Awards

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

1. 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 contents. The award shall be given to students or professionals of age 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 50000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Dr. Sudhakar Rao

Raos Consultants LLC Los Angeles, USA

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

2. 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.

SPONS0R

Dr. CJ REDDY

IEEE APS President Elect 2025

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

3. 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. CJ REDDY

IEEE APS President Elect 2025

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

4. 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

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

5. 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

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

6. 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 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

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

7. Dr. Dhaval Pujara Award for Excellence in Academics and Overall Achievement

Criteria:The award will be presented to a current undergraduate student who has demonstrated outstanding performance in academics, as well as exemplary participation in extra and co-curricular activities over the past year(s). Additionally, the recipient must have a paper accepted for presentation at WAMS 2026 and be registered to attend the conference.

Award:The selected awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 5000, along with plaque and a certificate recognizing awardee’s achievements.

SPONSOR

Dr.Dhaval Pujara

Department of ECE

Pandit Deendayal Energy University

Gandhinagar, India

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

8. 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

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

9.Prof. Satish K. Sharma Best Paper Award for Female Doctoral Student

Criteria: The awardee shall be a female doctoral student and the first author of a paper presented orally during the symposium in the antenna and microwave track.

Award: The awardee, who must be the first author of the paper and registered for the conference, will receive a cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque, and a certificate. All the registered co-authors will also receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Prof. Satish K. Sharma

San Diego State University

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

10. 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 excelled in his/her career with demonstrated outstanding contributions to the society.

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 20000, a plaque, and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

11. WAMS 2026 Professional Excellence Award for Women in Engineering

This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society to recognize women engineers that excelled in engineering in the areas of Wireless, Antenna, & Microwaves.

Criteria: Professional women engineers who excelled in their careers and are known as “role models” to students and young professionals are considered for this award.

Award: The awardee shall receive a cash prize of INR 20000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

12. Young Professionals Excellence Award

Criteria: This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society. The award is presented to a young professional under the age of 40 who demonstrates a promising career path in the areas of Wireless, Antennas and Microwave Engineering.

Award: The awardee receives cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

13. Young Professional Service Award

Criteria: This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society and is presented to Young Professional that made significant contributions to WAMS Society and WAMS 2026

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

14. WAMS 2026 Award for Best Student Paper Award in All Tracks

This award is sponsored by the WAMS Society.

Criteria: The awardee shall be a UG, PG or Ph D student and shall be the first author of a paper (any of the three tracks) submitted and orally presented in WAMS 2026 and shall be registered to the conference.

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

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

15. WAMS 2026 Best Paper in Wireless Track

This award is sponsored by WAMS Society.

Criteria: The awardee shall be the first author of a paper submitted in the wireless track and orally presented in WAMS 2026 and registered to the conference.

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

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

16. WAMS 2026 Best Paper in Microwave Track

Criteria: The award is presented to the best paper in microwave 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 10000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

17. WAMS 2026 Best Paper in Antenna Track

Criteria: The award is presented to the best overall paper of all tracks.

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, and shall receive a cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

18. WAMS 2026 Best Overall Paper of all Tracks

Award: The awardee receives cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

19. 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
Award: The recipient of the Dr. Zubair Akhter Award shall be the first author of the outstanding paper and must be registered for the conference.
The award package includes a cash prize of INR 20000, 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

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

20. Late Dr. Rakesh Mohan Jha Award for Best Student Paper in Antenna Track.

Criteria: The awardee (first author) should be a graduate or post-graduate student. The scope of the paper shall be on antennas and the paper must be presented in any of the oral sessions by the recipient.
Award: The awardee shall be registered to the conference and will receive a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co- authors shall receive a certificates.

SPONSOR

DR RAJ MOHAN JHA

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

21. WAMS 2026 Outstanding Organizer Award

Criteria: The award is presented to Young Professional that made significant contributions to WAMS Society and WAMS 2026

Award: The awardee receives cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

22. WAMS 2026 Award for Outstanding Contributor to Technical Program of WAMS 2026

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

Award: The awardee receives cash prize of INR 15000, a plaque and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

23. WAMS 2026 Outstanding Local Organizer

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

Award: Selected awardee receives a cash prize of Rs. 10,000, a plaque, and a certificate

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

24. 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 20000, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Dr. Desmond Sim

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

25 . Prof. Lot Shafai's travel grant Female Student attending WAMS 2026.

This award is established in recognition of Prof. Shafai’s outstanding contributions in teaching, research, and graduating more than 100 Ph D and graduate students for over 60 years. This grant is established through generous contributions from his former students, post-doctoral research scholars, and research associates.

Criteria: The awardee shall be a registered female graduate or a Ph D student 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 25,000 to cover travel expenses for attending the symposium, a plaque, and a certificate.

SPONSOR

Prof. Lot Shafai

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

26 . Prof. Lot Shafai's travel grant Male Student attending WAMS 2026.

Criteria:The awardee shall be a registered male graduate or a Ph D student 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 25,000 to cover travel expenses for attending the symposium, a plaque, and a certificate.

SPONSOR

Prof. Lot Shafai

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

27. 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 of the paper receives cash prize of INR 20,000, a plaque and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Dr.Jayshri Kulkarni

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

28. Rapid Thesis Presentation (First Place)

Criteria:This award is presented to the first place winner of the best Rapid Thesis presentation contest.

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of Rs.7000, a certificate, and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

29. Rapid Thesis Presentation (Second Place)

Criteria:This award is presented for the Rapid Thesis presentation contest (Second place).

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of Rs.5000, a certificate, and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

30. Student Project competition (Winner)

Criteria:This award is presented to the winner of the student project contest

Award: The winning team will receive a cash prize of Rs.7000, and all team members will receive a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

31. Student Project competition (First Runner up)

Criteria:This award is presented to the first runner up of the student project contest.

Award: The winning team will receive a cash prize of Rs.5000, and all team members will receive a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

32. Student Project competition (Second Runner up)

Criteria:This award is presented to the second runner up of the student project contest.

Award: The winning team will receive a cash prize of Rs.3000, and all team members will receive a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

33. Ph.D student initiative (Winner)

Criteria:This award is presented to the student under Ph.D student initiative with the best presentation and report.

Award: The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs.7000, a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

34. Ph.D student initiative (Runner)

Criteria:This award is presented to the student selected under Ph.D student initiative with the best presentation and report.

Award: The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs.5000, a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

35. M. Tech research initiative (Winner)

Criteria:This award is presented to the student selected under the M. Tech research initiative with the best poster presentation.

Award: The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs.7000, a certificate and a plaque

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

36. M. Tech research initiative (Runner)

Criteria:This award is presented to the student selected under the M. Tech research initiative with the best poster presentation.

Award: The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs.5000, a certificate and a plaque.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

37. 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 15000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

38. WAMS 2026 Best Poster Paper (Second Place)

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

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, will receive a cash prize of INR 10,000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

39. WAMS 2026 Best Poster Paper (Third Place)

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

Award: The awardee shall be the first author of the paper and registered to the conference, will receive a cash prize of INR 5000, a plaque, a certificate and all the registered co-authors shall receive certificates.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

40. WAMS 2026 Young Volunteer with Exemplary Service

Criteria:The award is presented to an individual that provided exemplary service and significant contributions to WAMS 2026 Symposium. The awardee must be 40yrs old or less.

Award: The awardee receives a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, and a certificate

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

41. WAMS 2026 Local Student Volunteers with Outstanding Service

Criteria: Selected volunteers that made significant contributions shall be recognized during the awards banquet on June 12th, 2026. A maximum of 6 volunteers shall be selected.

Award: Each awardee gets a cash prize of Rs. 5,000, a plaque, and a certificate

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

42. WAMS 2026 External Volunteers with Outstanding Service

Criteria: Selected volunteers that made significant contributions shall be recognized during the awards banquet on June 12th, 2026. A maximum of 4 volunteers shall be selected.

Award: Each awardee gets a cash prize of Rs. 5,000, a plaque, and a certificate.

SPONSOR

WAMS SOCIETY

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

43. Dr. Venkata Kishore Kothapudi Best Paper Award for Excellence in Radar Applications and Research by a Female Student

Criteria: This award is instituted by Dr. Kothapudi to encourage young students in the areas related to radar technologies. Eligible candidates for this award include undergraduate, postgraduate, and research students who are the first authors of orally presented papers covering radar applications and systems, antenna designs for radars, RF and microwave components, or wireless communication techniques for radar connectivity and networking. The papers for this award shall be evaluated based on technical originality, relevance to radar systems, innovation, and practical implementation.

Award: The recipient of the award must be registered participants of her conference. The award includes a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, and a certificate. All registered co-authors will receive certificates. In addition, the awardee receives a premium radar/microwave text book and a one year IEEE Student Memberships in AP-S, MTT-S, or COMSOC.

SPONSOR

Dr. Venkata Kishore Kothapudi

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

44. Dr. Venkata Kishore Kothapudi Best Paper Award for Excellence in Radar Applications and Research by a Male Student

Criteria: This award is instituted by Dr. Kothapudi to encourage young students in the areas related to radar technologies. Eligible candidates for this esteemed award include undergraduate, postgraduate, and research students who are the first authors of orally presented papers covering radar applications and systems, antenna designs for radars, RF and microwave components, or wireless communication techniques for radar connectivity and networking. The papers for this award shall be evaluated based on technical originality, relevance to radar systems, innovation, and practical implementation.

Award: The recipient of the award must be registered participants of he conference. The award includes a cash prize of INR 10000, a plaque, and a certificate. All registered co-authors will receive certificates. In addition, the awardee receives a premium radar/microwave text book and a one year IEEE Student Memberships in AP-S, MTT-S, or COMSOC.

SPONSOR

Dr. Venkata Kishore Kothapudi

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

45 . Prof. Lot Shafai's Best Paper from an Industry in the areas Applied Electromagnetics and Antennas by a Female Professional

Criteria: The awardee shall be a registered female 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 and, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Prof. Lot Shafai

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

46 . Prof. Lot Shafai's Best Paper from an Industry in the areas 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 and, a plaque, and a certificate. Co-authors receive certificates.

SPONSOR

Prof. Lot Shafai

AWARDEE

YET TO BE ANNOUNCED

10. Outstanding Contributor to WAMS Society

This award is sponsored by WAMS Society.

Criteria: The award is presented to an outstanding individual that contributed to the formation and development of WAMS Society.

Award: The selected awardee receives a cash prize of INR 20000, a plaque, and a certificate.