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Researching the “Mysteries of Waves” with the IEEE AP-S Leopold B. Felsen Research Grant for Electromagnetics
The IEEE AP-S Leopold B. Felsen Research Grant for Electromagnetics honors the significant contributions of Professor Leopold Felsen (1924-2005), a renowned expert in electromagnetic waves and electrodynamics. Felsen’s son, Michael Felsen, established the research grant to commemorate his father’s legacy and inspire emerging scientists. “With this research grant in my father’s name, I hope that talented young students will build upon his legacy and achieve new levels of understanding regarding the mysteries of wave behavior,” stated Michael Felsen.
Prof. Felsen was the author or co-author of more than 350 papers and several books, including the classic Radiation and Scattering of Waves (IEEE Press, 1994). He was an associate editor of several professional journals and editor of the Wave Phenomena Series for Springer-Verlag. His research interests encompassed wave propagation and diffraction in complex environments and various disciplines, high-frequency asymptotic and short-pulse techniques, and phase space methods with an emphasis on wave-oriented data processing and imaging.
The awards and recognition that he received for his groundbreaking work span four decades and are too numerous to list. The highlights include a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969), Van der Pol Gold Medal from URSI (1975), IEEE Centennial Medal (1984), IEEE Heinrich Hertz Gold Medal (1991), the IEEE AP-S Distinguished Achievement Award (1998) and the IEEE Electromagnetics Award (2003). He was also awarded five honorary doctoral degrees from five universities.
During his prolific career, one of his great pleasures was to nurture doctoral and post-doctoral students who were enthusiastic about the problems they were trying to solve and in whom he saw burning interest and promise. The IEEE Felsen Research Grant will keep his commitment to promising new researchers alive by bestowing funds on bright, young professionals to conduct research projects focused on the fundamental aspects of electromagnetics.
“The technological challenges we face at this moment in human civilization are more than daunting,” said Michael Felsen. “We need to do what we can to encourage young students to enter, and dedicate themselves to, difficult fields like electromagnetics, in search of solutions that will serve the survival of the planet and our shared humanity. I hope that in some small way, the IEEE Felsen Research Grant will help in that endeavor”.
This grant is part of the IEEE AP-S Talent Development Fund. For more information or to make a donation to the “Waves of Support – Empowering Tomorrow’s Innovators Today” AP-S Talent Development Fund, visit the campaign’s Donation Link or contact IEEE Foundation Senior Development Officer Michael Deering at +1 732-562-3915 or m.deering@ieee.org.
