Welcome to European Microwave Week 2011

Manchester was at the heart of the industrial revolution in the 19^th century and the city will again be a hub of activity as the RF and microwave industry takes the opportunity to demonstrate its current invention and productivity during European Microwave Week 2011, which will be held at the Manchester Central Convention Complex from Sunday 9 October to Friday 14 October. Since hosting EuMW in 2006, the complex has undergone a £28 million refurbishment that has resulted in a spacious, modern venue in the heart of the city.

Proud of its history, Manchester is now a prosperous post-industrial city and a centre for commerce, the arts and education that has prompted EuMW 2011 to adopt the slogan, Wave to the Future. The slogan epitomises the fact that the Week has, at its core, the traditional and established focused conferences, alongside Europe's premier RF and microwave exhibition, yet is also looking forward and innovating.

It is the leading microwave event in Europe and brings together the microwave community from around the world. The Week is organised around three conferences: the 41^st European Microwave Conference (EuMC), the 6^th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC) and the 8^th European Radar Conference (EuRAD). Delegates will be able to experience a very broad range of technical subjects, from semiconductors and nanotechnology through to wireless and radar systems. More than 1000 papers were submitted from more than 50 countries and above 375 papers will be presented in technical sessions, 200 in posters and 195 in workshops and short courses.

A significant first is that the Opening Ceremony will be presented by Professor Konstantin S. Novoselov FRS, from the University of Manchester, who received the Nobel Prize for his discovery of graphene and its extraordinary properties.

Add to that, special sessions that will run in parallel with the conference sessions. These include a focused session on Advances in Nanoelectronics in Radio Frequency Technology and a joint APMC-EuMC session. A special half-day Microwaves inside Asia session will provide an overview of some of the most significant research and development currently in Asia, and the popular Women in Engineering event is again on the agenda.

In its effort to Wave to the Future, EuMW recognises the importance of encouraging and nurturing students. The EuMW 2011 Student Challenge aims to bridge the gap between university and industry by challenging students and young researchers to test their technical and application-oriented innovation skills. The competition complements the 2011 Tutorial Seminars for Young Engineers aimed at stimulating and encouraging the next generation. New initiatives this year are the Doctoral School in Microwaves aimed at early stage Ph.D. students and the Filter Design Competition, which is open to postgraduate and undergraduate students.

Design, innovation and the application of technology to the commercial market will be at the forefront of the three-day 2011 European Microwave Exhibition, which a number of the 250 or so exhibiting companies will target to launch new and significant products. The exhibition is a microcosm of the RF and microwave industry with companies large and small, established and embryonic, and from all over the globe.

Over recent years, the Exhibition has developed to be much more than just a show floor. For example, this year, for the first time, the exhibition hall will play host to the Microwave Application Seminars (MicroApps) at EuMW 2011. Taking place for the entire three days of the exhibition, the intent of this open forum is to highlight and elaborate on products and techniques useful to engineers in their day-to-day design work. Interactive Poster Sessions will be prominent in the exhibition hall on all three exhibition days, enabling authors to demonstrate their work face to face.

Important recent initiatives continue. In particular, the success of the inaugural EuMW Defence/Security Executive Forum at EuMW 2010 in Paris has prompted the organisers to expand European Microwave Week's coverage of the Defence/Security sector and instigate the full-day EuMW Defence and Security Forum. It offers delegates the opportunity to benefit from the expertise and experience of representatives from government defence agencies and leading defence/security contractors who will provide insights into how their organizations view future threats to global safety, security and defence, and the role of technology in addressing these risks.

A social highlight of the Week is the EuMW Welcome Reception, which epitomises the organiser's ongoing endeavours to encourage the interaction between industry and academia that is both convivial and conducive to networking. Indeed, mixing business and pleasure can be enjoyed throughout the week through the strong calendar of social events that has been organised.

To bring all of the initiatives mentioned to fruition takes time and effort and the Local Organizing Committee would like to express its gratitude to the Technical Programme Committees of the three conferences, along with the 350 volunteer reviewers of the technical papers. A special mention goes to Prof. Matthias Rudolph for his great efforts in running the TPMS paper submission software.

We would also like to acknowledge all the organisers of workshops, special sessions and student events. Thanks also goes to the Horizon House staff assigned to EuMW for their invaluable support in organising this major international event, as well as their contribution to the staging of a world-class exhibition. Last but not least, we acknowledge the financial and in-kind sponsorship of many industrial enterprises and other organisations.