NC URSI: National Committee of the Union radio-scientifique internationale
The International Union of Radio Science (Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale) is organized in different commissions and Switzerland is active in 6 of them: B (fields and Waves), C (Radiocommunication system and signal processing), D (Electronics and Photonics), E (Electromagnetic ENvironments and Interferences), F (Propagation) and K (Electromagnetics in Biology and Medecine).
Key events for Switzerland in 2019 are as follows:
- Active participation of Switzerland through Commissions C and E on experimental campaigns on lightning. The Säntis telecommunications tower was instrumented within the framework of a research project supported by URSI, for the measurement of lightning current parameters. The site is operational since June 2010 and, as of today, more than 700 flashes have been successfully recorded by the system. The obtained data constitutes the largest dataset available to this date for upward negative flashes. During summer 2019, an interferometer allowing to map the path of lightning discharges was installed and more than 30 lightning flashes were observed.
- Swiss URSI Commission B has actively participated to the organization of URSI-supported EuCAP International Conference, which was held in Krakow.
-Swiss URSI Commissions C and E have actively participated in the organization of the ASIAEM International conferences, which was held in Xi’an, China.
- The activities within the Swiss URSI Commission F in 2019 were related to the radio propagation matters in support of the World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC19), ITU-R Study Group 3 (SG3: Radio Propagation), and the European Electronic Communications Committee (ECC).
There are four software implementations and validation data, available as digital supplements to ITU-R Recommendations on the SG3 web page “Software, Data and Validation examples for ionospheric and tropospheric radio wave propagation and radio noise” at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg3/Pages/iono-tropo-spheric.aspx. These implementations and validation data are being regularly updated and maintained by Federal Office of Communications OFCOM:
- URSI Commission K (IT'IS Foundation with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard Association (IEEE-SA) organized a 1-day workshop on Harmonization of Connectivity of the Digital Citizen Series, February 13, 2019 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
E. Cabot, I. Stevanovic, N. Kuster, and M. H. Capstick, “A numerical assessment of the human body effect in the transmission of wireless microphones,” Microwave and Optical Technology Letters 61(3): 809-817, March 2019.
A. Mostajabi, D. Li, M. Azadifar, F. Rachidi, M. Rubinstein, G. Diendorfer, W. Schulz, H. Pichler, V. A. Rakov, D. Pavanello, "Analysis of a Bipolar Upward Lightning Flash Based on Simultaneous Records of Current and the 380-km Distant Electric Field", Electric Power Systems Research, Vol. 174, 105845, doi: 10.1016/j.epsr.2019.04.023, 2019.
J. Figueras i Ventura, N. Pineda, N. Besic, J. Grazioli, A. Hering, O. A. van der Velde, D. Romero, A. Sunjerga, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, M. Rubinstein, J. Montanyà, U. Germann, and F. Rachidi, "Polarimetric radar characteristics of lightning initiation and propagating channels", Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12, 2881-2911, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2881-2019, 2019.
M. Azadifar, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, V.A. Rakov, G. Diendorfer, W. Schulz, D. Pavanello, "A Study of a Large Bipolar Lightning Event Observed at the Säntis Tower", IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 796-806, 2019.
L. He, M. Azadifar, F. Rachidi, M. Rubinstein, V.A. Rakov, V. Cooray, D. Pavanello, H. Xing, "Electromagnetic Fields Associated with the M-Component mode of Charge Transfer ", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124, 6791–6809. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029998, 2019.
V. Cooray, G. Cooray, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, "Generalized electric field equations of a time-varying current distribution based on the electromagnetic fields of moving and accelerating charges", Atmosphere, Vol. 10, Nr. 7, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10070367, 2019.
J. Figueras i Ventura, N. Pineda, N. Besic, J. Grazioli, A. Hering, O. A. van der Velde, D. Romero, A. Sunjerga, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, M. Rubinstein, J. Montanyà, U. Germann, and F. Rachidi, " Analysis of the lightning production of convective cells", Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12, 5573-5591, https://d10.5194/amt-12-5573-2019, 2019.
A. Mostajabi, D. L. Finney, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, "Nowcasting Lightning Occurrence from Commonly-Available Meteorological pParameters using Machine Larning Techniques", Nature npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-019-0098-0, November 2019.
A. Mostajabi, H. Karami, M. Azadifar, A. Ghasemi, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, "Single-Sensor Source Localization Using Electromagnetic Time Reversal and Deep Transfer Learning: Application to Lightning", Nature Scientific Reports, Sci Rep 9, 17372, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-53934-4, 2019.
N. Pineda, J. Figueras, D. Romero, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, A. Sunjerga, F. Rachidi, M. Rubinstein, J. Montanya, O. van der Velde, P. Altube, N. Besic, J. Grazioli, U. Germann, E.R. Williams, "On the Meteorological Regimes Related to Upward Lightning at the Säntis Tower (Switzerland)", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, pp. 14,162–14,183, doi: 10.1029/2019JD030834, 2019.
D. Li, A. Luque, F. Rachidi, M. Rubinstein, M. Azadifar, G. Diendorfer, H. Pichler, "The Propagation Effects of Lightning Electromagnetic Fields Over Mountainous Terrain in the Earth-Ionosphere Waveguide", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, pp. 14,198-14,219, doi: 10.1029/2018JD030014, 2019.
M. Azadifar, M. Rubinstein, Q. Li, F. Rachidi, V.A. Rakov, "A New Engineering Model for M-Components that Reproduces Both the Fast and Slow Pulses of its Electric Field", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, pp. 14,008-14,023, doi: 10.1029/2019JD030796, 2019.
D. Nikolayev; W. Joseph; A. K. Skrivervik; M. Zhadobov; L. Martens et al., Dielectric-Loaded Conformal Microstrip Antennas for Versatile In-Body Applications, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 2019-10-22. p. 1-5. DOI : 10.1109/LAWP.2019.2948814.
M. J. Veljovic; A. K. Skrivervik , Aperture-Coupled Low-Profile Wideband Patch Antennas for CubeSat, IEEE Transactions On Antennas And Propagation. 2019-05-01. Vol. 67, num. 5, p. 3439-3444. DOI : 10.1109/TAP.2019.2900428.
A. K. Skrivervik; M. Bosiljevac; Z. Sipus , Fundamental Limits for Implanted Antennas: Maximum Power Density Reaching Free Space, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 2019-01-10. p. 1-1. DOI : 10.1109/TAP.2019.2891697.
Nicole von Niederhäusern, Angélique Ducray, Jana Zielinski, Manuel Murbach, and Meike Mevissen, Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure on Neuronal Differentiation and Mitochondrial Function in SH-SY5Y Cells, Toxicology in Vitro 2019, Volume 61, 104609, online 24 July 2019; doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2019.104609.
Aiping Yao, Earl Zastrow, Eugenia Cabot, Bryn Lloyd, Beatrice Schneider, Wolfgang Kainz, and Niels Kuster, Anatomical Model Uncertainty for RF Safety Evaluation of AIMD under MRI Exposure, Bioelectromagnetics, Volume 4, Issue 7, October 2019, pp. 458–471, online 08 August 2019; doi: 10.1002/bem.22206
M. Veljovic; A. Skrivervik , A Comparison of Three Feeding Networks for CubeSat L/S-dual-band Stacked-Patch Antennas, 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2019), Krakow, Poland, March 31 – April 5, 2019.
D. Rodriguez Avila; A. Skrivervik , Stacked patch antenna and hybrid beamforming network for 5G picocell applications, 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), Krakow, Poland, 31 March – 5 April 2019.
D. Nikolayev; W. Joseph; M. Zhadobov; R. Sauleau; L. Martens et al., Exposure assessment of body-implanted capsules in the 100-MHz–5-GHz range, BioEM 2019, Montpellier, France, Jun 23-28, 2019. p. 63-67.
I. Vico Triviño; A. Skrivervik , Broadbeam microstrip patch antenna using higher order modes, 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2019), Krakow, Poland, March 31 – April 5, 2019.
I. Stevanovic, A. Terzic, and P. Crespo-Valero, “A review of 3-D Green’s functions for integral equation modeling of electromagnetic scattering from 1/2/3-D periodic structures using Ewald transformation,” (invited paper), International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications, ICEAA, 9-13 September 2019, Granada, Spain.
D. Li, F. Rachidi, M. Rubinstein, "FDTD Modeling of Lightning Electromagnetic Field Propagation Over Mountainous Terrain", 2019 International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Symposium (ACES), Miami, FL, April 15-19, 2019.M. Azadifar,
Q. Li, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, V. Rakov, D. Pavanello, "Two Possible Scenarios for the Formation of Category 1 Bipolar Lightning Flashes", 11th Asia-Pacific International Conference on Lightning, Hong Kong, China, June 12-14, 2019.
J. Figueras i Ventura, N. Pineda, N. Besic, J. Grazioli, A. Hering, O. A. van der Velde, D. Romero, A. Sunjerga, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, M. Rubinstein, J. Montanyà, U. Germann, and F. Rachidi, "Polarimetric radar characteristics of lightning initiation and propagating channels", 39th International Conference on Radar Meteorology, Nara, Japan 16-20 September 2019.
H. Karami, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, Z. Wang, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, "Locating Lightning Using Electromagnetic Time Reversal: Application of the Minimum Entropy Criterion", 2019 International Symposium on Lightning Protection (XV SIPDA), São Paulo, Brazil, 30th September – 4th October 2019.
A. Sunjerga, M. Rubinstein, A. Mostajabi, M. Azadifar, N. Pineda, D. Romero, O. Van der Velde, J. Montanya, G. Diendorfer, J. Figueras i Ventura, N. Besic, J. Grazioli, A. Hering, U. Germann, F. Rachidi, "LMA Observation of Upward Bipolar Lightning Flash at the Säntis Tower", 2019 International Symposium on Lightning Protection (XV SIPDA), São Paulo, Brazil, 30th September – 4th October 2019.
V. Cooray, M. Rubinstein, F. Rachidi, "Polarity asymmetry in return stroke speed caused by the momentum associated with radiation", 2019 International Symposium on Lightning Protection (XV SIPDA), São Paulo, Brazil, 30th September – 4th October 2019.
The link with Swiss radio scientists with the international community is a key task of the URSI Commissions.
An example of international collaboration of Radio Scientists under the patronage of URSI is the international project on lightning current measurements at Säntis tower, which involves international partners from the Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University (Sweden), University of Florida, New Mexico Tech, UCSC (USA), University of Bologna (Italy), Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain), Tsinghua University, Xi'an Jiaotong University (China)
In the light of 100 years of URSI in 2020, the URSI board plans to publish a book"100 years of URSI". The Swiss URSI commission has contributed with a chapter emphasizing pioneering lightning research activities in Switzerland.