Update on current knowledge of RF Safety 2023

Brought to you by The Radio Technology Group

A National Register of RF Workers event supported by the Cambridge Wireless Radio Technology SIG which will review the current knowledge of RF Safety.

Registration for this event is now closed.

About the event

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A National Register of RF Workers event supported by the Cambridge Wireless Radio Technology SIG which will review the current knowledge of RF Safety.

We’re delighted to announce that this year’s annual event will be held in person for the first time since 2019. It is being hosted at the University of Birmingham’s brand-new conference park and hotel in collaboration with the Radio Tehcnology SIG at Cambridge Wireless.

The event will cover a broad range of topics but with an overarching focus on the implications of RF Safety for the workforce and the general public. The meeting will be conducted across two sessions. The first will explore practical elements of the accurate modelling and measuring of RF exposure at a range of sites. The second will report on the findings of the COSMOS study (the international study exploring the impacts of mobile telephones on public health), the new study exploring the health effects of 5G and the work of the recently launched National Spectrum Centre.

The full day event will have a range of guest speakers from across industry, and academia, including Link Microtek, BT Telecom, Imperial College London and University of Bristol. The day will conclude with a panel discussion where delegates can discuss the themes of the day with the speakers.

Who is it for? The meeting is suitable for senior management, and health, safety and environment professionals in companies where staff exposure to RF can exceed public guidelines. It will be particularly useful for all those who seek further clarity and guidance on the impact of working with RF.

What will I get out of this? Those attending will gain a better understanding of the potential and perceived risk of RF, the practical issues of measuring RF in the workplace and how it might be managed and mitigated.

Please note this event will operate under the Chatham House Rule.

There is a small registration fee of £20 plus VAT to attend. Please note there is limited capacity at this event so early registration is advised.

Organised by National Register of RF Workers

The National Register of RF Workers who work in the telecommunication, broadcast and allied industries.

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In collaboration with Cambridge Wireless

The leading community for companies in wireless, internet, semiconductor and software technologies.

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Agenda

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The information supplied below may be subject to change before the event.

10:30

Registration and networking over refreshments

11:00

Welcome from Maria Kelly, Leonardo and Chair of the RF Register

11:05

An introduction to CW from Brian Collins, BSC Associates & CW Radio Technology Group

11:10

Session 1: Chaired by Maria Kelly, Leonardo and Chair of the RF Register

11:15

Nigel Turner, EMF Safety Specialist, Link Microtek

'Working with “high” RF levels – the challenges faced measuring RF at height’

Nigel will outline the difficulties in working at height and making RF measurements. He will talk about typical and non-typical scenarios, problems commonly encountered and how to tackle them.

11:45

Richard Hargrave, RAN Design Compliance and Security Manager, BT

'Mobile Operator and Site provider responsibility for ICNIRP compliance'

12:15

Hugo Bibby, Technical Director, Link Microtek

'The evolution of EMF measurements – from 2G to 5G'

12:45

Networking lunch

13:45

Session 2: Chaired by CW Radio Technology SIG Champion, Brian Collins, BSC Associates

13:50

Frank de Vocht, Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

‘GOLIAT: 5G exposure, causal effects and risk perception through citizen

Frank will provide an overview of a new Horizon Europe research project which involves research teams from across the EU, the UK and US, and for which the research on worker exposure to RF from 5G systems will be coordinated from the University of Bristol.

14:20

Prof. Andrew Evans and Dr Syeda Fizzah Jilani, National Spectrum Centre, Aberystwyth University

‘National Spectrum Centre Vision and Research Impact on the UK's RF Sector and Wider Society’

14:50

Dr Rachel Smith, COSMOS, Imperial College London

‘COSMOS: Cohort study of mobile phone use and health – study design and findings so far.’

15:20

Panel Session with all speakers, chaired by Maria Kelly, Leonardo and Chair of the RF Register

• Additional Panellist Moray Rumney, Rumney Associates

15:50

Closing remarks

16:00

Event ends

Speakers

Hugo Bibby - Technical Director, Link Microtek

Hugo has been measuring EMF for nearly 40 years. For the last 25+ years he’s been a Director at Link Microtek working with test & measurement equipment for ELF, RF & microwave applications. His early career centred on high power amplifiers for defence radar systems but in his time at Link has been involved with various aerospace, broadcast, telecoms, industrial, scientific and medical projects. When not stuck behind a laptop he spends his working day on rooftops or in factories peering at displays of electric and magnetic field strengths. He is a chartered member of the Society for Radiological Protection.

Frank de Vocht - Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Bristol

Frank de Vocht is a Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, and joined the Centre for Public Health, which is part of Population Health Sciences at Bristol Medical School in 2014. He is funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West). He has over 160 peer-review publications broadly covering the areas of public health, exposure measurements and assessment, and radiation, environmental and occupational epidemiology. He has contributed to book chapters on epidemiology, exposure assessment and the effects of electromagnetic fields on humans. His work is funded by NIHR, the European Union and several charities, and he specializes in epidemiology of lifestyle, environmental, and occupational risk factors. His current research interests are two-fold: the evaluation of natural experiments in public health, specifically in the context of alcohol policies, and secondly the effects of ionising and non-ionizing radiation on human health. Frank de Vocht is a member of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), IRPA NIR Task Group, SRP EMFOR, and Health Council of the Netherlands. He occasionally consults for EPRI.

Andrew Evans - Head of Department (Physics), Aberystwyth University

Andrew Evans is a professor of the Materials research group and Head of the Physics Department at Aberystwyth University where he leads a research group developing instrumentation and modelling for the characterisation of materials for electronic, photonic and quantum applications. He is the university’s academic lead in the National Spectrum Centre project that builds on existing research expertise, facilities, collaborations and location to create an ecosystem between Government, Industry and Academia to accelerate spectrum innovations through experimentation.

Richard Hargrave - RAN Design Compliance and Security Manager, BT

Syeda Fizzah Jilani - Lecturer in Radio Spectrum Physics, Aberystwyth University

Dr Syeda Fizzah Jilani is a Lecturer in the Department of Physics, Aberystwyth University, UK, where she is a course coordinator for MSc. Radio Spectrum Engineering. She is actively involved in the RF testing activities of the National Spectrum Centre (NSC). Before that, she worked as a research scientist at the University of Maine, USA, on a US Department of Energy (DOE) project on the technology transition of harsh-environment RF sensors to the industry. She did PhD in Antennas and Electromagnetics from the Queen Mary University of London, UK, in 2018. Her research interests are in the field of electromagnetics, radio wave propagation, RF spectrum monitoring, reconfigurable antennas, flexible antennas for next-generation wearable electronics, millimetre-wave antenna arrays for 5G and beyond, high-frequency printed metasurfaces, surface acoustic wave sensors, and transducers. In her early-career research, she has authored and co-authored 1 book, 5 book chapters, and more than 40 technical papers in leading journals and peer-reviewed conferences.

Maria Kelly - Lead Technical Specialist, Leonardo

Moray Rumney - Director, Rumney Telecom, Industrial Fellow, University of Bristol (Communication Systems & Networks Research Group)

Moray Rumney received a BSc in EE from Heriot-Watt University in 1984. He joined Hewlett-Packard that year and remained with the company through the transition to Agilent Technologies in 1999 and Keysight Technologies in 2015. Moray joined ETSI in 1991 and 3GPP in 1999 where he participated in the development of cellular communications standards and conformance test methods. His recent work has focused on radiated test methods for mobile phones. He was editor and major contributor to Agilent’s book “LTE and the Evolution to 4G Wireless”. From 2018 to 2021 Moray represented Keysight at 3GPP RAN plenary who oversee the development of the 5G radio standards. His recent interests include expert witness work, engineering consulting services, and the safety debate around cellular technology including the evolution of test methods to validate that base stations and mobile phones comply with safety regulations.

Rachel Smith - Research Fellow, Imperial College London

Nigel Turner - EMF Safety Specialist, Link Microtek

Nigel has worked around electromagnetic fields for 30+ years, starting as a BBC Transmission engineer and spending most of his career as a broadcast antenna engineer, carrying out maintenance, repair and project work on TV and radio transmitting antennas at heights of up to 1000 feet. In more recent years he has come in from the cold to work as an EMF safety specialist, although he still gets out on site as often as possible to carry out surveys and provide advice. He is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) and the Society for Radiological Protection (SRP).

SIG Champions

Mark Beach - Professor of Radio Systems Engineering, University of Bristol (Communication Systems & Networks Research Group)

Mark Beach received his PhD for research addressing the application of Smart Antenna techniques to GPS from the University of Bristol in 1989, where he subsequently joined as a member of academic staff. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996, Reader in 1998 and Professor in 2003. He was Head of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from 2006 to 2010, then spearheaded Bristol’s hosting of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Communications. He is the Co-Director of this centre. He leads research in the field of enabling technologies for the delivery of 5G and beyond wireless connectivity; which includes the recent award of an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership in the field of Secure Wireless Agile Networks (SWAN). Mark’s current research activities are delivered through the Communication Systems and Networks Group, forming a key component within Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab. He has over 30 years of physical layer wireless research embracing the application of Spread Spectrum technology for cellular systems, adaptive or smart antenna for capacity and range extension in wireless networks, MIMO aided connectivity for through-put enhancement, experimental evaluation and optimization of Massive MIMO, Millimetre Wave technologies as well as flexible RF technologies for SDR modems. With a strong industrially focused research portfolio, he is also the School Research Impact Director.

Brian Collins - Managing Consultant, BSC Associates

Brian has designed antennas for applications including radio and TV broadcasting, base stations, handsets and consumer products, and has operated his own consultancy firm for the last 12 years. He has published more than 70 papers on antenna topics and contributed chapters to several recent textbooks. He operates a small consultancy company, chairs the Antenna Interface Standards Group and is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London.

Paul Harris - Principal Wireless Architect, VIAVI Solutions

Paul is a wireless technology expert with experience across a range of areas including research, design, implementation and standardisation. He received his PhD from the University of Bristol for evaluating the performance of massive MIMO technology in the lead-up to 5G and is currently a Principal Wireless Architect within the CTO Office at VIAVI Solutions providing thought leadership on new and emerging technologies for 5G, 6G and beyond. In line with this he represents VIAVI within a range of bodies and fora including 3GPP, the O-RAN Alliance, ETSI, the Next G Alliance, the 6G-IA and the UKTIN. His experience prior to joining VIAVI includes representing Vodafone within 3GPP for radio performance aspects, contributing to the development of massive MIMO channel estimation solutions at Cohere Technologies, and working with customers as a domain expert at National Instruments to establish effective research solutions using software-defined radio. He is also a Chartered Engineer, Senior Member of the IEEE, Fellow of the ITP, and an Honorary Industrial Fellow at the University of Bristol.

Peter Kibutu - 5G NTN Market lead, TTP plc

Peter has been working in the cellular industry for over 15 years, specialising in modem system architecture and physical layer development. Before joining TTP, Peter worked in the development of 2G/3G/4G wireless modem products and small-cell base station projects for a number of leading cellular equipment vendors. At TTP Peter has worked with a wide range of clients in the satellite and cellular communication domains, specialising in end-to-end system engineering, modem system development and advising on commercial aspects. Currently Peter is the TTP technical lead for 5G/6G activities and represents the company in range of industry bodies including 3GPP and UKTIN.

Peter Topham - Principal Engineer, Qualcomm Technologies International

Peter has more than 30 years experience of RF and high-speed circuit design, taking chips into production ranging from FM Band II through cellular, Bluetooth and on to UWB at 10GHz. He has been with Qualcomm for 7 years, specialising in low-power RF design for portable and wearable products.

Event Location

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Location info

Pevsner Room, Edgbaston Park Hotel & Conference Centre, 53 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2RS

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