The Second International Adaptive and Sustainable Science, Engineering and Technology Conference: Asset 2023 Proceedings

Dr Sunday Cookey Ekpo is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with experience of carrying out innovative fundamental, use-inspired and applied research projects in sustainable/green radio communication and satellite systems engineering. He designs adaptive, reconfigurable and digitally-assisted architectures to achieve spectrum-efficient, ultra-low energy and cost-effective multi-radio multi-coverage/range solutions/products. Dr Ekpo provides niche expert research and development (R&D) engineering inputs to world-leading companies spanning satellite broadcast solutions manufacturing; antennas and signal propagation engineering; electronic voice recognition solutions for next-generation adapted vehicles; radio frequency (RF), millimetre-wave and microwave systems development for advanced radio access technologies applications; satellite-cellular convergence open radio access network ecosystem; regenerative transponder and reconfigurable transceiver design; multiple input multiple output RF frontend design; and adaptive holographic beamformer development for next-generation mobile communications. The outputs from Dr Ekpo’s research work span 120+ peer-reviewed and refereed technical publications. Dr Ekpo has secured £1.5M+ ) grants income (effective Oct. 2019). He collaborates with world-leading foundry fabs/plants [including Qorvo (Modelithics); and WIN Semiconductors Corporation] to utilise their industry-leading advanced active semiconductor devices process technologies and foundry libraries for advanced RF/microwave/millimetre-wave subsystems development. Moreover, he founded and leads the Communication and Space Systems Engineering research team. Every year, international students apply to carry out postgraduate research works in radio communication engineering with Dr Ekpo’s research team. Dr Ekpo currently collaborates with the NASA Langley Research Centre, Hampton, Virginia, USA on ＂Wireless Energy Harvesting and Transmission＂ and has facilitated the appointment of Prof Sang Choi (NASA Hall of Fame Inventor) as a Visiting Professor at the ManMet. Furthermore, Dr Ekpo is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK and an industry-linked Carbon Literacy Champion for the Electrical & Electronic Engineering programme. Dr Ekpo is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, USA; Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK; Member of the Association of International Education Administrators, USA; Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK and has given 10+ international distinguished/guest lectures/talks effective 2020. He is an awardee of the Huawei’s Influential Thinkers in Engineering and Technology 2019 in recognition of his industry-linked 5G Communication R&D achievements. He is an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Peer Review College Member; UK Research and Innovation Talent Panel College Member; UK Committee of Research Integrity’s Community of Experts Member; and British Council Grants Reviewer. Dr Ekpo is a regular organiser and Chair of technical sessions and member of technical programme committees for international refereed conferences on antennas engineering. radio communication and satellite systems engineering (including the premier European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference). He served as the General Chair of the First and the Second International Adaptive and Sustainable Science, Engineering and Technology Conferences, Manchester, UK in 2015 and 2023 respectively. Dr Ekpo has supervised 56 Undergraduate, 17 MEng/MSc, 3 MRes and 10 PhD students effective September 2015. He has been awarded a leading European Microwave Professional recognition status (2021-present) to supervise international postgraduate interns sponsored by the European Microwave Association Innovation Team. Dr Ekpo has successfully served as the UK Principal Applicant/Lead of two British Council-funded Innovation for African Universities projects and General Chair of the maiden world’s first Inclusive Technopreneurship Forum conference. He has successfully led an international multidisciplinary consortium (5 Universities and 1 Ecosystem Partner) to secure the ＂Best Overall Powerhours＂ and ＂Most Involved＂ project impact awards in two British Council-funded projects under the Innovation for African Universities programme. This success enabled him to secure a Seed Fund from the Royal Academy of Engineering to ＂design a novel wearable sensor for women’s health metrics monitoring＂ under the ＂Engineering Inclusive Economies＂ programme in the sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. Dr Ekpo was a British Council’s Guest at the ＂Commercialisation and Entrepreneurial Leaders’ Summit 2022,＂ Mombasa, Kenya; and the invited UK-based British Council session speaker at the ＂Association of International Education Administrators Conference 2023,＂ Washington DC, USA. He is the Principal Investigator of the Sony’s Sensing Solutions University Program at the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.