Dear Radio Scientist,

Greetings!  We are in a new year which is exciting but yet is full of anxieties. We have all been locked down now for almost a year due to the unexpected Covid19 pandemic, but vaccines are likely to contain it. Many of us have lost near and dear ones and have much to grieve for. Nevertheless, we always live in hopes and aspirations.

You are aware of the hard work that the Indian Radio Science Society (InRaSS) has put in over the past 6 years, starting from 2014, to spread the message of URSI (International Radio Science Union) through the URSI – RCRS (Regional Conference in Radio Science) conferences taking place roughly once in 18 months. After the first one in January 2014 in Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune, we had the 2^nd one in November 2015 in JNU, New Delhi, 3^rd one in NARL, Tirupati in March 2017 and then the mega URSI Asia Pacific Radio Science Conference (APRASC2019) in March 2019 in the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi and the 4^th RCRS conference in IIT BHU in Varanasi in February 2020. Apart from URSI AP-RASC 2019 which was attended by more than 750 radio scientists with about 260 participants from all over the world, the successive RCRS conferences have attracted a very wide spectrum of radio scientists within India as well as a few from abroad. We have now decided to hold the RCRS conferences regularly once every two years and the 5^th RCRS 2022 is planned to take place in IIT, Indore campus during 1-4 December, 2022.

Radio science covers the broad areas of metrology, Fields and waves (antennas),  communications and signal processing, electronics & photonics, electromagnetic interference and mitigation, waves in plasma, radio wave  propagation and remote sensing, , ionosphere, radio astronomy and applications of electromagnetics in biology and medicine. The word Regional in RCRS does not imply only the region of India but covers the entire SAARC community of South and South East Asia. It is our earnest endeavour to spread the message of URSI for spreading the multi disciplinary nature of radio science to all active radio science researchers and research students and to attract them to our RCRS conferences for useful cross fertilization of ideas and for innovative collaborations in the conferences held by InRaSS.  Gradually, RCRS is being recognised and in the APRASC as well as RCRS2020, we were able to partner with both URSI Radio Science Bulletin and IEEE Xplore for publishing the papers that were presented. In AP-RASC 2019, a special issue was published by Radio Science journal too, a highly respected journal globally.  

You should also note that InRaSS organises conference webinars, collaborates with other scholarly activities such as Jagadish Bose postdoctoral fellowship forum in holding international seminars and conducts radio science workshops for interested youngsters and young teachers/researchers within India. We are especially interested in organising workshops for regions in India where radio science has not yet penetrated. Any interested groups can write to us to explore such possibilities.

As you are already aware the main objective of the RCRS Conference is to review current trends in research, present new discoveries and make plans for future research work or for specific projects, especially where it seems desirable to arrange for cooperation on a national as well as international scale. The URSI-RCRS 2022 will also feature technical sessions, workshops, general lectures as well as an exhibition of products related to radio science. An equally important objective is also to encourage scientific exchange and fellowship amongst industry colleagues and professionals nationally and increase innovation and self-reliance in the areas covered. A very important element of the conference is the encouragement given to young scientists under the age of 35 years in the form of Young Scientist Awards, Student Paper Competition, etc. This conference too will be an occasion for delegates to make new acquaintances and strengthen existing friendships.

URSI-RCRS 2022 will also present an opportunity for delegates from various parts of India to explore the rich culture, history, geography and culinary delights of the area. Most importantly, we expect our participants to make long lasting connections with other colleagues and enter into useful collaborations for research as as well as development of new technology for the benefit of our nation.

Considering all the above, we sincerely hope that you will make a serious effort to contribute scientifically to the conference and register for the same. The details will be released on the website www.inrass.in.  For those who are registered as members of InRaSS, we will be sending mails individually to renew their registration which has been missed last year due to the pandemic and request all new members to write to InRaSS LOC secretariat in JNU, New Delhi to enrol as new members as per the formats given on this website. We look forward to seeing you again in 2022, well vaccinated and safe and following the pandemic norms prescribed by the Govt. of India.

Thanks and best regards,