IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Young Professional of the Year Award for 2026

Dr. Muhammad Zubair (M’15, SM’20) received his PhD (2015) in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy. Prior to joining the University of Leicester, he held academic or postdoctoral research appointments at the University of Glasgow (2024–2025), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (2023–2024), Information Technology University (ITU) Lahore (2017–2023), and the SUTD–MIT International Design Centre, Singapore (2015–2017). He has authored/co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications. He served as the 2025 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Young Professionals Ambassador and currently serves as a member of the AP-S Technical Committee on Sensing, Imaging, Health and Medicine (TC-11). He currently serves or has served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Access, PLOS ONE, Wiley International Journal of Antennas and Propagation, and IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation, and as a Guest Editor for the IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology and the Journal of the Optical Society of America A. His recognitions include the Science and Technology Premier Award (2025), IEEE ETOP Change Champion Recognition (2025), RSC Emerging Investigator distinction (2024), Punjab Innovation Research Challenge Award (2021), and the URSI Young Scientist Award (2021). He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), Senior Member of IEEE and Optica, MIET, and a Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Ambassador. He is the recipient of the UK Global Talent endorsement from the Royal Academy of Engineering for exceptional promise in electrical and electronic engineering. His current research focuses on applied electromagnetics, metasurfaces, and AI-assisted engineering design for next-generation sensing, communication, imaging, and energy systems.