Women in Radio Science (WIRS)
WIRS Business Meeting
The USNC-URSI Women in Radio Science (WIRS) chapter holds a Business Meeting each year during the NRSM. Check the Full Technical Program (Coming Soon) for the time and location of this event.
WIRS Reception
A special WIRS Reception will be held during the NRSM that is sponsored by URSI. Check the Full Technical Program (Coming Soon) for the time and location of this event.
WIRS Business Meeting Speaker
Title: Electromagnetics Empowering the Next Generation of Wearables
Prof. Asimina Kiourti
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University
Abstract
Advances at the intersection of electromagnetics, materials, and signal processing are opening new and unexplored opportunities in wearable sensors, empowering the vision of round-the-clock monitoring “in the wild”. This talk will discuss emerging classes of wearables that outperform the state-of-the-art in terms of seamlessness, capabilities, and performance. Highlighted research efforts include: a) garments functionalized with inductive loops for monitoring body kinematics, b) magnetocardiography (MCG) sensors for cognitive workload classification, and c) mechanically reconfigurable MagnetoInductive Waveguides (mrMIWs) for anthropometric circumferential measurements. In addition to technical advances, the abovementioned efforts at the intersection of engineering and medicine provide a unique platform for education and outreach activities.
Biography
Asimina Kiourti is an Innovation Scholar Endowed Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University where she first joined as a faculty member in 2016. From 2013 to 2016, she was a Post-Doctoral Researcher and then a Senior Research Associate at Ohio State's ElectroScience Laboratory. Prior to that, she earned her Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece (2013) and the M.Sc. degree from University College London, UK (2009).
Prof. Kiourti's research interests lie in bio-electromagnetics, wearable and implantable antennas, and sensors for body area applications. Her publication record includes 1 book, 13 book chapters, 11 granted patents, over 100 journal papers, and over 190 conference papers and abstracts. Her work has been supported by NSF, NIH, NASA, DoD, and more, and has been recognized with over 40 scholarly recognitions, including the 2025 Scarlet & Gray Associate Professor recognition at Ohio State, 2023 IEEE Lot Shafai Mid-Career Distinguished Achievement Award, 2022 Ohio State Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award, 2021 NSF CAREER award, and 2021 ‘40 Under 40' recognition by Columbus Business First. Her mentees have received another 70 awards at an international, national, and local level.
Prof. Kiourti is a Senior Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation and Editor of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine “Bioelectromagnetics” column. She also holds several elected and appointed leadership roles in IEEE and USNC-URSI.
WIRS Business Meeting Speaker
Title: Adapting USNC-URSI to Change
Dr. Mike Newkirk
Member of the research staff at the University of California at Berkeley and Oxford University, UK
Abstract
Recent years can be characterized as turbulent in many ways. This has been particularly true for the USNC-URSI, the organization that operates the NRSM. Numerous organizations are facing dramatic changes in areas such as federal funding, shifting national and geo-political environments, increased use of and concern with advancements in AI, and the cumulative effects on radio science research.
This talk will discuss some of the recent changes that necessitated the creation of the US Foundation for Radio Science (USFRS), a nonprofit based in Maryland which is now the US adhering body to URSI and parent organization to the USNC-URSI. In addition, we will discuss rising use of AI in essentially everything we do, which will summarize the good and the bad for how these tools can be used to navigate change while still allowing individuals and organizations to the thrive in these turbulent times.
Biography
Dr. Mike Newkirk is a member of the Principal Professional Staff at The Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) in Laurel, Maryland. He joined JHU/APL in 1996 and is currently a Group Supervisor in the Air and Missile Defense Sector. His areas of expertise include radio frequency (RF) propagation and clutter modeling, RF propagation environment characterization, radar and communications systems performance modeling and simulation (M&S), and Test and Evaluation (T&E) planning and execution, all primarily applied to US Navy radar and weapons systems. Prior to joining JHU/APL, Dr. Newkirk held a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship with the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Maryland, where he conducted research on millimeter wave radiometric imaging.
Dr. Newkirk is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), member of the Antennas and Propagation Society (IEEE-APS) and former member of the Standards Association (IEEE-SA). He is a member of the Student Paper Competition (SPC) Committee for IEEE-APS and former member of the Antennas and Propagation Standards Committee (APSC). He is a former Virginia Tech (VT) Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Bradley Fellow, where he received his BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees in 1998, 1990 and 1994, respectively; a past Chair of the VT ECE Industrial Advisory Board; and 2015-2017 Chair of Propagation and Remote Sensing Commission (F) of the US National Committee to the International Union of Radio Scientists (USNC-URSI). He was the Chair of USNC-URSI from 2022-2023 and transitioned to Immediate Past-Chair of the organization in 2024. Dr. Newkirk was elected as one or four Vice Presidents of URSI at the 2026 URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium (GASS) in Krakow, Poland, and will serve a three-year term as the Vice President and Treasurer.