M/A-COM, a business unit of Tyco Electronics and a provider of wireless radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave components, has awarded an antenna research grant to the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for advanced sensor and communications antennas (CASCA) to facilitate the design and development of advanced antenna technologies for the communications industry.

“By collaborating with M/A-COM, we can leverage resources for the development of antenna technology with direction, purpose and creativity,” said Daniel Schaubert, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of CASCA. “The teaming of M/A-COM’s expertise in developing and manufacturing sophisticated antenna technology with CASCA’s experience in groundbreaking technologies has a high potential to produce new products for a wide range of applications in the military and commercial marketplaces.”

“We are extremely impressed with CASCA’s dedication and commitment to its students, research and the communications industry at large,” said Albert Hamwey, Jr., product line manager, M/A-COM. “We are very pleased to collaborate with the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s researchers in an effort to increase the effectiveness and availability of antenna technology.”

CASCA was formed in 2003 by the Air Force Research Laboratories Sensors Directorate (AFRL/SN), Antenna Technology Branch and the University of Massachusetts Amherst Electrical and Computer Engineering, Antennas and Propagation Laboratory to develop antenna technologies for advanced military and commercial systems used for communication, radar, security and safety. CASCA includes a new thrust by the Antennas and Propagation Laboratory to work collaboratively with companies developing antenna technologies and transferring research into products.