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The Wireless Networking and Communications Group is home to some of the brightest minds at The University of Texas at Austin. The Student Leadership Award is presented annually to the student or students who best embody WNCG’s mission and values: academic excellence, leadership, service, and a commitment to innovative and collaborative research. The 2023 award went to two very deserving graduates: Drs. Joshua Ebenezer and Ian Roberts.

Each year, WNCG presents the Student Leadership Award to an outstanding student—or students—who not only displays excellence in research and academic activities, but also embodies the spirit of the group’s mission to create a collaborative research environment. This year, the award goes to two students: Ahmad AlAmmouri and Jessica Hoffmann.

As an interdisciplinary center for research and education, WNCG is home to many talented minds. The group has grown steadily since its inception over 15 years ago and now comprises 23 faculty members and over 150 students and research staff. The upward trends don’t stop simply at the number of group members. Over the years, WNCG has built an exceptional network of industry partners, increased the number of its sponsored research projects yielding groundbreaking results, and successfully graduated Masters and Ph.D. students who go on to a wide range of careers in industry and academia.

WNCG student Ahmed Kord recently won first place in the student design competition at the IEEE 2017 International Microwave Symposium held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kord received the award, given by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, for his work entitled “Magnetless Parametric Circulator Design.” As first prize winner, Kord received a $2,000 award.

WNCG student Ahmed Kord won first place in the student poster competition at the Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems 2017 in Waco, Texas. He received the award for his poster entitled “Active Electromagnetic Devices for Next-Generation Wireless Communication Systems.” The first place winner also receives $500.   “This recognition and appreciation of my work motivates me to work even harder,” Kord states. “I want to have an actual and useful imprint on the microwave field during my PhD, and receiving this award means I am one step closer to my goal.”

WNCG student Ahmed Kord was recently awarded a Graduate Dean’s Prestigious Fellowship Supplement for the 2016-2017 academic year. The award was presented in recognition of Kord’s receipt of an external Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship earlier this year. “This award bespeaks [Kord’s] excellent performance, his initiative to go after external support for his research, and his program’s enthusiastic support of him,” Marvin Hackert, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies at UT Austin, stated in Kord’s acceptance letter.

Each year, WNCG faculty nominate one outstanding student to receive the WNCG Student Leadership Award. The award is presented to a student based on their cumulative contributions to the center, including their representation of WNCG to the greater community, their mentorship of fellow students, their research visibility and recognition from external organizations.

WNCG student Ahmed Kord received a 2016 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship for his project entitled, “Fully-Integrated Reconfigurable Magnet-less Non-reciprocal Components for Next-Generation Wireless Communication Systems.” The project was completed in collaboration with Negar Reiskarimian at Columbia University.

Every year, from the 100-plus graduate students that constitute WNCG, one or two students are recognized for their leadership: both contributions within WNCG and impact on the broader community. This year two students share this award: Omar and Tom. Omar, working towards his PhD with Prof. Robert Heath, has been a leading student contributor to several WNCG events: multiple open houses, board and WiCAT meetings, and TW Summits. He has also been a dependable resource for organizing student-led and student-oriented activities within WNCG. Omar has also represented WNCG at CTIA 2010.

Jubin Jose Wins 2001 Student Leadership Award' This year's winner of the WNCG student leadership award was Jubin Jose. Jubin has shown initiative and leadership in a number of areas important to WNCG, including student life, scholarship, and the WNCG organization itself. Perhaps most impressively, Jubin has been critical in revitalizing the WNCG student seminar series & a forum for our students to share ideas, and more importantly, to convey to one another the excitement for research, scholarship, and collegiality.