Biography

Dr. Courtney is an electrical engineer with experience in computational electromagnetics (CEM), microwave theory, operations in anechoic chambers, RF and RCS measurements, and the analysis, design and optimization of commercial, low observable and high power-capable antennas. He received his BS and MS degrees at the University of South Carolina, and his PhD at Clemson University. Currently, with the Skunk Works, he is the Technical Domain lead for CEM. In this capacity, he works with a broad range of commercial and academic partners to identify promising technologies, execute collaborative research, and integrate new algorithms into existing codes and tools. He is a subject matter expert in the characterization of the electromagnetic properties of materials, with an emphasis on measurement accuracy and the reduction of uncertainty in material measurements. Dr. Courtney is a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Biography

Fikadu Dagefu is a Senior Research Scientist and Team Leader at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL). His research spans applied electromagnetics, wireless communications, and sensing, with a focus on developing intelligent, secure, and self-managing tactical wireless networks. At ARL, Dagefu leads the Autonomous Tactical Networking team, conducting foundational research in heterogeneous and low-probability-of-detection (LPD) communications across terrestrial, aerial, and satellite networks. His work exploits physical-layer technologies for electromagnetic signature control across spatial, spectral, and temporal domains, leveraging cross-layer optimization and machine learning to simultaneously manage realistic network traffic and precise RF signatures. Dagefu collaborates extensively across government, academia, and industry, including serving as a program verification and validation lead for multiple DARPA programs. A Senior Member of the IEEE, he has co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications, holds five patents, and serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE AWPL and IEEE APM. He is highly active in the APS, URSI, and COMSOC communities, and regularly mentors student interns, postdocs, and visiting scholars at ARL. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Texas at Austin, alongside an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Biography

Dr. MD (Muhammed) Zuboraj is a Senior Electronics Engineer at Information and Spectrum Warfare Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He is currently PI of HPM antenna program at AFRL, developing advanced high power microwave sources and antennas for US warfighters. Before joining at AFRL, he completed his postdoc at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). There, he worked as technical staff scientist at LANL and was an active member of Applied Electrodynamics (AOT-AE) group where he works on novel applications of electrodynamics such as particle accelerators, electron and ion beam dynamics, gamma-ray detectors, X-ray and THz sources, and high-gradient acceleration of particles. He completed his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University, on design of coupled transmission line-based novel slow wave structures for Traveling Wave Tubes (TWTs). His has decade long research experience intersecting diverse fields such as metamaterials, antennas and phased arrays, high power microwave sources, electron accelerators, ion sources and free electron lasers. He has published 15 peer-reviewed journals and more than 20 conference papers in different fields. He also serves as active reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions of Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions of Antennas and Propagation, Optics Express, Physical Review and Applied Physics Letters. He is also a senior member of IEEE and American Physical Society.

Biography

Dr. Scott E. Irvine received his B.Sc. in physics and mathematics from the University of Lethbridge in 2000, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Alberta in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He is with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC)–Suffield Research Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, where he has conducted defence related research over the past 17 years. Dr. Irvine is current the Head of the Threat Mitigation Group, the portfolio manager for Counter Explosive Threats. His specific areas of research in electromagnetics relate to threat detection and defeat, including handheld systems as well as autonomously deployed sensors and counter autonomy technologies.