The field of electromagnetics, the contribution of remote sensing and a philosophical life-changing perspective, aligned together in the fight against climate change. Kamal Sarabandi’s forty years of experience in researching applied electromagnetics turns into distilled wisdom in this eye-opener interview.
Professor Kamal Sarabandi is a distinguished Iranian American scientist holding the Fawwaz T. Ulaby Distinguished University Professor of EECS and Rufus S. Teesdale endowed Professor of Engineering positions at the University of Michigan. Professor Sarabandi’s research focus encompasses a wide range of topics in the area of applied electromagnetics. With expertise in microwave and millimeter wave radar remote sensing, wireless technology, electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering, metamaterials, antenna miniaturization, and nano antennas, Sarabandi has made significant contributions to the field.
Prof. Sarabandi, could you please tell us what drives you as a scientist?
I’m a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan. My area of research expertise is applied electromagnetics. When I started my PhD, I wanted it to do something that would be impactful. There are a lot of different applications of electromagnetics that goes from communications to defense and remote sensing. I wanted to use radar systems in order to understand how radar signal would interact with natural terrain.
And then I thought maybe this is an impactful area that I can use my engineering and mathematical background to put it into practice. I started looking into the issue of global warming. I’m talking about 1984. This is almost forty years ago. My thesis was the first thesis -or among the first- that would start looking at modelling of vegetation -be it a forest canopy or crop land- and the goal was to mathematically model these in order to be able to predict what a radar would see from targets like that. As you know radars were only used to find targets like aircraft that are landing in airports or for military applications. So, we used the radars to look at the ground, and then evaluate the data collected from the ground. It just so happens that the signal is very sensitive, because most of vegetation, as you know, is filled with water, and water has a huge electromagnetic response. It’s like warming your food in a microwave oven, because it has a very high dielectric constant and the response to that signal is quite high.
So, in this manner we started modelling vegetation. That’s how I got started. I wanted this to be an impactful area of research. I wanted to dedicate my life to something that would matter to humanity as a whole. I didn’t want to just solve a problem. I didn’t want to just fix a cell phone tower for example or anything like that. Let me also digress a little bit to tell you why I thought like this. People point at the sky, and they think that is heavens. Well, we know that all the stars are made-up of plasma, an environment full of explosions and fusion reaction. So, when one actually looks at the sky or a star, they should realize that this is more like hell, not heaven. The only heaven we know, is here. So, how do we save our heaven? This should be really the motto of our society. We need to save this heaven. The heaven that is given to us by the past generation. The heaven that is not only for us, but for the next generation to come. So, we are at a stage where we have started monitoring and we are trying to understand how human activity affects the heaven we live on. Most unfortunately, most of our activities has been destructive to the heaven that we are living on.
Once we understand the impact of what we do, I’m sure humans are smart enough to take corrective actions to the way we use energy, fossil fuels, and the way we destroy resources.
Are you still positive? Do we have the time for that?
Well yes, I am positive. Because I think that what we were doing was a mere product of ignorance. We didn’t know really what is happening to our planet and we thought the planet has the ability to compensate, no matter what we do. That there’s an innate mechanism that controls the processes of the Earth’s environment, climate, vegetation, etc. We thought that the Earth is big enough and it will self-correct, no matter how much we pollute. But this is not right. And how do we know it is not? Because all of the activities that the scientists in geoscience and remote sensing are engaged in point to the contrary. Because we have been trying to understand these processes and to inform decision makers, politicians, the industry, and the society at large as to what is to their benefit.
For example, if you are shipping something you don’t want it to encounter a storm or a hurricane. I mean that we have to understand that what each one of us does has an impact on anyone. If our actions are beneficial for the environment, then these actions are going to also be beneficial to all. As a result in this manner things are going to be mutually beneficial. This will be beneficial to both industry, the environment, other species on this planet and human beings. So, you have to strike a balance for a sustainable future. We should also realize that we live in a closed system, hence what we do, for example, in the United States will have an effect on Europe and the rest of the world and vice versa. Because we now having a better understanding how these processes are connected, we have a chance to fix our past mistakes.
If we could have a piece of advice for the younger generation, what would that be?
Be focused on this: sustain life on this planet for the younger generation. If you plan your life around altruistic goals, you will not only succeed yourself, but also you will enable others to succeed. You know, we are all social animals. I cannot have a good life in a community, when the rest of community is deprived of that. Just concentrate on what’s good for all inclusive of all forms of life. If your actions are responsible, then they will benefit others. I say this to my own children: don’t focus only on money. A lot of people focus merely on increasing their own standard of living without considering the cost or its consequences. Just an average level of living standard, no matter how high it is, does not necessarily make you happy. Humans have a limited range of emotional experiences, meaning there is a maximum level of happiness or sadness one can feel. The brain is unable to generate feelings beyond these set levels and interesting enough these set levels are independent of the average level of living standard. Therefore, it is beneficial to focus on expanding the brain’s dynamic range of happiness and managing your life to stay more on the happier side and less on the sad side. We should focus on activities that bring us long-lasting happiness. For instance, losing money can make us sad, but if we never had it, we wouldn’t feel that loss. In contrast, helping someone brings a lasting sense of fulfillment. This is why I love working with students. When I share some knowledge with them and see their eyes light up with understanding, that moment of joy lasts much longer than the fleeting excitement of winning $10,000.
Well, that is a life changing perspective.
Exactly, because our perspective has to change in order to save the planet. When it comes to possessions and maintaining a high standard of living, I often recall a saying by the Persian philosopher Rumi: “We are all climbing the ladder of life, but it is guaranteed that everyone will eventually fall off. The higher one climbs, the harder the fall.” This wisdom serves as a reminder to reassess our priorities and focus on what truly matters.