Date: 2026.08.01 11:10-11:55
Venue: Room 1434, Information Buliding, Jiulonghu Campus
Title: Metasurface Antennas Shaping Wireless Communications: Manipulating Radiation Patterns
Abstract: Wireless communications are rapidly advancing toward the next generation with much higher expectations for data rates, reliability, coverage, capacity, efficiency, connection, and latency, compared with existing systems. The antenna, as the most unique and innovative passive device, plays a crucial role in shaping the future of wireless communications by enhancing the capabilities of the wireless systems. Following the introduction of the crucial role of antenna radiation patterns in modern wireless communication networks, this talk explores how antenna technologies, particularly metasurface antennas, offer opportunities to transform wireless communications into the next generation. Subsequently, we elaborate on the impact of metasurface antennas on wireless communications, focusing on the manipulation of antenna radiation patterns through a case study. The applications of metasurface antenna technology to the fifth-generation base stations, satellite communications, and wireless local area networks antennas are addressed as examples. Last, the article offers insights into the challenges that lie ahead and outlines future directions for metasurface antenna technology.
Zhi Ning Chen received his two Ph.D. degrees in 1993 and 2003 from institutions in China and Japan, respectively. He currently serves as a Provost’s Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and as Director of the Advanced Research and Technology Innovation Centre at the National University of Singapore.
Professor Chen has authored or co-authored 770 journal and conference papers, along with seven books. His current research interests include electromagnetic materials and metasurfaces, antenna engineering and its applications, and algorithms for generative antenna design.
He was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2007, elected Fellow of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore in 2019, and is a Fellow and Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Science (2021). Among numerous academic and technical honors, he received the IEEE AP-S John Kraus Antenna Award in 2021 and the EurAAP Antenna Award in 2025.
In addition to his research achievements, Professor Chen has played leading roles in international conferences. He served as the General Chair of the 2021 IEEE AP-S Symposium (Singapore) and is the Founding General Chair of several key conferences, including the IEEE International Workshop on Antenna Technology (2005), the Asia-Pacific Conference on Antennas and Propagation (2012), and the Marina Forum on Metantennas+X (2021).
