IMS2012 attendance hits more than 7,600 participants
July 8, 2012. More than 7,600 microwave industry participants converged on Montréal the week of June 17, according to the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, which sponsors the event.
The society said IMS2012 saw strong involvement from the international microwave community, reinforcing the theme of “Microwaves without Borders.”
That backed up pre-show descriptions of Raafat R. Mansour, IMS2012 Technical Program Chair, about this year's symposium, which he said would include representation from 57 countries, with the most participants from the United States (46%) and Canada (17%). He said there would also be significant growth in attendees from China along with increases in the number of attendees from multiple European countries, including Germany, France, U.K. and the Netherlands.
In addition to the international representation by attendees, IMS2012 received a record 1,225 paper submissions from 49 different countries and welcomed 569 exhibitors from 21 countries who showcased their products and technologies.
“The collaboration of microwave and RF industry professionals from around the world was astounding,” said Dr. Ke Wu, general chair of IMS2012. “We saw incredible enthusiasm for the technical program, and all of our attendees, from our student competitors, to our workshop leaders, to our exhibitors, contributed to the huge success of the symposium.”
Of the total 4,118 symposium registrants, the MTT-S reports, 2,653 registered for the technical program, and 1,465 registered for the exhibits alone.
Exhibit visitors saw a variety of test and measurement and other highlights on the show floor. Agilent Technologies, for example, touted its alignment of business units to support design simulation and measurement automation. The company also introduced a new USB power sensor and highlighted several products introduced over the past few months.
In addition, test-equipment vendors highlighted various capabilities and instruments. Specific areas of focus included noise measurements, wafer probing, nonlinear measurements, radar test, and wireless communications test. And IC and component makers highlighted a variety of devices targeting applications ranging from handsets to test-and-measurement equipment.
The symposium also featured a closing session with Dr. Thomas H. Lee, Stanford University professor and director of the Microsystems Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
In addition to symposium’s technical program, IMS2012 celebrated the 60th anniversary of the MTT-S, with a variety of historical sessions, a panel session with prominent MTT-S members, and an enhanced historical exhibit, among other events.
IMS2013 will be held June 2-7, 2013 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. For more information, visit http://ims2013.mtt.org/.