Webinar: AOC 2025 Pre-Conference Course Intro

Principles of Metasurface-driven Electronic Warfare Course (8 Hour Course) Dr. Rafael Licursi
This workshop provides an introduction to the use of metasurfaces in Defense, a subject explored further in the book Metasurface-driven Electronic Warfare. It covers how metasurfaces can add extra levels of dynamism to the electronic warfare (EW) problem at the physical level. Metasurfaces are artificially engineered structures that can provide arbitrary, reconfigurable responses in the transmission, reflection, and absorption of electromagnetic waves. Extensive research validated metasurfaces in the last couple of decades, and the community recently elected them as a key element for a civilian application, the 6G. However, in Defense, if many isolated papers are available in the open literature, their application is still unclear for many. This workshop connects the dots between metasurfaces and EW. It covers not only the so-called metasurface-based stealth technology, but also applications in Electronic Support (ES), Electronic Attack (EA), and Electronic Protection (EP). The workshop will also discuss emerging use cases for distributed EW in drone swarms.

Antenna Theory for EW Professionals: A Quick But Thorough “Crash Course” (4 Hour Course) Major Timothy Wolfe
While most antenna engineering focuses on communications and radar signals with known power and frequency requirements, High Power Electromagnetic (HPEM) systems present a design challenge with non-cooperative targets and starkly different criteria for "success". Therefore, the optimal design space presents with substantial differences relative to conventional antenna engineering and merits attention to specific details and solutions. This talk will provide a survey level overview of how HPEM antenna requirements differ from those of more conventional communications or radar systems and how the current state of the art attempts to address these issues.

Microelectronics 101 for EW Professionals: A Quick But Thorough “Crash Course” (4 Hour Course) Major Timothy Wolfe
This is a survey course on the fundamentals of integrated circuit (IC) and semiconductor device physics, operating principles, and fabrication technology. Students will develop an understanding of all aspects of IC fabrication: the materials, the processes, and the fabrication equipment. The underlying physics that drive solid state devices and many of the fabrication requirements will also be covered qualitatively to foster understanding. This will include both theoretical and experimental considerations.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Major Timothy Wolfe Bio:

Major Timothy Wolfe, PhD., graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, and commissioned into the U.S. Air Force through AFROTC Detachment 355. He completed his M.S. in Electrical Engineer at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 2015. His career outside of academic research has included a variety of assignments ranging from technical intelligence analysis to program management. He has served as Principal Investigator, Pulsed Power Modeling Simulation for the Numerical Simulations Program and Deputy Program Manager, Aero Effects and Beam Control Program at the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, NM. In 2018, he was accepted into the Purdue Military Research Initiative on an AFIT scholarship, graduating with a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2021. He has since served as an assistant professor of electrical engineering at AFIT, with teaching and research covering solid state microelectronics, RF antennas and propagation, and statistical analysis. He is now also serving as the division chief of electrical engineering in charge of curriculum and personnel management within the department.

Dr. Rafael Licursi Bio:
Dr. Rafael Licursi is an antenna/radar researcher and EW consultant. Experienced in both the hardware and software parts of the EW problem, today his focus is on the innovative use of metasurfaces in the EW scenario. He is currently writing a book on the subject to be publish soon by Wiley and IEEE Press. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute Polytechnique de Paris in Electronics with a focus on reconfigurable metasurfaces and multiband/wideband antennas. Upon graduating from the Brazilian Air Force Academy in 2007, he began his career as a Pilot and Radar Operator in the Maritime Patrol Aviation. Among his past experiences, he served as Electronic Warfare Officer, Signal Processing Engineer, Senior Signals Intelligence Researcher, and Senior RF Antenna Research Engineer.