Kamal Sarabandi receives H. Scott Fogler Award for Professional Leadership and Service

Kamal Sarabandi, Fawwaz T. Ulaby Distinguished University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Rufus S. Teesdale Professor of Engineering, received the 2025 H. Scott Fogler Award for Professional Leadership and Service from the College of Engineering in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the department, the university, and the professional community.
“Professor Sarabandi’s contributions to the service and professional leadership in applied electromagnetics are remarkable,” said Leung Tsang, Robert J. Hiller Professor Engineering.
Sarabandi’s research has been focused in the areas of microwave and millimeter-wave radar remote sensing, automotive radar, metamaterials, electromagnetic wave propagation, microwave sensors, antennas for 5G and beyond, and bioelectromagnetics. At Michigan, he has been Director of the Center of Excellence for Microwave Sensor Technology (2014-present) and the Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (2008-2018). Within the department, he was Director of the Radiation Laboratory between 2000-2021.
Outside U-M, Sarabandi has chaired or served on many professional committees and advisory councils, and contributed his leadership to the major societies in his field. For example, he served as Chair of USNC-URSI Commission F (2018-2020), one of ten Scientific Commissions that focuses on Propagation and Remote Sensing topics for the US Radio Science community. He has been credited with being a strong support for the development of students and early career radio scientists for more than three decades.
He has contributed to the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) throughout his career, and served as President in 2015-2016. During his time as President, he spearheaded global outreach initiatives that led to a doubling of Society members in less than 10 years. He has been credited with elevating the global profile of IEEE GRSS, in particular its flagship conference, the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.
He has also been involved with the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) throughout his career, and provided outstanding contributions as a member of their Administrative Committee. As Founding Chair of the IEEE AP-S Talent Development Fund, which supports outstanding candidates from regions around the world, Sarabandi has already achieved an endowment fund of more than $1M in less than a year for student travel grants, fellowships, competitions, and more.
Finally, Sarabandi has served on the IEEE Technical Activities Board, which plays a critical role in fostering collaboration among the more than 40 IEEE Societies.
At the national and governmental levels, Sarabandi has served two terms on the NASA Advisory Council; he has been a member of the National Academies’ Committee on Science and
Technology Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests; and he serves on the Integrated Wing Review Panel for the $2B NASA-JPL REASON Mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa.
Sarabandi’s research has earned him the most prestigious accolades in engineering, including the IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society’s Distinguished Achievement Award, the IEEE Electromagnetics Award, and the IEEE Judith A. Resnik Award. He has received numerous recognitions from NASA, and is an IEEE Fellow.