Event Details

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication has driven major advancements in data rates and spectrum efficiency. As MIMO systems scale to support more antennas and higher frequencies, though, power consumption and hardware complexity become bottlenecks. In this talk, I will unveil the tri-hybrid MIMO architecture that integrates low-power reconfigurable antennas with both digital and analog precoding. First, I will provide some background on the fundamentals of reconfigurable antennas. Second, I will introduce the tri-hybrid architecture, highlighting the benefits in terms of power, aperture and. Third, I will describe an initial version of the tri-hybrid MIMO architecture that makes use of dynamic metasurface antennas. This preliminary architecture serves as a case study to illustrate key performance. Finally, I will discuss future challenges in designing reconfigurable arrays and optimizing tunable antenna parameters. The tri-hybrid architecture introduces new research directions in physically-consistent wireless communications at the intersection of electromagnetics, circuits and signal processing.

October 24, 2025

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Host: Steve Crago
POC: Amy Kasmir

Speaker Bio

Robert W. Heath Jr. is the Charles Lee Powell Chair in Wireless Communication in the Department of ECE at the University of California San Diego. He is the recipient or co-recipient of several awards including the 2019 IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award, the 2020 North Carolina State University Innovator of the Year Award, the 2021 IEEE Vehicular Technology Society James Evans Avant Garde Award, and the 2025 IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal. He authored "Introduction to Wireless Digital Communication” (Prentice Hall in 2017) and "Digital Wireless Communication: Physical Layer Exploration Lab Using the NI USRP” (National Technology and Science Press in 2012). He co-authored “Millimeter Wave Wireless Communications” (Prentice Hall in 2014) and "Foundations of MIMO Communications" (Cambridge 2019). He is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator, a registered Professional Engineer in Texas, a Private Pilot, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a Fellow of the IEEE, and a Fellow of the AAAS. He is an elected member of the United States National Academy of Engineering.