Carlos Saavedra

Dr. Carlos Saavedra is a Professor and the current Department Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Queen's University's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. He has been with Queen's University since 2000, progressing from Assistant Professor to his current position as Full Professor and Department Head since 2020.

Dr. Saavedra received his BASc degree from the University of Virginia in 1993 and his PhD from Cornell University in 1998. Prior to joining Queen's, he worked as a Senior Engineer at Millitech Corporation in Massachusetts, where he was the lead designer for 38 GHz point-to-point broadband wireless transceivers.

His research expertise spans Antennas, Millimeter-Waves, and RF Circuits, with a particular focus on innovative antenna designs, electromagnetic sensors, and microwave components. Dr. Saavedra's work often involves cutting-edge fabrication techniques including 3D printing for microwave and millimeter-wave applications. His research group, the Millimeter-Wave Electronics Group, has made significant contributions to the fields of filtering antennas, metasurface technology, and fluidically reconfigurable RF systems.

Dr. Saavedra's recent publications reveal a strong trend toward practical, manufacturable antenna solutions using additive manufacturing techniques. His work bridges the gap between theoretical microwave engineering and practical implementation, with numerous publications on 3D printed antennas, sensors, and components operating from X-band through millimeter-wave frequencies.

• NSERC Discovery Accelerator Award recipient
• Best Student Paper at the 2009 IEEE SiRF Conference
• Three-time recipient of the ECE undergraduate teaching award

Dr. Saavedra has served as ECE Graduate Chair from 2007 to 2010 and has held visiting appointments at the University of Navarra (Spain), Universidade Federal of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and the University of Twente (Holland). He is a former Co-Chair of the NSERC Discovery Grant Evaluation Group for Electrical and Computer Engineering and has served on grant review panels at the National Science Foundation (USA) and as an external reviewer for the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. He has also served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and as a Guest Editor of the IEEE Microwave Magazine.

He leads the Millimeter-Wave Electronics Group at Queen's University, which focuses on innovative antenna designs, electromagnetic sensors, and microwave components using both traditional and additive manufacturing techniques. The group maintains state-of-the-art facilities for microwave and millimeter-wave research and has established collaborations with institutions worldwide.