18/08/2026
Professor Karunanayake Esselle is a distinguished professor in electromagnetic & antenna engineering at the University of Technology (UTS), Australia, and a world leader in telecommunications, defence, and space technologies. Recognised as one of the top 0.3% of researchers globally in networking and telecommunications, he was honoured with the Premier’s Prize for Leadership in Innovation. He also led the MetaSteerers Team, which won the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia.
He earned his BSc in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering with first-class honours from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. After that, he pursued his MASc and PhD in electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa, Canada, with near-perfect GPAs. Before he joined UTS, he served as the Associate Dean (HDR) of the Division of Information and Communication Sciences, Director of the WiMed Research Centre and Director of the Centre for Collaboration in Electromagnetic and Antenna Engineering at Macquarie University, Australia.
With years of well-rounded experience, Professor Esselle has an extraordinary record of 21 major prizes and accolades received within approximately five years. He was also named Australia’s national professional engineer in 2022 and is the only individual to win the top “best of the winners” Excellence Awards in both the Australian Space Awards in 2022 and the Australian Defence Industry Awards in 2021, as well as being the recipient of Academic of the Year on both platforms.
Apart from awards, Professor Esselle is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, IEEE, and Engineers Australia and has authored over 750 research publications with more than 16,000 citations. He is also a dedicated mentor and an international keynote speaker.
At the upcoming seminar titled “Near-Field MetaSteering: A Groundbreaking Method to Steer the Beam of Any Antenna”, Professor Esselle will draw from his robust experience and skills to give participants a view into the future of electromagnetics, antenna systems, and space innovations.