Pouyan Bassirian has earned a predoctoral achievement award jointly bestowed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Solid-State Circuits Society. The award recognizes Bassirian's academic record and publications in the area of solid-state circuits. Bassirian engineers wireless wake-up receivers for the internet of things, the subject of his dissertation research at the University of Virginia's Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Working with academic advisor Steven M. Bowers, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Bassirian's research promises to extend the lifetime of power-constrained internet of things systems. Bassirian's design techniques can achieve the triple crown of low-power receivers: high-frequency, multi-gigahertz operation plus the abilities to function well during temperature swings and ignore interference from other devices such as wireless routers. “Pouyan has consistently achieved impactful research, most recently leading chip development for a new RF wake-up receiver,†Bowers said. “Pouyan is a natural leader and mentors teammates who are in the earlier stages of their degree program.†Bassirian will present the new RF wake-up receiver design at the 2020 International Solid-State Circuits Conference convening Feb. 16-20 in San Francisco. This conference draws university and private sector experts who are advancing the state of the art in solid-state circuits and systems-on-a-chip. Bassirian will present a peer-reviewed paper on a temperature-robust wake-up receiver operating in the X band or microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Faculty and fellow students on the Near Zero Power Radio Frequency and Sensor Operations program team co-authored the paper. Bassirian has pursued electrical engineering solutions related to wireless communication systems for several years. He joined Bowers' Integrated Electromagnetics, Circuits, and Systems Lab at UVA in 2015, earning his master's degree in electrical engineering in 2017. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran. “It's an exciting challenge, to push this technology closer to reality and imagine what an actual product might look like,†Bassirian said. “Five years ago, we were asked to prove the concept. We weren't sure that miniaturization, low power and high sensitivity could be achieved in a single sensor. Now we're realizing the potential of these sensors in real-world applications.†Bassirian is looking forward to graduating this May, with plans to broaden his professional horizons. “Electrical engineering offers a wide variety of experiences. There is always something new to learn. I'll be looking for applications that are ripe for new designs and fresh perspectives on how my research can help people lead healthy and productive lives.â€