Józef Wiesław Modelski was born on March 25, 1949, in Kawnice. In 1967, he graduated from high school in Konin, where he also won national chemistry and physics competitions. He earned a master’s degree in electronics engineering (specializing in radio engineering) from the Faculty of Electronics, Warsaw University of Technology, in 1973. The Council of the Faculty of Electronics, Warsaw University of Technology, also awarded him degrees: in 1978, a doctor of technical sciences based on his dissertation “A Method of Designing a Microwave Analog Phase Shifter in a Specified Frequency Band” (which was considered outstanding), and in 1987, a postdoctoral degree (habilitation) for his monograph “Microwave Analog Modulators and Phase Shifters.” In 1994, he was awarded the title of professor of technical sciences. Since 1973, Józef W. Modelski has been employed at the Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, successively holding the positions of assistant (1973-78), assistant professor (1978-87), associate professor (docent) (1988-91), associate professor (1991-2002), and full professor (since 2002). In 1976-77, he completed a one-year internship in the USA (as a Fulbright scholar), conducting research in the microwave laboratories of Cornell University (Ithaca), the University of Texas at Austin, and Communications Satellite Corporation Laboratories (Clarksburg). In 1985, he spent six months at the Technische Universitat Braunschweig in West Germany on a DAAD scholarship. He has also completed numerous short-term professional internships at industrial plants and technical universities in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal. From 1986 to 1988, he worked at the High Frequency Institute at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany as a senior scientist and visiting professor. He has given invited lectures and courses in over a dozen European countries, the USA, Japan, India, Brazil, and Egypt.

J. Modelski’s research interests focus on microwave technology, radio communications, and television. In the first half of the 1970s, he participated in the development of methods and equipment for measuring the microwave parameters of semiconductor diodes. Subsequently, for over a decade, he focused on the design and implementation of microwave modulators and phase shifters used in telecommunications systems – initially with semiconductor diode systems, and in the 1980s, also with MESFET transistors and ferrite elements. During his time at the Technical University of Braunschweig, he participated in research on the design of microwave systems using INWATE integrated waveguide technology and co-coordinated a research project devoted to developing a prototype satellite converter for the German telecommunications industry. From 1983 to 1994, he conducted research on the development of accurate methods for the analysis of dielectric and ferrite resonators, as well as their applications in filters, generators, and the measurement of material parameters in the microwave band. In recent years, his main research interests have focused on multilayer strip antennas and intelligent and reconfigurable antennas. He has led several large-scale research projects for national government entities, including the development of the concept and implementation conditions for the GSM-R system for the Polish State Railways (1997-2001). In recent years, he initiated and co-organized several international programs. His research team has recently completed five European programs: two targeted research projects: STREP EU – Reconfigurable Systems for Mobile Local Communication and Positioning RESOLUTION and Core Subsystem for Delivery of Multi-Band Data in CATV CODMUCA; the integrated EU project – Co-operative Systems for Road Safety “Smart Vehicles on Smart Road” SAFESPOT; and two EU Networks of Excellence – Antenna Centre of Excellence ACE2 and Top Amplifier Research Groups in a European Team TARGET. He is currently the Warsaw University of Technology coordinator of the PROTEUS project, an Integrated Mobile System Supporting Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Crisis Operations, implemented under the Innovative Economy Operational Programme. He is a consultant to businesses in Poland, the US, and Germany.

He is the author or co-author of over 300 scientific publications, nine patents, and four monographs, including: Microwave modulators and phase shifters with semiconductor diodes (WNT, 1984), and Dielectric resonators and their applications (PWN, 1990). Among his most important original achievements implemented in practice are: abroad – a microwave integrated phase modulator used in the relay of the INTELSAT satellite, part of the global satellite communications system (USA, 1978), and an integrated TV converter input circuit using INWATE technology for receiving programs from the French-German KOPERNIKUS satellite (mass production, Germany, 1988); and in Poland – the Paston television subtitle generator, used in TV studios in Poland and Lithuania (1992).

For his scientific and research achievements, he has received awards six times from the Minister of Science, Higher Education, and Technology (1979, 1981, 1989), the Minister of National Education (1991, 1995), and the Secretary of Division IV of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1988). In 2005, he received a three-year professorial grant from the Foundation for Polish Science. He has received numerous awards and distinctions for the best publications and conference presentations. Among other awards, at the 2008 European Microwave Conference (EuMC) in Amsterdam, his team received the Grand Prize in Microwave and Antenna Technology for their work “Extending Functionalities of Waveguide Slot Antennas by Means of Reconfigurable Aperture.” This award was the first time ever given to a team from outside Western Europe, the USA, and Japan. J. Modelski lectured on the basic subjects of Field Theory (1979-89) and Microwave Technology (1978-81). He developed and delivered several original lectures, including Contemporary Applications of Microwaves (1983-97), Satellite Television (1988-99), Cable Television (1989-1998), and Satellite Communications (1997-). He co-authored the textbook “Collection of Problems in Electromagnetic Field Theory” (WNT, 1990) and two textbooks: “Measurements of Antenna Parameters” (OW PW 2003) and “Fundamentals of Radio Communications” (OW PW 2004). In the 1990s, he coordinated two European TEMPUS educational programs: JEP-2038 “The Use of Computers in Electrical Engineering Education” (1991-94) and JEP-7403 “Modern Technologies in Telecommunications for New Polish Educational Systems” (1994-97). During this time, he initiated and co-founded several new laboratories at the Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, including Satellite and Cable Television (1989), PLD/ASIC Microprocessor Technology (1992), Radiocommunication (1994), and Antennas (1998). He also initiated and co-organized the establishment of a new specialization in Radiocommunication and Multimedia Techniques within the full-time program, the launch of evening vocational studies with a specialization in Radiocommunication, and the launch of specialized courses within the RADEM Program in Radiocommunication, Multimedia Techniques, and Biomedical Engineering. RADEM courses for telecommunications companies were particularly popular, with over 5,000 participants graduating. He supervised over 100 master’s and engineering theses, and supervised 17 doctoral theses. He has received four awards for his teaching achievements: from the Ministry of Science and Technology (1975, 1985) and the Ministry of National Education (1991, 1999).

Since 1996, he has been the director of the Institute of Radioelectronics at the Warsaw University of Technology. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Warsaw University of Technology Senate, and since 2008, chairman of the Senate Committee for University Organization. Since 2006, he has been chairman of the Supervisory Board of AZS Politechnika Warszawska. He is the founder and president of the Foundation for Supporting the Development of Radiocommunications and Multimedia Technologies. The Foundation, which began operations in 2000 and has awarded over 170 postdoctoral, doctoral, and student scholarships, has equipped seven research and teaching laboratories with modern equipment. From 1980 to 1985, J. Modelski served as the Rector’s Representative of the Warsaw University of Technology and chaired the Rector’s Committee for International Student Internships. From 1994 to 1996, he headed the Radioelectronics specialization at the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology. From 1998, he was a member of the Rector’s Committee for the Development and Modernization of the University, and its chair from 2002 to 2005. From 1988 to 2000, he headed the Television Department, and from 2003 to 2008, he headed the Radiocommunications Department at the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications, Warsaw University of Technology.

Józef Modelski is a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, chairman of the Committee on Electronics and Telecommunications, Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the presidium of the Committee on Space and Satellite Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, and chairman of the Committee on Astronautics and Space Technology, KBKiS PAN; a foreign member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences; He is a full member of the Warsaw Scientific Society, a Fellow of the IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (2000), and a director of IEEE Region 8; chairman of the Scientific Council of the Industrial Telecommunications Institute; member of the Scientific Council of the National Institute of Telecommunications; member of the program and management committees of numerous international and domestic conferences in the field of electronics and telecommunications (including the IEEE International Microwave Symposium in the USA and the European Microwave Conference); chairman of the international conference Microwave & Radar Week; chairman of the Program Committee of the Polish Chamber of Electronic Communications (PIKE); member of the editorial committees of several international and domestic scientific periodicals (including IEEE Transactions on MTT, Proceedings of the EuMA, Kwartalnik Elektroniki i Telekomunikacji PAN), and chairman of the Program Council of Przegląd Telekomunikacyjny.

He was president of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (2008), vice-director of IEEE Region 8 (2005-2006); chairman of the International Conference on Microwaves Radar and Wireless Communications MIKON (1995-2006), the IEEE EUROCON conference (2007) and twice of the National Conference on Radiocommunications, Broadcasting and Television (2004, 2009); chairman of the Telecommunications Council at the Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation (2003-2005); chairman of the Scientific Council of the Radio and Television Research and Development Center (1991-2006); member of the Interministerial Coordinating Team for Outer Space under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (2001-2006); Member of the board of the European Microwave Association EuMA (1997-2007), and Chairman of the Microwave and Radiolocation Section of the Committee for Electronics and Telecommunications of the Polish Academy of Sciences (KEiT PAN) (2000-2007).

J. Modelski has been awarded and recognized with, among others, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Medal of the National Education Commission, the Gold Cross of Merit, IEEE Fellow, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the IEEE Walter Cox Award, the Medal of the 80th Anniversary of Polish Radio, 10 awards from the Minister of National Education, the Award of the Secretary of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Minister of Communications’ “Meritorious for Communications” distinction twice, the Gold Honorary Badge of the Union of Military Engineers (ZMW), and the Gold Badge of the Polish Socialist Party (ZSP).

He is married, has three children and two granddaughters. He is interested in classical opera and medieval history; he enjoys skiing, gardening, playing tennis, and playing bridge.