Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished professors, industry leaders, and young innovators—good morning!

Today we gather at the Xiangshan Laboratory not merely as delegates, but as explorers on the same beautiful path that our mentors once illuminated for us. Electromagnetics and antenna engineering are no longer abstract equations in a textbook; they are the invisible threads that stitch the modern world together. We stand here because generous teachers—giants whose shoulders we now stand upon—took the time to light our way, like the becon over the sea. It is therefore the highest honor to welcome back the brightest of those lights: Dr. Raj Mittra and his esteemed colleagues Dr Geyiwen, Dr. Syed Junaid, who have returned to Zhongshan to examine, to inspire, and to lift us once again to a higher vantage point on both academic and industrial horizons.

Before we dive into the science that excites every heartbeat in this room, allow me to do a quick history snack here: the name “Xiangshan” isn’t just on our lab door. For over a thousand years it stood for the whole Macau-Zhongshan-Zhuhai triangle—the original launch pad of modern Chinese commerce and the gate where China first shook hands with the wider world. The first Chinese citizen ever to earn an overseas PhD, Rong Hong, was born right here; so was Tang GuoAn, founder of Peking University; and of course Sun Zhongshan, the father of modern China. In other words, this chunk of coastline has been exporting talent and ideas for centuries. Today’s event is just the latest shipment.

Let me also express heartfelt gratitude to the people who turned initiative into this living, breathing forum:

- Dr. Ravi Kumar Arya, Director of the Xiangshan Laboratory Wireless Group, who planted the seed and watered it daily;

- Mr. Jia Feng, CEO of Xinghang Technology, whose generous sponsorship turned budgets into breakthroughs;

- The Vice-President of our State-Level Incubator and the entire team at Zhangjiabian Enterprise Group, who opened doors, arranged corridors and, quite literally, built the stage you see before you;

- The student and staff volunteers from XSL and Fragrant Mountain Microwave who printed badges, tested microphones, and will spend today making sure the only thing we have to worry about is ideas.

To all of you: thank you for giving our global community a home in Zhongshan.

And now, to the reason every seat is filled and every screen is live-streaming: extended postgraduate learning at its finest. Our first keynote speaker needs no introduction, but protocol demands I try. He is a Life Fellow of IEEE, past President of the Antennas & Propagation Society, recipient of the IEEE Electromagnetics Award, the URSI Rawer Gold Medal, and—freshly minted—winner of the 2023 URSI/USNC Lifetime Achievement Award. From 13.8-billion-year cosmic radiation to the smartphone in your pocket, his career has covered the entire history of antennas, EM, and computational electromagnetics—literally from the Big Bang to the present moment.

Please join me in welcoming the University of Central Florida’s Distinguished Professor, Director of the Electromagnetic Communication Laboratory, and the consulting pioneer behind RM Associates—Dr. Raj Mittra!

Professor Mittra will open our minds with his talk, “A Nostalgic Look at the History of Antennas, EM, and CEM—13.8 billion years to present.” The floor, the clock, and our imaginations are yours, sir.

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Great! Let’s keep the energy flowing and move to our second speaker—someone who not only shaped the science, but also shaped you.

Now, let’s welcome a very special guest—my own teacher, the one who first showed me that antennas weren’t just equations on a board, but gateways to industry, innovation, and real-world impact.

Professor Geyi Wen is a Fellow of IEEE, a National Distinguished Professor at both Fudan University and NUIST, and the former Director of Advanced Technology at BlackBerry—yes, that BlackBerry. With over 200 published papers, 7 books, and more than 40 patents, he has long stood at the crossroads of academic rigor and industrial transformation. He doesn’t just teach theory—he builds what he teaches, and he teaches what he’s built.

Professor Wen’s talk today is titled:

“Theory and Practice in Optimal Antenna Design”

—a masterful bridge between the equations we write and the products the world actually needs.

Please join me in welcoming the mentor who sparked my own journey from classroom to startup—Professor Geyi Wen!

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Let’s keep the momentum going with someone I’ve looked up to since day one.

Ten years ago, when I was just finding my feet in the microwave business, Dr. Junaid Syed was already the name on everyone’s lips—an industry veteran who had turned antenna concepts into global products. Over the years our paths crossed on micowave antenna measurement projects, vendor tables, and more site visits than I care to count. Each time I walked away smarter, and with a healthy respect for the way he mixes rigorous theory with street-level execution.

Today he leads Kolojic Ltd in England, holds twenty-seven international patents, and built the worldwide microwave-antenna business for Rosenberger. His hardware flies on satellites, hides in base-station panels, and keeps showing up in standards documents from ETSI to the FCC.

His topic is “Antenna Technology: From Lab to Launch”—a roadmap for shepherding bright ideas past budgets, bosses, and bureaucracy all the way to market orbit.

Please welcome the colleague who keeps raising the bar—Dr. Junaid Syed!