This annual report covers the third year of the activities of the Research Chair, from April 1, 1994 to March 30, 1995. The size of the Chair's research group has remained steady at eight per manent members, while two Visiting Professors and three Research Trainees have joined the team for limited periods between one and six months.
As in the previous year, the principal research effort has been directed towards electromagnetic field modeling and simulation, with emphasis on applications to telecommunication technology. However, an important new application of our modeling techniques relevant to British Columbia's Forest Industries has emerged, namely the modeling and design of RF Kilns for drying of softwood lumber. This new application has, in turn, stimulated new research into the modeling of coupled electromagnetic/thermal systems in the time domain. The results of this new endeavour will enable us to model a large variety of situations in which electromagnetic fields are used to deposit energy in arbitrary media. At the same time, we have refined a number of algorithms, accelerated the signal extraction techniques, taylored the computational effort of a simulation to the required band width, and reduced the errors that affect the accuracy of our computations in the presence of field singularities.
While research into novel and improved modeling procedures continues, technology transfer to the industrial users has become a priority. More and more new technologies in the telecommunication, information, processing and sensing areas rely to a great extent on electromagnetic field modeling, ranging from circuit design to electromagnetic compatibility issues. The research program of the Chair addresses these developments by focusing its general expertise in electromagnetic modeling on specific needs of its industrial partners.
We look forward to a rewarding and exciting fourth year of Research and Development at the University of Victoria.
Wolfgang J.R. Hoefer
Victoria, June 1995
