IEEE J-ERM Founding members

IEEE J-ERM Founding members

The IEEE EEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology was first organized by Professor Arye Rosen, Professor Mohammad-Reza Tofighi and Professor J.-C. Chiao in 2012 at the IEEE MTT-S Technical Committee 10 “Biological Effect and Medical Applications of RF and Microwaves” meeting. The proposal was discussed within three societies IEEE MTT-S (Microwave Theory and Techniques Society), APS (Antennas and Propagation Society), EMBS (Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society) and the Sensors Council, coordinated by Dr. George Ponchak who was the MTT-S Publication Committee Chair. It was approved and sponsored financially/technically by these four partners. The journal was formally approved and sponsored by IEEE in March 2017. The journal logo was designed by Dr. J.-C. Chiao and Dr. Katia Grenier.

Arye Rosen (LF’92)
Arye Rosen received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, Washington, DC, while employed at the Embassy of Israel in the Office of the Scientific Counselor. He received the Masters of Science degree in Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, the M.Sc. degree in Physiology from Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.Dr. Rosen, was employed at RCA/David Sarnoff Research Center from 1967 to 2003, rising to the highest technical rank of Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, where he was involved in research and development of microwave and Millimeter Wave/THz devices and circuits, microwave optical interaction, and high power semiconductor lasers.

He has also been engaged in medical research and consulting in the utilization of energies for applications in therapeutic medicine for the past 50 years. Arye Rosen has held an appointment at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, as Academy Professor of Biomedical and Electrical Engineering in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, and Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives until June 2014. In October 2014, he was appointed Associate Vice President for Biomedical Research Partnerships, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ.

Arye Rosen has authored more than 250 technical papers, co-edited two books: High Power Optically Activated Solid-State Switches (Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1993), and New Frontiers in Medical Device Technology (New York: Wiley, 1995), and co-authored a textbook entitled RF/Microwave Interaction with Biological Tissue (New York: Wiley, 2006/2007). He holds over 60 U.S. patents in the fields of engineering and medicine. A patent issued in 2019 is assigned to Medtronic Ardian Lusembourg S.A.R.L, entitled: “Microwave catheter apparatuses, systems, and methods for renal neuromodulation”.

A Member of the National Academies, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Dr. Rosen was elected in 2002 “For contributions to microwave and laser technologies and the medical applications of these technologies”.  He was involved in the early research of the utilization of ultrasound imaging for the detection and diagnosis of heart dysfunction (echocardiography), the use of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)/Lasers for functional Near Infrared (fNIR) Spectroscopy, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in cancer treatment.

Dr. Rosen is a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), elected in 1992 “For innovation in semiconductor devices and circuits for use in microwave systems and for microwave applications to medicine”, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and a retired Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.  He served as IEEE Distinguished Microwave Lecturer from 1997 to 2000, during which time he has presented his and others’ work in the U.S., Japan Europe and the Middle East. He has consulted to several medical technology companies worldwide, as well as to investment trust corporations interested in funding innovative biomedical research. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the IEEE MTTS Microwave Career Award (May 2010), the IEEE Third Millennium Medal (January 2000) and an IEEE Microwave Application Award (June 2000). He was honored at a Special IMS 2003 Session Honoring Kiyo Tomiyasu, Martin Schneider, and Arye Rosen (IEEE Microwave Magazine, March 2004). He was also the recipient of a 1989 IEEE Region One Award, and a 1997 Drexel University College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Rosen is presently serving as a consultant at AMT, Inc., a consulting company incorporated in Delaware.

J.-C. Chiao (M’04–SM’11–F’20)
J.-C. Chiao received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He was a Research Scientist in the Optical Networking Systems and Testbeds Group at Bell Communications Research and Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at University of Hawaii, Manoa. Dr. Chiao was a Product Line Manager and Senior Technology Advisor at Chorum Technologies before he joined the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002, where he was the Janet and Mike Greene endowed Professor and Jenkins Garrett Professor of Electrical Engineering. Currently, Dr. Chiao is Professor and Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University.

Dr. Chiao has been general chair for several international conferences including IEEE IMBioC18 and Sensors 2022. He served as Chair in the IEEE MTT-S Technical Committee 10 Biological Effect and Medical Applications of RF and Microwave; Guest Editor and Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. Dr. Chiao was the recipient of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Excellence in Engineering Teaching Award; Tech Titans Technology Innovator Award;Research in Medicine award in the Heroes of Healthcare; IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Engineering Educator award; IEEE MTT Distinguished Microwave Lecturer; IEEE Sensors Council Distinguished Lecturer; 2017 SPIE Fellow; and 2011 O’Donnell Award in Engineering from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas.

Mohammad-Reza Tofighi (S’98–M’00–SM’05)
Mohammad-Reza Tofighi received a B.S. degree from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1989, an M.S. degree from Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1993, and a Ph.D. degree from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, in 2001, all in electrical engineering. From 2001 to 2004, he was a post-doctoral associate and research professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering at Drexel respectively. Since 2004, he has been with the Pennsylvania State University, Capital College, Middletown, PA, as a member of electrical engineering faculty. His main research interest is on medical and biological applications of RF and microwave, which he has been pursuing for over twenty years. In particular, his research activities include wireless implants and sensors, microwave radiometry and imaging, biomedical/implantable antennas and applicators, interaction of microwave with biological tissues, and permittivity measurement using time and frequency domain methods at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies.

Dr. Tofighi has been professionally active in IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (IEEE MTT-S), serving in various capacities such as the Technical Program Committee (TPC) co-chair of 2018 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS); the chair of the IEEE MTT-10 (now MTT-28), Technical Committee (TC) on Biological Effects and Medical Applications of RF and Microwave from 2009 to 2013; a guest editor of the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques; an associate editor of IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology; and a TPC member of IEEE MTT-S sponsored conferences such as IMS,  Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS), and International Wireless Symposium (IWS).

George E. Ponchak (S’82–M’83–SM’97–F’08)
George E. Ponchak received the B. E. E. degree from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH in 1983, the M.S.E.E. degree from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH in 1987, and the Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI in 1997.

He joined the staff of the Communications, Instrumentation, and Controls Division at NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH in 1983 where he is now a senior research engineer. In 1997-1998 and in 2000-2001, he was a visiting professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. He has authored and co-authored over 200 papers in refereed journals and symposia proceedings.

Dr. Ponchak is a Fellow of the IEEE. Dr. Ponchak, was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions Microwave Theory and Techniques from 2010-2013, and the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters from 2006-2009. He has served on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer Aided Engineering since 2005. He received the 2014 N. Walter Cox Award that recognizes an IEEE MTT-S member who has given exemplary service to the Society and the Best Paper of the ISHM’97 30th International Symposium on Microelectronics Award.