Professional and Service Awards

Numerous Awards and Travel Grants are funded through the generous grants received from various senior members of the IEEE and WAMS.

P1: Dr. Sudhakar Rao’s Special Recognition Award for WAMS 2026

This special recognition award is instituted by Dr. Rao to promote WAMS 2026 among volunteers, professionals and researchers in India and abroad. Criteria: Selection shall be made to an individual or individuals based on outstanding and sustained contributions during 2025–2026 that resulted in significant growth of WAMS 2026, WAMS Society, and IEEE APS membership.

Award: The awardee shall receive a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 (1 Lac), a specially engraved plaque, a shawl, and a certificate. The awardee shall be felicitated by the IEEE APS President, WAMS Society President, and Dr. Rao during the WAMS 2026 awards banquet.

Sponsor

Dr. Sudhakar Rao Raos Consultants LLC Los Angeles, USA

Awardee

Prof. Sameer Chakravarthy Vedula Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology Visakhapatnam

P2: Dr. Sudhakar Rao Award for Best Paper of WAMS 2026

Criteria: Selection shall be based on originality and potential application to an engineering product that is related to any of the three tracks of the symposium. It will be judged based on the innovative approach of the paper’s contents. The award shall be given to students or professionals aged 50 years or below, and the awardee shall be the first author of the accepted paper for oral presentation. The paper must be presented during the symposium to qualify for the award.

Award: The awardee, first author of the selected paper, will receive a cash prize of INR 50,000, a plaque, a certificate, and all the registered co-authors will receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. Sudhakar Rao
Raos Consultants LLC
Los Angeles, USA

Awardee

Rohit Nandwani
SAC, ISRO
Ahmedabad

P3: Dr. C.J. Reddy Best Paper Award for Female Young Professionals

Criteria: The awardee shall be 40 years of age or younger and shall be the first author of a paper presented orally during the symposium in the antenna track and registered to the conference

Award: The awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 25000, a plaque, & a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. CJ REDDY
IEEE APS President Elect 2025

Awardee

J C Neha
UG final year student, Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) Department
R.V College of Engineering

P4: Dr. C.J. Reddy Best Paper Award for Male Young Professionals

Criteria: The awardee shall be 40 years of age or younger and shall be the first author of a paper presented orally during the symposium in the antenna track and registered to the conference.

Award: The awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 25000, a plaque, & a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. C.J. Reddy IEEE APS President Elect 2025

Awardees

Ameeya Ranjan Muduli School of Electronics Engineering, KIIT DU Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Vishnu Kumar Mishra IIT BHU Varanasi

P5: CMi/Vitesse Awardfor Antenna Application Paper

This award is sponsored by Custom Microwave Inc.(CMI) / Vitesse Systems, Longmont, Colorado, USA
Criteria: Selection shall be based on the antenna hardware application to satellite or ground communication systems. The paper must be presented orally during the conference and the awardee shall be the first author of the paper.

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, will receive a cash prize of INR 20000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. Clency Lee-Yow
CTO, CMi/Vitesse, USA

Awardee

Amirudhin Shams
Department of ECE, University College of Engineering (A)
Osmania University, Hyderabad

P6: Dr. Nacer Chahat Award for Best Antenna Paper from Industry Female Professional

This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society to recognize women engineers that excelled in engineering in the areas of Wireless, Antenna, & Microwaves Criteria: The awardee shall be an industry female professional and be the first author of an accepted paper for oral presentation and registered to the conference and the paper must have a practical significance.

Award: The selected awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr.Nacer E. Chahat Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, USA

Awardee

A. Mercy Latha CSIR- Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute Chennai, India

P7: Dr. Nacer Chahat Award for Best Antenna Paper from Industry Male Professional

Criteria: The awardee shall be an industry Male professional and be the first author of an accepted paper for oral presentation and registered to the conference and the paper must have a practical significance.

Award: The selected awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr.Nacer E. Chahat Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, USA

Awardee

Nagendra Kumar URRSC ISRO, Bangalore

P8: Dr. Jonathan Sauder Award for Best Collaborative RF/Mechanical Antenna Design Paper

Criteria: This award will be given to a paper best highlighting collaborative design efforts between RF and Mechanical/Structural/or Manufacturing Engineer . The paper must be presented orally during the conference, and have at least two authors, one of whom is the RF lead and the other is the mechanical lead. The awardees will be the lead RF engineer and the lead mechanical engineer on the paper (only one is required to be present, but both will receive a prize and award).

Award: The awardees shall be the first two authors of the paper and registered participants of the conference, and will receive a cash prize of INR 20000 (shared between two), a plaque, a certificate and all other registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. Jonathan Saude
Technology Infusion Group Payload and Small Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, USA

Awardee

Mohith N Raate
RV College of Engineering Bangalore

P9:WAMS 2026 Career Excellence Award in Engineering

Criteria: This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society. The award is presented to the professional engineer who has excelled in his/her career with demonstrated outstanding contributions to society.

Criteria: The award is presented to the best paper in the antenna track.

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, and shall receive a cash prize of INR 15,000, a plaque, a certificate, and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

WAMS Society

Awardees

Agus D. Prasetyo

Telkom University
Bandung, Indonesia

M.K. Dileep

University of Mysore

P17: WAMS 2026 Best Overall Paper of all Tracks

Criteria: This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society. The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference.

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 15,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

Sponsor

WAMS SOCIETY

Awardee

Santhosh Kumar Prasad Indian Institute of Technology, Patna

P18: Dr. Zubair Akhter Award for Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Research Best Paper

Criteria: Eligible candidates for this esteemed award include undergraduate, postgraduate, and research students who are the first authors of orally presented papers across all symposium tracks. The selected paper shall demonstrate collaborative research efforts involving two or more institutions, showcasing the power of interdisciplinary teamwork in advancing knowledge and innovation. The recipient of the Dr. Zubair Akhter Award shall be the first author of the outstanding paper and must be registered for the conference.

Award: The award package includes a cash prize of INR 20,000, a beautifully crafted plaque, and a certificate of recognition. Additionally, all registered co-authors will receive certificates, celebrating their contributions to this collaborative endeavor. This award not only recognizes excellence in research but also champions the collaborative spirit that is essential for addressing the multifaceted challenges of our time.

Sponsor

Dr. Zubair Akhter

Awardees

Vijaya Lakshmi Bhavani Maddirala

Lanka Tiru Ganesh

P19: WAMS 2026 Outstanding Organizer Award

Criteria: The award is presented to a Young Professional who has made significant contributions to the WAMS Society and WAMS 2026

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 15,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

Sponsor

WAMS SOCIETY

Awardee

Prof. B. Sanjeeva Reddy

BVRIT, Narsapur

P20: WAMS 2026 Award for Outstanding Contributor to Technical Program of WAMS 2026

Criteria: The award is presented to the outstanding contributor to the technical program of WAMS 2026

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 15,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

Sponsor

WAMS SOCIETY

Awardee

Prof. Naresh Kumar
BVRIT, Narsapur

P21: WAMS 2026 Outstanding Local Organizer

Criteria: The award is presented to an individual who led a team of volunteers and made significant contributions to the success of the WAMS 2026 Symposium

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 10,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

Sponsor

WAMS SOCIETY

Awardee

Prof. Jayshree Das BVRIT, Narsapur

P22: Dr. Desmond Sim Award for Best Paper in Antenna Design for Mobile Devices

Criteria: The awardee shall be either an undergraduate/ post-graduate/research student and be the first author of an orally presented paper related to all tracks of the symposium.

Award: The first author receives a cash prize of INR 20,000, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr. Desmond Sim

Awardees

Prabhu Kumar Kothavari
VIT-AP

Akkula Sri Vaishnavi
VIT-AP

P23: Dr. Jayshri Kulkarni Award for outstanding paper in the design and application of wearable antennas

Criteria: The award is presented to an outstanding paper in the design and application of wearable antennas. The author(s) need to register and present the selected paper during WAMS 2026.

Award: The first author receives a cash prize of INR 20,000, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

Sponsor

Dr.Jayshri Kulkarni

Awardees

Aishwarya Thankaswamy
VIT Chennai

Preeti Kundu
NIT Jamshedpur

P24: WAMS 2026 Best Poster Paper (First Place)

Criteria: The award is presented to the best poster paper (first place).

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, will receive a cash prize of INR 15,000, a plaque, a certificate, and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Prof. Lot Shafai

Awardee

Akhila Varikuppala JMA Wireless, Hyderabad

P28: Prof. Lot Shafai’s Best Paper from an Industry in the Areas of Applied Electromagnetics and Antennas by a Male Professional

Criteria: The awardee shall be a registered male professional from industry and shall be the first author of a paper accepted for oral presentation in the antenna track of WAMS 2026.

Award: The selected candidate receives a cash prize of INR 20,000, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

Sponsor

Prof. Lot Shafai

Awardee

Navdeep Singh PXE, DRDO

P29: Paladugu Rama Krishna Gokhale Memorial Award for Best Leadership in Volunteering & Mentoring – WAMS 2026

Late Paladugu Rama Krishna Gokhale

This award is instituted by Prof. Paladugu Satish Rama Chowdary in loving memory of his father, Late Paladugu Rama Krishna Gokhale. Description: The Paladugu Rama Krishna Gokhale Memorial Award for Best Leadership in Volunteering for WAMS 2026 will be presented during the Awards Banquet. It is given to a self-motivated volunteer of the WAMS Conference Series, especially WAMS 2026, who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, mentoring, and excellence in coordinating multiple volunteer teams.

Award: The awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 15,000 along with a commemorative plaque and certificate.

Sponsor

Prof. Paladugu Satish Rama Chowdary

Awardee

Ms. Keerthipriya Sathish

P30: WAMS 2026 Distinguished Service Award for Leadership, Mentoring, & Committees Coordination

This award is instituted by the WAMS Society to recognize an outstanding leader for services towards mentoring students and young professionals, and for effectively coordinating among multiple committees in making WAMS 2026 a great success.

Description:

The WAMS 2026 Distinguished Service Award for Leadership, Mentoring, & Committees Coordination will be presented during the Awards Banquet. It honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication to mentoring, and excellence in organizing and managing collaborative efforts across various committees.

Award: The selected candidate receives a cash prize of INR 20,000, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

Sponsor

WAMS Society

Awardee

Prof. Anupama Naidu

WAMS 2026