Effectiveness of Shielding Covers in Reverberant Environments
Background:
I was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1993 and have lived there until I completed my B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore in 2014. Then I moved to Islamabad after winning a fellowship award for MS studies at Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences and completed my MS in Systems Engineering there in 2016. Shortly afterwards, I joined Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission as Junior Engineer, later promoted to Senior Engineer in 2018 and worked there until 2024. My main task was the design and fabrication of HEMP/EMI suppression filters alongside EMC testing. Then I moved to the UK and joined Alten Ltd. as an Electronics/EMC Engineer and worked for Rolls Royce Control Systems, one of Alten's clients, until September 2024.
How did you become a part of NEPIT?
I had always wanted to become a part of the academic world but couldn't do so earlier because of lack of opportunities and non-existent field of EMC in academia in my home country . During my years at PAEC I had gained significant knowledge and expertise in EMC pre compliance testing and Shielding Effectiveness testing and over time had developed a keen interest into the theoretical aspects of Electromagnetics and EMC in particular. Although my time at PAEC played a significant role in shaping my interest in EMC but the state of the art in Pakistan wasn't at par with the rest of the world to enable me to really delve deeper into this field. So I decided to look for opportunities abroad and found a project that was exactly as per my interests i.e. NEPIT. I applied for a doctoral candidate position in NEPIT, during my time in the UK, and was luckily selected on my preferred position, DC10, which made me come to the Netherlands and join the Eindhoven University of Technology in September 2024.
What is NEPIT according to you?
NEPIT according to me is a consortium of experts in academia and industry related to Electromagnetic Compatibility in general and Reverberation Chambers in particular. The consortium has a mandate to research new methods for EMC testing employing Reverberation Chambers, define new models and standards for EMC testing and wireless propagation in complex environments. The need for new models, methods and standards stems from significant advantages offered by Reverberation Chambers over Absorber Lined Anechoic Chambers at one end and is in part inspired by the principle of testing for safety rather than testing for mere compliance to the standards. This is what makes this project special as the outcomes from this project will have direct impact on daily lives of everyone.
Role in NEPIT?
My research within NEPIT will be focused on effectiveness of shielding covers in reverberant environments. The need for research on this topic is motivated by the fact that with increasingly complex electromagnetic environment the need for models that describe this complex environment has also increased. With accurate mathematical models new methods can be devised which can help engineers and designers to design shields in a much faster way. Incorporation of real world scenarios into the theoretical models already present is another objective of this research. A successful outcome of this research would be tools that equip engineers to design electromagnetic shields in a much faster way and new insights into the complex world of EMC.
Plans for immediate and distant future?
My plans for the immediate future are to, of course, complete my PhD, do some great meaningful research in collaboration with my colleagues and solve some real world concrete problems in the industry using outcomes of my research. In the long term I want to be an active researcher in Electromagnetics and Electromagnetic Compatibility in academia as well as an expert in the industry.
