Being my first time attending an international conference in India on EMI and EMC, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of potential there is in this field in India. Though I graduated from India with my Bachelors degree, I did not have an opportunity to attend such a conference before – mainly due to a lack of awareness on my part.
The first thing anyone notices returning to Bangalore is the amount of construction that is happening in and around the city. From flyovers for the new Metro system that will be operational in the next four years to the growing skyline with many software companies opening new offices in Bangalore, there are many examples of a tremendous amount of growth.
I arrived in Bangalore early in the morning of November 24 and was joined by EMC Society President Elya Joffe in the afternoon. We started talking about our plans to spread the word about the IEEE EMC Society to the members of the Society of EMC Engineers in India and students who were attending the conference from various industries and defense organizations all around India. Following is a summary of the conference and related activities in Bangalore.
The Conference
The 10th International Conference on Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility (INCEMIC-2008) was held on 26–27 November 2008 at the NIMHANS Convention Centre, in Bangalore, India. INCEMIC is organised by the Society of EMC Engineers in India every two years. INCEMIC-2008 was organized in cooperation with the IEEE EMC Society, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MIT), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the SUMMA Foundation. For the conference, Shri S. Varadarajan, Director, LRDE was the Chairman; Dr. D.C. Pande, Director (Technology), LRDE was the Convener and Shri E. Keshav, Director, M/s Complus Systems Pvt. Ltd was the Secretary.
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament and Director, NIAS, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore was the Chief Guest of the event. Professor R.P. Shenoy, Distinguished Scientist (retired), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) presided over the function. Mr. Elya B. Joffe, President of the IEEE EMC Society delivered the keynote address on “EMC from Garbage of Electronics to Global System Compatibility.” More than 300 participants attended the conference from various parts of India and abroad. About 100 technical papers were orally presented; an additional 10 technical papers were presented in a poster session. An exhibit was also organized in conjunction with the conference, where Shri P.R. Vijayan, Director, M/s EMI Solutions Pvt. Ltd. was the Exhibition Chair. At the end of the conference, a panel discussion on “Accreditation and Calibration Issues of EMI/EMC Test Facilities” was held, for which the recommendations have been submitted to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
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Mr. S. Varadarajan, Dr. K.G. Narayanan, Mr. E. Keshav, Dr. B. Subbarao, and Dr. D.C. Pande (from left) participated in the lighting of the lamp during the workshop inauguration. |
Distinguished attendees at INCEMIC 2008 included (from left)
Mr. Elya B. Joffe, Mr. S. Varadarajan, Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Professor R.P. Shenoy, Dr. D.C. Pande, and Mr. E. Keshav.
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Professor R.P. Shenoy, Mr. S. Varadarajan, Mr. Elya B. Joffe, and Dr. D.C. Pande (from left) participated in the lighting of
the lamp to inaugurate the conference. |
All were pleased and excited at the official opening of the exhibition. |
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An exhibitor shows a new product to Dr. K. Kasturirangan
(far left). |
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Professor R.P. Shenoy, Mr. S. Varadarajan, Dr. D.C. Pande, Joe Sivaswamy of ETS-Lindgren, and a representative from Complus Systems (from left)
visited during
the exhibition. |
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The SAMEER booth was very busy during INCEMIC 2008. |
The proceedings were released at the conclusion of the
conference. Mr. Elya B. Joffe, Mr. S. Varadarajan, Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Professor R.P. Shenoy, Dr. D.C. Pande, and Mr. E. Keshav (from left) proudly showed off the new
proceedings. |
The Workshop
A pre-conference workshop for INCEMIC-2008 was held on 24–25 November 2008 at the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) in Bangalore, India. Dr. K.G. Narayanan, Distinguished Scientist & Former Chief Advisor of DRDO, was the Chief Guest of the event. Mr. S. Varadarajan, Director, LRDE and Chairman of INCEMIC 2008 presided over the function. More than 300 participants from various parts of the country attended the workshop.
The aims and objectives of the workshop were to give hands-on practical and design oriented technical know-how to the participants based upon case studies. It also served as a platform where the participants had an in-depth exposure to the state-of-the art cutting edge technologies designed and developed over the years in EMC technology.
The workshop was designed to give a new dimension to implementing EMC techniques in military and civilian systems at the design, development and production stages. This was facilitated with talks on “High Power Electromagnetics (HPEM)” by Professor Michel Ianoz, Honorary Professor of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Switzerland; “Design for EMC” by Mr. Elya B. Joffe of KTM Project Engineering in Israel; “Spectrum Management” by Mr. William Luther, a consultant to NASA in Virginia; “Shielding Theory and Design” by Mr. Michael J. Oliver of MAJR Products Corporation in Pennsylvania; and “Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields” by Mr. Christoph Muehlhaeuser of Narda Safety Test Solutions GmbH in Germany.
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The gala performance included a traditional Indian folk dance. |
Entertainment during the main social event highlighted Indian culture. |
Technical Program
There were many papers presented in three parallel sessions on November 26-27. The papers addressed a wide range of topics including EMC Design, EMC in Communication Systems, Automotive EMC, Signal Integrity, Transient Phenomena, EMC Test and Measurement Techniques, EMC in Spacecraft, EMI Modeling and Analysis, EM Shielding, Biological Effects, EMC in PCBs, EMC in Power Systems and EMC Standards and Regulations.
On November 26, Mr. V.P. Sandlas, a Distinguished Scientist from DRDO, presented his electrifying invited talk on electromagnetic pollution which was an eye opener for many of us. On November 27, Mr. Joe Sivaswamy of ETS-Lindgren gave a talk on “Technology Trends Influence on EMC Test System Design” which provided a good history about EMC test system design.
Technical Exhibition
The exhibition of EMI/EMC/RF microwave components, EMI/EMC test instrumentation and facilities and analytical electromagnetic tools for EMC design was one of the major events of INCEMIC-2008 and it had some familiar faces. Companies well known at the annual IEEE EMC Symposium were present, including ETS-Lindgren, Rohde & Schwarz, and TDK Solutions, as well as local companies and vendors advertising their services and products.
Key decision makers, recommending authorities, design engineers and scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) labs, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs, academic institutions, as well as Defence Officers from the Army, Airforce and Navy, visited the exhibition.
Social Events
The main social event began with excellent Indian cuisine served for dinner followed by a folklore show where dancers performed traditional Indian dances, making this conference both a first class professional and cultural experience.
Acknowledgement
Mr. Rajamani would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. D.C. Pande and his assistant Ratna for their contributions to this article and for their hospitality during the INCEMIC conference.
EMC
Welcome to Bangalore: 