Dr Sunday Cookey Ekpo is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with experience of carrying out world-leading fundamental, use-inspired and applied research projects on sustainable radio communication and satellite systems engineering. He designs reconfigurable / digitally-assisted architectures to achieve ultra-low energy and spectrum-efficient multi-radio multi-coverage / range solutions / products. Dr Ekpo provides niche expert research and development (R&D) engineering inputs to world-leading companies spanning satellite broadcast solutions manufacturing; antennas and signal propagation engineering; electronic voice recognition solutions for next-generation adapted vehicles; radio frequency (RF), millimetre-wave and microwave systems development for advanced radio access technologies applications; satellite-cellular convergence open radio access network ecosystem; regenerative transponder and reconfigurable transceiver design;multiple input multiple output RF frontend design; and adaptive holographic beamformer development for next-generation mobile communications. He has given 10+ international distinguished / guest lectures / talks effective 2020. The outputs from Dr Ekpo’s research work span 120+ peer-reviewed and refereed technical publications. Dr Ekpo has secured £1.5m+ grants income as a PI and a Co-PI. Since September 2015, he founded and leads the Communication and Space Systems Engineering research team – this attracts at least one international student per year to apply to carry out postgraduate research works in radio communication engineering with his University. He has two postgraduate completions as the Principal Supervisor (PS); examined four international PhD students; served as an independent chair; and currently the PS of 5 PGR students. Dr Ekpo presented a thought leadership piece on space and RF spectrum at the World Radiocommunication Congress 2023. Externally, he is an awardee of theHuawei’s Influential Thinkers in Engineering and Technology 2019 in recognition of his industry-linked 5G Communication R&D achievements; Engineering and Physical Sciences research Council Peer Review College Member; and UK Research and Innovation Talent Panel College Member. He has been invited as a R&D leader in Advanced Manufacturing of Electronics (AME) (to speak on "Passive Additively Manufactured Electronics Development Considerations for a Future Green Space World") at the maiden edition of the European Space Agency (ESA) Workshop on “AME” on 21 March 2024 at the ESA ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre), Noordwyk, Netherlands. He leads the collaboration with world-leading foundry fabs/plants [including Qorvo (Modelithics); and WIN Semiconductors Corporation] to utilise their industry-leading advanced active semiconductor devices process technologies and foundry libraries – which has led to publications, grants,invited international talks, access to equipment and partnership. Other collaborations which he leads are with the Nano Dimension (for additively manufactured 5G/5G+ electronics); and Keysight Technologies UK Ltd (for advanced RF test and measurement solutions). Dr Ekpo is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, USA; Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK; Member of the Association of International Education Administrators, USA; and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK; Carbon Literacy Champion for the Electrical & Electronic Engineering programme; and the leading provider of placement and work experience on Radio Communication Engineering and allied fields at the University. He has been awarded a leading European Microwave Professional recognition status (2021–present) to supervise international postgraduate interns sponsored by the European Microwave Association Innovation Team. Dr Ekpo has successfully served as the UK Lead Applicant of two British Council-funded Innovation for African Universities projects and General Chair of the maiden world’s first Inclusive Technopreneurship Forum conference. He has successfully led an international multidisciplinary consortium (5 Universities and 1 Ecosystem Partner) to secure the “Best Overall Powerhours” and “Most Involved” project impact awards in two British Council-funded projects under the Innovation for African Universities programme. This success enabled him to secure a Seed Fund from the Royal Academy of Engineering to “design a novel wearable sensor for women’s health metrics monitoring” under the “Engineering Inclusive Economies” programme in the sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. He featured as the British Council Guest Speaker that spoke on “Supporting University-Industry Partnerships: An Internationalisation Perspective” at the “Association of International Education Administrators Conference 2023,” Washington DC, USA for delivering project impact and sustainability initiative across 54 sub-Sahara African supranational countries spanning five economic zones under the Innovation for African Universities Programme. He currently collaborates with the NASA Langley Research Centre, Virginia, USA on “Wireless Energy Harvesting and Transmission” which has resulted in the appointment of a Visiting Professor at the MMU. He is the founder of the Adaptive and Sustainable Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) conference and has served as the General Chair effective 2015 till date. ASSET 2023 was hosted at the MMU with 100+ attendees over three days; featured distinguished international experts from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America; and generated 12+ new active collaborations. He is the Principal Investigator of the Sony’s Sensing Solutions University Program at the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
