August 18, 2006 Source: :
http://www.carleton.ca/duc/newsroom/newsreleases/august_18.html Carleton University Doctoral Student Wins Prestigious International Fellowship Carleton University Department of Electronics doctoral student Peter Popplewell is one of two international winners of a 2006-2007 IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology. "I would like to congratulate Peter for this honour," says Dr. Rafik Goubran, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design at Carleton. "I think the fact that only one other university has ever matched or exceeded Carleton’s record in winning three of these fellowships since it was first introduced in 1983 demonstrates the level of excellence of our students and the electronics program at Carleton." The fellowship includes a stipend of $15,000, tuition and fees up to a maximum of $8,000, and a grant of $2,000 to the Department of Electronics. Applicants must have completed at least one year of graduate study, be in a Ph.D. program in the area of solid-state circuits, and be a member of the IEEE. The award is made on the basis of academic record and promise, graduate study program, and need. Popplewell is researching the design of a new circuit that is wireless and self-powered which eliminates the need for batteries. This could lead to a major breakthrough for medical sensors particularly those used while treating cancer patients. Right now, the devices that are used to measure radiation dosages to patients have wires that block radiation. However, wireless devices normally require a battery which would deflect radiation that could potentially make the problem even worse. Popplewell says: "My circuit solves the need for a wireless solution that won’t block radiation (no wires) and won’t deflect it either (no batteries) so this is ideal." As well, Popplewell’s circuits could impact radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that are being implemented by big companies to track shipment of goods etc. wirelessly. "If we can make a small wireless device that needs no batteries and is therefore very cheap to manufacture, stores could put it on every item on their shelves and then you could just throw all your items in your cart. When you wheel your cart out the door, a scanner could ring up your whole bill based on reading the tags. No more need to scan every barcode….just wheel the cart between two upright scanners and the job’s done." At this time, Popplewell and another Carleton Ph.D. electronics student have designed and fabricated a complete radio transceiver. Popplewell has designed the receiver while Victor Karam has designed the transmitter. The first test chips are due back shortly and will be tested in the lab at Carleton. The two students have published three conference papers on the designs and filed a provisional patent with the assistance of the Carleton University Foundry Program. Popplewell says he is very grateful for the support he has received at Carleton. "Carleton’s Department of Electronics is bursting with talent, and working with fellow student Victor Karam and professors Calvin Plett and John Rogers has made this all possible. This award is as much a reflection on their talents as it is on mine". Popplewell will formally receive the award at the plenary session of the 2007 IEEE International Symposium on Solid-State Circuits to be held in San Francisco next February. -30- For more information:
Lin Moody
Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
613-520-2600 ext. 8705 Peter Popplewell
ppopp@doe.carleton.ca
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