Dieff Vital

Dieff Vital is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois-Chicago, specializing in textile-based wireless power transfer and biomedical sensing systems. Previously served as a Bridge-to-the-Faculty scholar at UIC (2021-2023), focusing on microwave sensing of biological systems and electromagnetics-on-fabrics.

• Education: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2021), Florida International University; MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2020); B.Sc. Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (2017) from Florida Polytechnic University, graduating summa cum laude.

His groundbreaking research includes bio-inspired antenna designs like the centipede-mimicking resonator for misalignment-resilient charging systems, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications and 5 patents. Key contributions to smart bandages, wearable sensors, and wireless charging infrastructure.

Recent Trends: Development of clothing-integrated beamforming structures (2023), fluidically reconfigurable textile antennas for 5G/6G applications (2023), and biomimetic resonators for medical IoT charging (2022), demonstrating convergence of wearable tech with advanced electromagnetics.

Honors:

• 2022 IEEE APS Fellowship
• 2021 URVI-GASS Young Scientist Award
• 2019 Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary International)
• 2022 IEEE RFID-TA 2nd Place Paper Prize
• Multiple NSF and IEEE travel grants

Leadership: Active in IEEE technical committees (MTT-TC 26/28), session chair for wireless power transmission, and mentor in programs for underrepresented students in STEM. Holds patents for anchor-shaped antennas and smart wound-monitoring bandages.