Midlands mm-Wave and THz Measurement Facility
About
The Midlands mm-Wave and THz Measurement Facility offers a comprehensive Electromagnetic Characterisation Suite supporting advanced research and development across a wide frequency range. The facility comprises three core components: (1) the THz Electronics Suite, enabling device and system testing from 10 MHz to 1.1 THz; (2) the THz Photonics Suite, designed for quasi-optical transmission, reflection, and scattering measurements from 0.2 to 6.5 THz; and (3) the Anechoic Chamber Suite, facilitating precise electromagnetic characterisation from 1.1 GHz to 330 GHz in a reconfigurable, controlled environment.
These integrated capabilities support diverse research areas, including 5G/6G communications, radar systems (conventional and quantum), metamaterials, stealth technologies, frequency-selective structures, IoT, and EM sensing for applications ranging from material science to healthcare. The facility is open to both academic and industrial users and is underpinned by a commitment to high-precision, stable, and repeatable measurement practices.
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Continuing Professional Development
This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.
25 Sep 2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Organiser
- Antennas and Propagation TN
Speakers
Dr Alex Bystrov
Manager, Midlands mm-Wave and THz Measurement Facility - University of Birmingham
Alex Bystrov received his MEng and PhD degrees in Electronics from the National Research University of Electronic Technology, Moscow, Russia, in 1986 and 2012, respectively. From 1986 to 2012, he worked in the electronics industry and information technology companies in Lithuania.
Since 2012, he has been a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, participating in numerous research projects focused on the development of radar, sonar, and video sensors for the automotive industry. His area of research also included the application of artificial intelligence for the identification of road surfaces for autonomous driving.
Since 2017, Dr. Bystrov has been the Manager of the Terahertz Measurement Facility, and since 2024, he has been managing the Midlands Millimetre-wave Measurement Facility at the University of Birmingham. In 2023-2024, he worked as a Technical Lead in the School of Engineering at the University of Leeds.
He is the author or co-author of more than 35 journal and conference papers and holds 16 patents. His research interests include digital signal processing algorithms, terahertz metrology, antenna and microwave device characterization, microwave and ultrasound propagation and scattering, and machine learning methods.
Dr Miguel Navarro-Cia
Head of the Metamaterials and Nanophotonics Group - University of Birmingham
Miguel Navarro-Cía (S’08–M’10–SM’15) received the MEng and PhD degrees in Telecommunication Engineering, and MRes degree in Introduction to Research in Communications from the Universidad Publica de Navarra, Spain, in 2006, 2010, and 2007, respectively. From 2006 to 2010, he was a Pre-Doctoral Researcher, FPI Fellowship recipient, with the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Universidad Publica de Navarra, where he was also a Research and Teaching Assistant from 2010 to 2011. Between 2008 and 2011, he also held several Visiting Researcher positions at the Valencia Nanophotonics Technology Center, Spain, Imperial College London, UK, and University of Pennsylvania, USA. He was a Research Associate in 2011 and a Junior Research Fellow from 2012 to 2015 at Imperial College London, UK. Between these two positions, he was a Research Associate with University College London, UK, where thereafter held a Visiting Researcher position until 2018.
He is currently a Reader in TeraHertz Science and Engineering jointly with the School of Physics and Astronomy, and the School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK. He is also a Visiting Researcher with Imperial College London.
His current research interests include theory, technology and applications of (near-field) time-domain spectroscopy/microscopy/imaging, metamaterials, plasmonics, antennas and frequency-selective surfaces at millimeter-wave, terahertz, and infrared.
Dr. Navarro-Cía a is a Senior Member of the Optical Society of America and a member of the Institute of Physics, the European Optical Society and the European Microwave Association. He was a recipient of the Best Doctoral Thesis in Basic Principles and Technologies of Information and Communications, and Applications corresponding to the XXXI Edition of Awards “Telecommunication Engineers” 2010, the CST University Publication Award (twice) for the best international journal publication using CST Microwave Studio in 2012 and 2016, and the 2011 Junior Research Raj Mittra Travel Grant.