The “Microwaves and THz Metamaterials” Special Interest Group and the “Space and Aviation” Challenge Area from the UK Metamaterials Network+ will organise on Wednesday 26 August 2026, a special event on Metamaterials Shaping the future of Aviation and Space Technologies, co-located with the UCMMT 2026. The venue of this special event will be room 330, Engineering Building (building ‘Y8’ on the Edgbaston campus map).
Edgbaston campus map
Session Overview
Metamaterials have emerged as a key technology reshaping the electromagnetic landscape through ability to manipulate wave propagation beyond natural limits. This special session aims to explore the latest advances in metamaterial-inspired devices and architectures for next-generation aviation space communication systems.
The session focuses on integrating the theoretical foundations of electromagnetics, RF, Microwaves and THz in future enabled technologies with advanced metamaterial concept to overcome high-performance challenges in secure space and aviation communications, security, and stealth applications. This session invites contributions from academia, RTOs, and industry partners promoting on how intelligent metamaterials can transform the development of sustainable, and resilient space communication and aviation sensing platforms.
Programme
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Arrival with Refreshments |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Opening and Keynote Session-1 Professor Alexandros Feresidis – Head of the Communications and EM Research Group, University of Birmingham Harvinder Nagi – Senior System Architect |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Research Funding and Innovation Landscape Session-2 Professor Robert Rolley (FIET) – Innovate UK (IUK), Knowledge Transfer Advisor (XTN) Dr Chanattra Ammatmanee – EPSRC Senior Portfolio Manager |
| 10:30-10:45 | Coffee break and Networking |
| 10:45-11:30 | Keynote Session-3 Professor Yi Huang – IEEE Fellow, University of Liverpool Professor Mohammed El-Hajjar – MMWAVE Wireless Communication Associate Professor Dr Mohsen Khalily – Antenna & Propagation |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Round Table Expert Opinions Securing the future of UK Space – Chair: Harvinder Nagi (SAC) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch and Networking |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Industry/Academia Showcase Session-4 |
| 14:30 – 15:15 | Policy and Road Mapping Session Theme 1: Metamaterials for satellite technologies Theme 2: Metamaterials for Aviation, Defence and Future Mobility |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Closing Remarks and Next Steps |