Despite the unprecedented upheaval and the country’s catastrophic downward spiral, we are fortunate to witness the outstanding achievements of our students. There is nothing greater than seeing them overcome challenging times by moving in the direction that matters most to them. Although Lebanon is struggling under the weight of a disastrous crisis and despite the significant changes in the students’ daily routines since the pandemic began spreading around the world, they have nevertheless continued to manifest an intense eagerness to learn.
One such student is Marguerita Elias, an engineering graduate at Antonine University (UA). Marguerita has dedicated herself to excellence and holds herself to the highest standards of professionalism. She recently presented her research paper, “Design of Conformal Multi-Band Antenna with 5G mm-Wave Beam Steering Array for Mobile Handset Applications,” at the PhotonIcs and Electromagnetics Research Symposium 2021 (PIERS) in Hangzhou, China, on November 22, 2021. Her study will also be published and accessible through the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
The aim of Marguerita’s project was to develop a complete antenna system for a mobile handset. As is well known, the mobile handset deals with various services and applications. 5G applications use higher frequency bands, including the millimeter-wave region. The wider bandwidths and the need for beamforming and beam steering are significant challenges for 5G systems. Therefore, her project focused on the design of a 5G millimeter-wave beam steering antenna array with combinations of multiband antenna systems for mobile applications and the investigation of the effect of the human hand phantom on the antenna system’s performance.
Marguerita’s impressive findings were the result of her internship at the UA research center TICKET Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Remi Sarkis, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering (FOE).
Marguerita was engaged in many research projects throughout her university years. She is extremely grateful to her supervisor, Dr. Sarkis, for his invaluable knowledge, guidance, and encouragement throughout her research.
The UA faculty members, as always, go the extra mile to bring out the inner strengths in their students, lend a helping hand, help them flourish, and make decisions that best serve them, as the University’s commitment to student success is more important than ever. According to her, the FOE endeavors to create a culture of excellence, fostering innovation and creativity, and supporting diverse paths to developing the skills of the students through addressing real-world projects in laboratory courses and preparing them to enter professional practice in the engineering field. In her own words: “My university experience has been amazing, as I learned and experienced so many new things in such a short period of time and was able to connect with people from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds.”
Our students do not abandon their efforts, although the circumstances right now are not the best. They are dedicated to their studies, driven by their willingness to succeed, and armed with hope to burn away any obstacle that comes their way. They are truly resilient! These trying times have enriched who they are, as they were able to turn the greatest challenges into the greatest opportunities. Marguerita proved that nothing can stop her from pursuing her dreams, and when asked to give advice to her peers, she said: “Anything is possible. Try not to let anyone put you down for any reason. You are on the right track. I know things can be tough at some points, especially during this time. There are ups and downs, but whatever happens, you have to trust and believe in yourself. It won’t happen without hard work! Hard work always pays off!”