Magdalena Salazar-Palma - Modern Characterization of Electromagnetic Systems and its Associated Metrology

Dr. Sarkar had a strong background in mathematics and physics, which gave him the ability to address any topic in the field with an original, unique, but always scientifically sound point of view. He had the ability to make complex problems, easy, and to draw practical conclusions. He admired, recognized, and respected the pioneers in our field but also the many individuals whose contributions made the body of electromagnetics. As mentioned before, recently, he was selected as the 2020 IEEE Electromagnetics Award recipient, a recognition that made him happy and humble.

Dr. Sarkar had a passion to learn. One of his mottos coming from Sri Ramakrishna was “As long as I live, so long do I learn.” He exemplified it all along his life. He was constantly reading. And he was passionate about teaching others, starting with his students, both during his lessons and his weekly research meetings, which he conducted in a strong way asking hard work and dedication from his students, but at the same time offering insight on possible new approaches. He has advised students and postdocs from all over the world, who in many cases are now professors themselves in their countries of origin. He established collaborations with many of them and whenever possible he will visit them and their families.

Dr. Sarkar imposing scientific and physical stature, loud voice (no microphone needed!), were proverbial in the Applied Electromagnetics and Antennas and Propagation scientific community. Many of his students and colleagues have experienced also his generosity and kindness, which complemented his personality. He took a personal interest on daily‐life aspects of his students, postdocs, and invited scholars and engineers, always going the extra mile for them.

It should be mentioned here that writing books, which compiled Dr. Sarkar’s team research results on a given topic, is also a consequence of his generosity. He tried to facilitate the learning process of researchers by offering them the opportunity of finding all the necessary information in just one place, together in many cases with the relevant software. He was never scared of the tiring and time‐consuming effort that writing a book or a book contribution implies. He will also negotiate with the editor the lowest possible price of the book.

Dr. Sarkar impact goes far beyond his scientific achievements and his work as teacher and research advisor. He was passionate about serving the scientific community. He devoted a huge amount of his time to The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the IEEE Technical Societies relevant to him, mainly the Antennas and Propagation Society (AP‐S). Besides serving as reviewer for many journals, he was associate editor of several of them. He was also AP‐S Administrative Committee (AdCom) member, AP‐S President, AP‐S distinguished lecturer, chair of AP‐S Membership and Geographic Activities (MGA) committee, chair of the AP‐S Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technologies (SIGHT), AP‐S AdCom Honorary member, and other positions. He also served as member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB), and some of its committees, member of IEEE Fellow Committee and other IEEE committees. More recently, he was elected as IEEE Vice President for Publications Services and Products, and Chair of IEEE Publications Services and Products Board (PSPB). Many of these positions were elected positions, testament to his credibility and the immense respect in which the IEEE, AP‐S, and scientific community held him. His tenacious character served IEEE well. Once he was convinced a change was needed, he would “fight” until the end in order to achieve the intended goals. Dr. Sarkar was the driving force behind the creation of several new AP‐S publications and other journals in cooperation between AP‐S and other IEEE Technical Societies. He also had a key influence in expanding the international reach of AP‐S and its activities, through tireless visits and meetings around the globe, organizing events, and generating substantial growth of the AP‐S membership and the AP‐S local chapters over the past few years. Professor Sarkar also had a major role in strengthening and supporting two international conferences sponsored by the AP‐S. He also held numerous leadership and editorial positions in other organizations, e.g. he was on the board of directors of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) and was later the vice president of ACES. As mentioned before, Professor Sarkar was elected as 2020 IEEE Vice President for Publications Services and Products, IEEE Director, and IEEE Board of Directors member. He was full of energy and enthusiasm to continue to contribute to the improvement of IEEE and its service to Humanity and he started as soon as the election results were communicated in November 2019. Sadly, from April 2020, he was unable to continue his work because of his health condition.

Dr. Sarkar’s kindness and genuine soft‐heartedness – often expressed in the most outspoken and emphatic ways – will never be forgotten. His technical accomplishments are numerous and are what he is most well known for in our scientific community. He had passion and dedication for pursuing his visions for the advancement of science in our field and for building bridges between our technical know‐how and societally impactful applications. He made many enormous positive impacts not only on the technical societies in which he was member but also on so many of us as individuals. He was a good friend who would support you without any fear while also giving you his opinion even in a strong way when needed. His energy was contagious. He recognized that leadership is most effective when building by consensus: through talking, listening, and being willing to adjust course when called for. He was one of the key leaders of the AP‐S and promoted a global mindset, paving the way for substantial and unprecedented global reach for the AP‐S. He facilitated the creation of chapters, meetings, and conferences across the world; he visited and recruited members from all corners of the Earth. He was generous with his time and his ideas; he was also one of the most effective advocates (and implementers) of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community. He was supportive of good ideas, seeking them wherever and from whomever they originated. He would energetically recruit you to implement those ideas regardless of whether you were a student or a decorated senior colleague. He will be missed, but his contributions will endure.

It is also proverbial among those who knew Professor Sarkar well his love for history, archeology, nature, botany, wild life, and animals in general. The world was too small for him. He travelled as much as he could, always learning from different cultures, making new friends, visiting old ones. Colleagues who had the chance to travel with him enjoyed immensely his enthusiasm, lively conversation, and eagerness to explore new places and people, and the warm welcome of his hosts.

He dearly loved his family enjoying immensely his trips back to Kolkata and other Indian cities. He had many pets (dogs, a variety of birds) and a terrace garden that he always enjoyed and personally contributed to improve.

Dr. Sarkar was the best of friends for his colleagues, coworkers, local Bengali community members, and students, always interested in any aspect of their life. At times, he did not speak much, but he will show his kindness and friendship in so many other ways.

It is incredibly difficult to accept Dr. Sarkar’s departure for those of us who knew him well and loved and respected him as a friend, a colleague, a mentor, and a leader.

These words are intended as a tribute to Dr. Sarkar and as a thank‐you note to him for everything he gave us: his invaluable scientific contributions, his mentorship, his leadership, and his friendship!!! He will be missed most dearly…