The RAI Centre in Amsterdam during the second week of October should show up bright and clear on the radar of all those working in the microwaves and RF, semiconductors and wireless technology fields. That is because the 7th European Microwave Week will not only feature the three established conferences that have made it the premier microwave event in Europe, but will also include the first European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2004), exactly 100 years after the invention of radar in 1904. Consequently, the conference programme, exhibition and social activities will reflect this centennial commemoration.
Historical, too, is the fact that the event is returning to the RAI Centre, the venue of the very first European Microwave Week in 1998, and continuing the second five-year cycle through Europe, moving on to Paris in 2005 and Manchester in 2006. However, while acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of the past, the event is very much focused on the technology of today and exploring initiatives for the future.
To this end the four separate but complementary conferences — GAAS“2004, the European Gallium Arsenide and other Compound Semiconductors Application Symposium; the European Conference on Wireless Technology (ECWT 2004); the 34th European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2004); and the European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2004) — have been structured to appeal to the scientific and industrial communities alike. That aim is shared with the three-day European Microwave Exhibition, which has attracted key players, not only from Europe, but also from the US and Asia, who will be on hand to promote new products, demonstrate their latest ranges and offer technical advice. For those wanting to get hands-on experience and guidance direct from the experts there are also workshops and short courses on various subjects.
The undertaking to meld the academic with the industrial and embrace new initiatives is exemplified by the inclusion in the conference programme of a focused session dedicated to space technology, while a special booth in the exhibition is showing the results of space technology developments. Alongside this is the opportunity for delegates to visit the Royal Netherlands Navy air command frigate HrMs De Ruijter, moored in Amsterdam Harbour, and which carries a suite of radars with the latest technology. Also, for the second year the EuMW 2004 Welcome Buffet will provide the opportunity for conference delegates and exhibitors to meet and converse socially.
It is hoped that like Amsterdam itself European Microwave Week will be diverse, relaxed and friendly, while offering the opportunity for the frank exchange of views and technical information against a background of convivial informality. It is a city where you can immerse yourself in culture, history, art or in the head of a cold beer — the ideal place for mixing business with pleasure.
To enable visitors to do just that, a great deal of effort has been put into instigating new initiatives to move European Microwave Week forward and ensure that it is an interesting, worthwhile and fruitful experience for all those who attend. To achieve this has involved countless people, including the chairmen of the conferences and their teams, the local organisers, the TPC members and the several hundred reviewers, whose contributions determine the quality of the conferences. Also, the organisers of focused sessions, short courses and workshops should be acknowledged for their effort to offer a good programme. The EuMA Board of Directors has constantly monitored progress and given advice based on long-term experience. Not to forget, too, the team at Horizon House, who have not only organised the European Microwave Exhibition but also built on their event management expertise and, through their Web-based submission and review system, supported the conference organisation significantly. Last but not least we should acknowledge the financial and in-kind sponsorship of many industrial enterprises and other organisations.
Thanks to all their hard work this year’s event will commemorate and celebrate the old, while looking forward and heralding the new. One hundred years on from the birth of radar let us hope that, with a little help from European Microwave Week 2004, it will not be long before we can detect a new era of prosperity for the microwave industry.
Help to make that happen and see you in Amsterdam.
