FAST KERNELS FOR TRANSIENT ELECTROMAGNETIC ANALYSIS IN MATERIAL AND STRUCTURAL MEDIA

Professor Michielssen’s principal research focus is the development of fast integral-equation-based techniques for analyzing large-scale electromagnetic phenomena. For example, he developed fast multipole-based methods for analyzing static electronic devices embedded in a multilayered background. He also originated fast direct solvers for rough-surface structures and a novel matrix decomposition algorithm that competes with fast multipole algorithms as a solver for large-scale electromagnetic problems. Most recently, he originated plane-wave time-domain algorithms by extending fast multipole concepts to the time domain. These algorithms now allow transient analysis and broadband characterization of large-scale linear and nonlinear surface scatterers, antennas, and circuits. Current research shows that these techniques hold significant promise for realizing fast global boundary condition for truncating differential equation grids that model wave phenomena over arbitrarily shaped domains.

During his Center appointment, Professor Michielssen plans to develop new computational algorithms that permit the fast analysis of transient electromagnetic scattering phenomena in complex and structured media. Specifically, he will attempt to extend his plane-wave time-domain algorithms to allow modeling of electromagnetic field propagation in dispersive, nonlinear, and layered media. These environments are germane to many optical and electronic system engineering design problems.