Two doctoral students under the supervision of IT members won the prestigious “Best Student Paper Award” at the XVIII Congress of the Portuguese Committee of URSI, securing 1st and 3rd positions respectively.

Rodrigo Câmara, a PhD student at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), supervised by Mário Silveirinha (IT-IST), Andrea Alù, and Tatiana Rappoport (IT-University of Minho), earned 1st place with his groundbreaking paper titled: “Reflectionless Propagation in Photonic Crystals through Symmetry-Based Design Principles.”

This research explores innovative photonic and hybrid electronic-photonic devices, which offer transformative potential compared to traditional electronics. A key achievement of this work is enhancing transmission efficiency in photonic crystals featuring topological phases, which enable one-way light propagation channels resilient to imperfections. The study reveals the underlying symmetry principles that make such reflectionless channels possible in carefully engineered graphene-like photonic crystals.

Rafael Sousa, a PhD student at Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL), under the guidance of Pedro Vieira (IT-IST), achieved 3rd place for his study: “Sizing and Simulation of 5G Private Networks.”

This research focuses on deploying 5G private networks, particularly for High-Speed Train (HST) and Smart Street Lighting (SSL) use cases. Rafael calculated the minimum coverage needed by defining network requirements and performing simulations with Radio Mobile and optimized base station placements within realistic service areas. His findings validate coverage requirements and propose optimizations to address any gaps.

The awards were presented during the XVIII Congress of the Portuguese Committee of URSI, held on November 29, 2024, at ANACOM headquarters, under the theme “Innovation and Technological Experimentation.”