Design and optimisation of metasurface-based sensors for environmental monitoring
Hosted by and enrolled in the Doctoral Program at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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Description of research
The goal is to create sensor prototypes using space-time modulated metasurfaces for real-time environmental monitoring, optimizing design for sensitivity, accuracy, and reliability. This involves exploring materials, assessing electromagnetic properties, and compensating for fabrication imperfections and manufacturing tolerances using polynomial chaos, stochastic methods, and AI. Rigorous testing will assess sensor performance under factors like temperature and humidity. Integration into environmental monitoring systems will be pursued, ensuring compatibility. Field tests will validate effectiveness in real scenarios, comparing with conventional sensors. The research will optimize power consumption, develop analysis algorithms, explore cost-effective fabrication, and assess scalability. The study will also conduct an environmental impact assessment for a holistic approach to research objectives.
Short bio of DC
Amna Tahir received her BS in Communication Systems Engineering from the Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan, graduating cum laude, where she contributed to ICUBE-1, Pakistan’s first student CubeSat. She completed her MS in Information and Communication Engineering at the University of Trento, Italy, also graduating cum laude, with her thesis centered on tiled phased array configurations for CubeSat and satellite communication. During her master’s studies, she received a student research grant from the ELEDIA Research Center through the National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT), working on low-complexity antenna array architectures using electromagnetic design methodologies, and completed advanced training in Finite Element Method–based simulation tools as part of the ELEDIA Talent Research Program. Her professional experience includes satellite communication networks, radio transmission systems, networking infrastructures, and the use of machine learning techniques for signal characterization and pattern analysis.
She is currently a PhD Fellow in the ISAC-NEWTON Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where her research focuses on the development of metasurface-based structures for real-time environmental monitoring. Her work integrates electromagnetic modeling, material characterization, tolerance-aware design, and stochastic and AI-assisted optimization to achieve reliable performance under practical operating conditions. Her research interests span electromagnetic modeling, phased and reconfigurable array technologies, metasurface-assisted sensing platforms, satellite communication architectures, and machine learning approaches for signal and environmental data interpretation.
Simplified Summary
This page is about PhD student Amna Tahir. She studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in Greece.