Dr Rui Yang from Queen Mary's School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science has beaten off stiff competition to be appointed one of only 50 Newton International Fellows.
Dr Yang's success entitles him to a substantial living allowance and research funds, meaning he can develop miniature wearable antennas with the UK academic host, Professor Yang Hao at Queen Mary, University of London.
During a recent meeting to celebrate the Fellows' achievement, Dr Yang presented his research entitled “Electrically small antennas loaded with metamaterials for body-centric wireless communications”, which could one day see communication equipment, such as mobile phones, integrated to into our clothes, hats or glasses.
"The development of wearable communication systems has been growing rapidly. These are becoming smaller and more lightweight: no one wants to wear a bulky and heavy computer all day!" explained Dr Yang. "In a possible wearable computer, the monitor/display would be on a pair of glasses, the keyboard worn on the wrist, and the motherboard worn on the waist. It is undesirable to use bulky cables to connect these devices, so communication will be wireless, using an antenna."
The Newton International Fellowship Scheme was established to select the very best early stage post-doctoral researchers from all over the world and enable them to work at UK research institutions for a period of two years.
An initiative of the British Academy, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society, the scheme is open to researchers in natural and social sciences, engineering and humanities. It is highly competitive with only seven per cent of applicants being awarded the prestigious Fellowship award.
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