On behalf of the Conference Organizing Committee, the Antennas and Propagation Society, and USNC-URSI, we welcome you to San Diego and the 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting. This meeting is the premier international forum for the exchange of ideas on state-of-the-art research in antennas, propagation, electromagnetic engineering, and radio science. Through an exciting lineup of technical and social activities, it will provide the opportunity to interact with the world's leading experts in antennas and propagation from academia, industry, and government.
This year’s meeting will be held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, which is directly on the water, and minutes from downtown activities including the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park and its numerous museums, and the Gaslamp district for dining and nightlife. San Diego is the eighth largest city in the country, and is often referred to as “America’s Finest City.” Known for its great hotels, beautiful weather, pristine beaches, friendly people and a plethora of entertainment, San Diego is a favorite destination for visitors across the globe. Our downtown airport is conveniently close to our symposium venue, so transportation to the conference will be quick and straight-forward.
We have several new features to enhance this year’s conference. In addition to the traditional technical talks, short courses, and exhibits, we will also have eight invited speakers who will present double-length talks. These distinguished experts from both academia and industry will present at the beginning of select technical sessions, allowing an in-depth discussion of timely topics chosen by our technical program committee based on emerging trends and exciting new research areas. We also offer a new format for the interactive forums, which will be presented as happy hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday with refreshments and light snacks.
We invite you to join us on Monday at the welcome reception aboard the Midway aircraft carrier, including dessert, refreshments, and fireworks. Additional social events throughout the week include the women in engineering lunch with speaker Dr. Marta Martinez-Vázquez, and the young professionals beach blast at the Kona Kai Resort & Spa on Tuesday. We will hold the awards ceremony and celebratory dinner on Wednesday, and on Thursday we invite you to join us aboard the Hornblower Adventure for a dinner cruise, sailing the beautiful San Diego bay and enjoying the city skyline.
We hope you enjoy our exciting lineup of technical talks, short courses, and social activities, and we suggest that you to consider extending your stay to enjoy the beautiful weather and the many attractions that San Diego has to offer.
Dan Sievenpiper & Gabriel Rebeiz, University of California, San Diego