We are pleased to share that Ms. Sylvie Rana, PhD scholar from the Department of Electrical Engineering, has been honored with the Best Paper Award at the IEEE Wireless Antenna and Microwave Symposium (WAMS) 2025, held at IIITDM Kancheepuram from June 5–8, 2025.

Her award-winning paper, titled “Effect of Phase Gradient and Angle of Incidence Reversal in Phase Gradient Surfaces for IRS Applications,” presents a novel approach to steering wireless signals using passive, power-free Phase Gradient Surfaces (PGS). These specially engineered surfaces can reflect signals in desired directions, helping bypass obstacles between the transmitter and receiver—similar to using a smart mirror for wireless communication.

In a key demonstration, her team showed that reversing the surface pattern can shift the signal direction dramatically, enabling communication with multiple users without moving the source or using any active components. This work points toward low-cost, energy-efficient technologies for future 6G wireless networks. The findings were backed by real-world tests in the Anechoic Chamber at IIT Kanpur.

The paper is co-authored by Yallanki Sai Sreenija, Rishi Mishra, Gul Naqvi, and her supervisor Prof. A. R. Harish.

Congratulations to Ms. Sylvie Rana and the team on this remarkable achievement!