75 Years of IEEE AP-S Research in Computational Electromagnetics: A view on the discipline and its history, current state, and future prospects

Abstract

This article presents an overview of 75 years of research in computational electromagnetics (CEM) within the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) and the AP community at large on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of AP-S, where both CEM and AP-S have similar and interwoven histories of 75 years, a half of the history of Maxwell’s equations. The article discusses the discoveries, developments, implementations, and applications of principal CEM methodologies and techniques for AP. While historically there were periods of time when certain CEM approaches seemed to dominate AP applications, it is indicative that CEM for AP of the 21st century has been constituted by a true expansion and/or renaissance of all approaches, with an emphasis on hybridizations and integrations. Overall, we have witnessed phenomenal progress and dramatic enhancements in the accuracy, efficiency, versatility, reliability, stability, and robustness of AP modeling, analysis, and design. However, CEM is still a work in progress, and many important research challenges are yet to be addressed and solved for the ever-growing simulation and design demands of the next generations of AP technologies. Hence, the next 75 years of CEM and AP-S are promising to be equally rich, fascinating, and intense!