Abstract – One of the challenges of modern communications is finding available spectrum. One of the newer Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands is centered at 60 GHz. The 60 GHz band is notable for its short reach due to the size of the wavelength and oxygen absorption. The short reach can be mitigated by the use of antenna arrays which both lengthen and focus the beam. One of the potential applications of devices in the 60 GHz band is transmission from the curb to the home. However, foliage from trees can block the signal. This talk looks at potential ways to have low-maintenance communication to the home in the challenging 60 GHz band.

Prof. Katie Wilson, Sarah Kate Wilson received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College with honours in Mathematics in 1979 and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering in 1994. She has worked in both industry and academia and has been a visiting professor at Lulea University of Technology, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Stanford University and Northeastern University. She is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Santa Clara University. She has served as an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Communications Letters and IEEE Transactions on Communications and the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Communications Letters. She served as the Director of Journals 2012-2013 and the Vice- President of Publications 2014-2015 for the IEEE Communications Society. She is a Fellow of the IEEE "for contributions to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing" and won the 2018 IEEE Education Society Harriet Rigas Award "for excellence in communications engineering education and promoting equity."