Student view: Learning to be a physicist and engineer

Michael Dittman is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, or ECE, an ECE Distinguished Fellow and a 2025 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship recipient, or NDSEG Fellow. He received his bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering, physics and computer science from Michigan State University in 2022 and 2023.

I started my journey as a Spartan a little over six years ago when I moved to East Lansing in August 2019. At the time, I didn’t know many people at MSU and I certainly didn’t know how many opportunities were going to appear in front of me.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to conduct research for several groups at MSU and serve as a graduate intern with Fraunhofer USA CMW in the Diamond Technology Group. These experiences have culminated in my pursuit of a doctorate in the Laboratory for Electromagnetics and mm-Wave Antennas, or LEmmA, co-advised by ECE Professor Mauro Ettorre and Interim Dean and MSU Research Foundation Professor John Papapolymerou. Thanks to the mentorship I’ve received throughout my time at MSU, I’ve developed the expertise and confidence to tackle novel problems in physics and engineering.

My Spartan experience

Through my six-year journey, I’ve come to appreciate that there is more to the scientific world than methodically solving novel research problems. A scientist’s success hinges on a variety of skills, including communication, collaboration and creative problem-solving. I’ve also discovered that the culture of a group and its cohesiveness can create a more exciting and effective research environment. These realizations led me to join the LEmmA group as a doctoral student to further refine my abilities as a physicist and engineer.

My doctoral journey has undoubtedly been my most challenging yet rewarding experience at MSU. I’ve been able to apply my skills to several impactful research projects for both industry and government sponsors. One of my most notable projects was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and focused on developing novel antenna solutions to be integrated into mobile platforms.

Next-generation research

My latest work will also be sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense through the NDSEG Fellowship beginning in September. This will provide support for my current research areas in electromagnetics, specifically involving leaky-wave antennas, or LWAs. One of my efforts through the fellowship will involve increasing the viability of LWAs, mainly related to their dispersive behavior, which typically renders them unsuitable for ultrashort pulse transmission or systems utilizing wideband channels. Advancements in these areas are crucial for the development of next-generation antenna systems.

Looking toward the future

I’m incredibly grateful for the support provided by my peers and mentors in my pursuit of the NDSEG Fellowship. I have always been passionate about both working on cutting-edge research and inspiring the next generation of scientists. For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of being an engineer is the ability to transform creative concepts into reality and to share that enthusiasm with others. With support from the NDSEG, I aim to build for a career at a national lab to continue my work in electromagnetics and to foster a collaborative environment to assist in the creation of future scientists.