The Center for High Frequency Electronics Circuits for Communication Systems (CHECCS)

A National Science Foundation IUCRC

The Center for High Frequency Electronics & Circuits for Communication Systems (CHECCS) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) that is comprised of three sites. The University of Arkansas serves as the lead site with the University of Tennessee Knoxville and Florida International University as partner sites.

The mission of CHECCS is to develop long-term partnerships among industry, academe and government, which will contribute to the nation’s research infrastructure base. This mission encompasses a vision to expand the innovation capacity of our nation’s competitive workforce through partnerships between industries and universities.

There is a national need for qualified engineers and scientists with deep expertise in the various technically-challenging areas supporting high-frequency communications, including semiconductor devices; analog, digital, active and passive circuits; signal and image processing; electromagnetics; antennas; wave propagations; photonics; sensing; systems; and even more.

High-frequency communication systems and the derivative and integrative technologies that make up these systems have penetrated almost all aspects of our daily life with applications ranging from autonomous cars, personalized medicine and monitored healthcare, agricultural sensing, and merchandise inventory, and a plethora of vertical market applications, services, and products. Therefore, the technical area of high-frequency devices, circuits and communication systems, broadly defined, is critically important to U.S. industry, economy and national security. These technologies are an integral part of the future connectivity to integrated products, artificial intelligence applications, and much more. It is hard to imagine an innovative application or a modern organization in any area that does not need advanced highfrequency/high-speed telecommunications in its operation.

To help move the mission of CHECCS forward, center director, Samir El-Ghazaly & associate center director, Uche Wejinya, recently hired Mark Lanoue as the managing director. Lanoue will work directly with the site directors from the partner universities as well as industry members to work toward the common mission and vision.

“The future of advanced communications’, devices, and integrated applications looks bright and innovation, such as those envisioned by CHECCS and its collective members,” says Lanoue, “will serve as a tool for bringing together the interdisciplinary nature of research & development that works toward a common goal to improve life & technology for all.”

In July 2022, CHECCS entered its second year and will be hosting its semiannual industry advisory board meeting October 31-November 1, 2022. This meeting will highlight the accomplishments of the center, its research industry partners, students, and faculty from the first year and look towards the future to move the needle for research & development into the second year.

The center provides a unique and dynamic team that has both academic and industry research experience. The PI's combined technical background embodies the necessary depth and breadth required to address diverse industrial needs and successfully carry out multidisciplinary projects. Collectively, the CHECCS team has an impressive experience, sustained research productivity, and respectable track record in electronic materials, RF devices, circuits, modeling, monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) design, electromagnetic wave propagation, accurate RF modeling and simulations based on electromagnetics, communication networking architecture, wireless communications, signal processing, antenna design, phased arrays, digital/analog circuits up to THz frequency, RF/microwave systems security, and wireless systems prototyping. Within the three participating universities, CHECCS has access to a broad and diverse pool of researchers capable of supporting various research projects within the center.

The CHECCS center will:

• Train a new breed of engineers equipped with the knowledge needed to work on increasingly complex products in high frequency communications.

• Increase industry collaborations and partnerships.

• Accelerate technology transfer of CHECC’s research into commercially viable products.

• Stimulate spin-offs and startups.

• Form long-term partnerships with organizations of various sizes and functions.

• Leverage support from industry, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy.

To learn more about CHECCS, visit us at, checcs.uark.edu. To learn about our facilities and equipment, checcs.uark.edu/research.