PEng, PRC Tier II, SMIEEE), received the B.Sc., MSc. and Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tabriz, Iran. He is currently an Associate Professor and Tier II Principal’s Research Chair (PRC) in Sensors and Microelectronics at the University of British Columbia, and the director of Okanagan MicroElectronics and Gigahertz Applications laboratory (OMEGA Lab), Canada. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings as well as 5 issued or pending patents. Dr. Zarifi received CMC-NRC first place award, on industrial collaboration, for the innovative microwave sensors, in Canada, in 2015. Dr Zarifi’s research focuses on applied electromagnetics and smart devices for sensing and communication applications. Dr. Zarifi is a member of IEEE MTT-S TC- 26 “RFID, Wireless Sensor and IoT” and, IEEE MTT-S TC- 4 “Microwave Passive Components and Transmission Line Structures”, and a senior member of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society, and the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society, and serves as a reviewer for several journals and conferences. Dr. Zarifi is the recipient of the Emerging Researcher Award and the Best Teaching Award at UBC’s School of Engineering in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Ir. Ts. Dr. Lee Yeng Seng
Senior R&D Engineer, Keysight Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Title: RF and Microwave Techniques: The Hidden Backbone of High-Speed Digital Systems
Abstract: The topic will cover how core RF and microwave techniques such as S-parameter analysis, impedance matching, fixture de-embedding, simulation and VNA measurements have become indispensable tools in ensuring signal integrity, compliance, and reliability in high-speed digital designs.
Biography: Ir. Ts. Dr. Lee Yeng Seng is currently a Senior R&D Engineer at Keysight Technologies, Malaysia. He also serves as a Keysight representative for the HDMI Forum. Prior to Keysight, he served as a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) from 2016 to 2022. Dr. Lee holds multiple professional recognitions, including SMIEEE, CEng (IET), P.Eng (BEM), P.Tech (MBOT), MIET, MIEM, and ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPE). In addition, he has authored numerous journal articles and conference papers. His current work primarily focuses on HDMI compliance solutions and specification development.