Sahin wins IEEE AP-S Doctoral Research Grant

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Seckin Sahin
A graduate student at The Ohio State University won grant funding to continue her research into electromagnetics and next-generation wireless communications.

Research Associate Seckin Sahin, who works primarily out of the ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) at Ohio State, won an IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Doctoral Research Grant.

The IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) awards up to six $1,500 pre-doctoral grants and up to 10 $2,500 doctoral grants each year to encourage students to pursue careers in electromagnetics.

Sahin came to Ohio State from Izmir, Turkey. She received her undergraduate degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey in 2013 and went on to earn her M.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at Ohio State this year. She stayed on and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in ECE.

IEEE officials said Sahin earned the funding for her high-quality research proposal.

Sahin's research focuses on the areas of micro-fabrication, ultra wideband low-profile phased arrays for mobile applications, mmW antenna measurement techniques, and THz spectroscopy systems for material characterization.

Sahin knew from an early age she would pursue science.

"Since I was a kid, I was much more interested in math and physics and solving real world problems," she said. "In my undergrad, my major was electromagnetics."

With Ohio State's ESL known worldwide, her decision to head toward Ohio was solid.

"I knew that ESL was one of the top research centers in electromagnetics. That's how I chose to come here," she said.

For the past four years, Sahin's work has focused on wafer-scale-integration of on-chip antennas.

"Wafer-scale integration of millimeter-wave (mmW) antennas is a promising solution for future wireless and mobile communications," she said. "It is a large-scale and cost-effective option, compared to traditional integration methods."

Her research also delves into the future of mmW and terahertz band systems, by exploring the material characterization of low-loss polymers as structural materials.

Sahin was previously the recipient of the 2016 Best Student Paper Award IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium.

The pre-doctoral IEEE grant honors the memory of Eugene F. Knott, who was a distinguished researcher and contributor to AP-S. The grants are intended to support students involved in research directed by a faculty member at their institution who are members. Two competitions are held each year.