Keynote Speaker

In this talk, we will overview the physics of ionospheric irregularities, particularly, equatorial plasma bubbles (EPB) due to local conditions as well as global geomagnetic storms as well as the effects of modern-day technologies. As the EPB observations rely on myriad instruments both ground-based and space-based technologies, understanding each data type, parameter and data models are crucial to high-quality research. At King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, we have maintained a chain of ionosondes, GNSS receivers, beacon receivers, magnetometers and recently installed VHF radar (Chumphon campus). In addition, machine learning techniques will play an important role in ionospheric disturbance detection as well as prediction.

Modern-day technologies such as communication, precise positioning (surveys, autonomous cars, precise agriculture, drone trackings, etc.) and aeronautical navigation are known to be degraded by the EPB events. Currently, we have implemented various domestic and international research works on the EPB characterization, performance evaluation and mitigation approaches.

PORNCHAI SUPNITHI (Senior Member, IEEE) received a B.S. degree from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, in 1995, an M.S. degree from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, in 1997, and the PhD degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA, in 2002.
In 2015, he became a Full Professor in the Telecommunication Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. His research interests include telecommunications, ionospheric and GNSS, data storage, and engineering education. His laboratory maintains numerous observation stations in Thailand (with ionosonde, beacon receivers, magnetometer, and GNSS receivers) and the Thai GNSS and Space Weather information website (http://iono-gnss.kmitl.ac.th). He has published over 70 international journal articles, 100 conference papers, and three book chapters. In addition, he was a Keynote speaker and Invited speakers in numerous International conferences and workshops in GNSS and Space Weather area.
Prof. Dr. Supnithi currently serves as a Subcommittee Member of the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) Committee (under URSI, COSPAR), Asia-Oceania Space Weather Alliance (AOSWA) Steering Committee, country representative to International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) and the National GNSS Infrastructure Subcommittee, Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand. He was a mid-career Thailand Research Fund Scholar, from 2013 to 2015. He also previously served as the second Vice President of the ECTI Association.

The possible formation of bioorganic compounds such as amino acids and nucleobases in early Earth and in extraterrestrial environments were experimentally examined. If the early Earth’s atmosphere was only weakly reducing, we concluded that solar energetic particles were the most effective energy sources to produce amino acids. The possible formation of bioorganic compounds in ice mantles of interstellar dust particles and in the interior of asteroids were examined, where cosmic rays and radiation from radionuclides were effective for the abiotic formation of bioorganic compounds. Non-conventional synthetic pathways of bioorganic compounds will be proposed.

Prof. Dr. Kensei Kobayashi is a renowned scientist who has significantly contributed to prebiotic chemistry for astrobiology. He earned his D.Sc. from the University of Tokyo in 1982 before moving to the United States to work as a research associate at the Laboratory of Chemical Evolution at the University of Maryland from 1982 to 1986. After returning to Japan, he worked as a lecturer at Yokohama National University before being promoted to associate professor in 1991. He served as a professor at Yokohama National University from 2003 until his retirement in 2020. During this time he has done research with NASA, JAXA, and ESA. Prof. Kobayashi is part of the top 10 most productive scientists in astrobiology and has received numerous awards for his pioneering research in astrobiology, particularly in prebiotic chemistry, for the generation and detection of biomolecules in primitive terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. He currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus.

Atmospheric aerosols, particularly those originating from anthropogenic sources can affect human health, air quality and the regional climate system. Population growth, and rapid urbanization associated with economic development in Southeast Asia countries including Malaysia have resulted in high aerosol concentrations. Estimating and forecasting air pollution are challenging due to their diverse spatio-temporal patterns and uncertainties in measurements and model input data. Accurate determination of pollution and its distribution is important for source apportionment and mitigation strategies. This keynote talk covers the estimation and mapping of fine particulate matter (PM) using various satellite-based aerosol optical depths, gases pollutants, land use and meteorological data. Three machine learning models; Random Forest, Support Vector Regression and Extreme Gradient Boosting were explored to elucidate the association between PM and the input parameters. Different sub-models were developed for different locations and seasons covering urban/industrial, and suburban sites during wet, dry and inter-monsoon seasons. Fusion of AOD products from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensors and gases from Sentinel 5p TROPOMI enabled seamless seasonal PM2.5 mapping over Malaysia. Challenges in utilizing remote sensing data for PM mapping from space are discussed in the talk. A recommendation for further studies is provided to improve the model’s predictive capability. Such studies are crucial for modelling and predicting aerosols’ effects on air quality, health and climate system.

Prof. Ts. Dr. Kasturi Devi Kanniah from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia is a fellow member of the Malaysia Academy of Sciences and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Prof. Kasturi has been actively involved in research, teaching, and consultancy activities in the field of remote sensing technology. Her main research interest is to link field data with remote sensing to model and map atmospheric aerosols and to study large-scale vegetation processes and functioning on land and in urban areas to achieve low-carbon cities. Her contribution to remote sensing knowledge dissemination through academic journals is noteworthy. She is the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Remote Sensing, a Q2 journal and an Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Geoinformatics, a Scopus-cited journal. She is also the chief editor of the “Journal of Advanced Geospatial Science and Technology, published by UTM Press. She has published over 100 research papers mainly on topics covering atmospheric aerosols and land use, land cover changes and vegetation processes.

The development of the RF technologies of communication systems shifts much higher frequency bands such as sub-terahertz-wave bands for next-generation communication systems toward 2030 as the next stage.

High gain antennas for high S/N ratio and high angular resolution can be designed in the sub-terahertz-wave bands even though the physical size of the antenna is small. The beam-scanning function is attractive to detect the target in sensing systems and to cover a wide area with high gain in communication systems. Digital Beam Forming (DBF) systems are the most popular for automotive radar systems. The required gain of the antenna for one channel is relatively low. However, full DBF systems require many receivers and consume much power in A/D and D/A converters. Combination techniques of DBF and multiple beam antennas could be a solution of reasonable high-gain beam-scanning antennas. Technologies of planar array antennas and multiple beam antennas are required for these applications.

Three “LOWs”; low loss, low cost and low profile are important features in choosing a feeding system of an array antenna. There are no perfect antennas for any use. We always have to select feeding systems with distinct advantages depending on the specifications. How many types of millimeter-wave antennas should be prepared to cover all millimeter-wave applications? Three types of millimeter-wave antennas are enough to cover most applications; microstrip array antennas, slotted waveguide array antennas, and lens antennas since they have completely different advantages and compensate for their disadvantages each other. Therefore, we have tried development of various designs for these antennas. Butler matrix and Rotman lens are popular for feeding circuits of multiple beam antennas. Dielectric lens antennas are unfortunately bulky but the low-loss feature is quite attractive. Beam-scanning techniques of lens antennas are actively in the development of various organizations in sub-terahertz-wave bands. This lecture presents the distinct features of the planar antennas, multiple beam antennas and lens antennas. The designs and the principles of the antennas are explained. The key technologies of the planar array antennas and the lens antennas for beam-scanning in the millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz-wave bands are presented in the talk. Transmission line transitions to connect RFIC and waveguide feeding horn antennas for primary radiators of lens antennas are also mentioned in this talk.

Kunio Sakakibara was born in Aichi, Japan, on November 8, 1968. He received a B.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan, in 1991, and the M.S. and D.E. degrees in electrical and electronic engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan in 1993 and 1996, respectively. From 1996 to 2002, he worked at TOYOTA CENTRAL R&D LABS., INC., Aichi, and was engaged in the development of antennas for automotive millimetre-wave radar systems. From 2000 to 2001, he was with the Department of Microwave Techniques at the University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany, as a Guest Researcher. In 2002, he joined Nagoya Institute of Technology as a Lecturer. From 2004, he was an associate professor, and he became a professor in 2012. He was an associate editor of IEICE Transactions on Communications from 2010 to 2015 and is currently an associate editor of the Korean Journal of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science (JEES) from 2012, the Electronics Letters (EL) of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) from 2020, and the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation from 2023. He was awarded the Top Ten Reviewers from the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation in 2010. He received the Best Paper Awards of the ISAP in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009. His research interest has been millimeter-wave and terahertz-wave antennas. Dr. Sakakibara has been senior member of the IEEE since 2006 and the IEICE since 2011.