Safieddin Safavi-Naeini

Safieddin (Ali) Safavi-Naeini was a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and cross-appointed to the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He was also the Director of the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) at the University. CIARS features a unique multi-configuration electromagnetic radiation lab, including an anechoic chamber and terahertz measurement facility where terahertz radiation is explored.

In addition, Professor Safavi-Naeini held a $6.3 million Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)-NSERC/C-COM Industrial Research Chair in Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems for Next Generation Millimeter-Wave Mobile Communications. This research chair program explores a number of generic and modular approaches essential to applying the latest advances in intelligent multi-antenna structures, novel electromagnetic materials, micro- and nano-electronics and photonics, as well as efficient computational methods for the emerging communication and sensing systems including 5G and beyond, next generation mobile satellite communication, radar, and imagers.

Professor Safavi-Naeini’s work with terahertz technology posed significant benefit to the pharmaceutical industry. He devised a new process for quality control of pharmaceutical products, in which the total destruction of pills for analysis is eliminated and instead requires use of 4D or terahertz cameras. This application exploits the properties of terahertz waves to both visualize and penetrate each pill as it comes off the production line. This penetration guarantees full chemical analysis, ensuring that all the medication produced has the intended composition.

Professor Safavi-Naeini’s work with electromagnetic waves led to the development of an inexpensive device for skin cancer pre-screening. This device uses microwave signals to illuminate the skin and test the reflection the device receives. It is able to determine if there is cause for concern based on the intensity of the reflected wave, potentially leading to fewer biopsies.

• Electromagnetics
• Photonics
• Antennas
• Microwaves
• Photonics
• Computational electromagnetics
• Microwaves/millimeter-waves
• RF technology
• Terahertz technology
• Wireless communication
• Autonomous and Connected Car
• Microwave HTSC thin film technology
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Automotive
• Bioengineering
• Biomedical Engineering

• 1979, Doctorate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois
• 1976, Master of Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois
• 1974, Bachelor of Science (BSc), Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran

• ECE 675 - Radiation & Propagation of Electromagnetic Fields
  • Taught in 2019
• ECE 770 - Special Topics in Antenna and Microwave Theory
  • Taught in 2021

• Abdallah, Mona and Wang, Ying and Abdel-Wahab, Wael M and Safavi-Naeini, Safieddin, A Tunable Circuit Model for the Modeling of Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 15, 2016, 830 - 833
• Alsaedi, Hussam and Ali, Jawad K and Abdel-Wahab, Wael M and Gigoyan, S and Safavi-Naeini, Safieddin A, A Dual Circularly Polarized Patch Antenna for Broadband MilliMeter Wave (MMW) Communication Systems, , 2016
• Raeis-Zadeh, S Mohsen and Strickland, Donna and Safavi-Naeini, Safieddin, Quantum-Enhanced Second-Order Nonlinearity in Graphene: The Role of Wave Momentum and DC Biasing, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, 52(2), 2016, 1 - 7
• Raeis-Zadeh, S Mohsen and Safavi-Naeini, Safieddin, Analysis of Electromagnetic Wave Scattering by Graphene Flakes Using the Generalized Multipole Technique, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 64(3), 2016, 1032 - 1038
• Abdellatif, Ahmed Shehata and Taeb, Aidin and Ranjkesh, Nazy and Gigoyan, Suren and Nenasheva, Elizaveta and Safavi-Naeini, Safieddin, Low-insertion loss phase shifter for millimeter-wave phased array antennas, International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, 8(01), 2016, 33 - 39

• Waterloo Engineering research team marks major milestone in intelligent antenna project
• New diabetes device monitors blood using radar and AI, not painful pricks