Professor Eddie Ball

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering

UKRI Future Leaders Fellow (2021-2028)

Eddie Ball
Profile picture of Eddie Ball
e.a.ball@sheffield.ac.uk
Sir Frederick Mappin Building

Full contact details

Professor Eddie Ball
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

I am a Professor in RF Engineering, in the Communications Research Group.

Prior to starting at The University of Sheffield in 2015, my career has been as a practising RF Engineer in industry:-

  • Tunstall Healthcare Ltd (Principal RF Engineer & Radio System Architect) 2011-2015
  • Cambridge Consultants Ltd (Principal RF Engineer, in Wireless Business Unit) 1996 - 2011

My industrial expertise is in building innovative, bespoke, wireless systems that require a balanced and holistic view of RF / Digital / DSP / Protocol aspects to achieve best partitioning for performance vs cost trade-off. I am experienced in adapting COTS radio protocols and creating bespoke protocols.

I am particularly experienced and passionate about hardware design, for both high volume and low volume manufacture.

My reach extends from the pre-specification creation process, through all theoretical aspects of RF design, to the practical lab bench development and field test; all core to the creation of a mass producible item. I’m also experienced at talent identification and selection for developing high capability teams.

Research interests
  • Novel RF circuit design
  • Novel RF system design, including DSP and Software Defined Radio
  • Novel applications of RF and radio technology (including non-communications applications)
  • Future IoT radios
  • Millimetre wavelength radios
  • RF MMIC and RF SiGe design
Publications

Journal articles

Conference proceedings

Teaching activities
  • I created and teach EEE6239 “RADIO TRANSCEIVER SYSTEM & CIRCUIT DESIGN” to final year M.Eng. and MSc students. In this course we explore contemporary aspects of RF circuit design and Software Defined Radio and then investigate them in the lab.
  • I created and teach “VHF SYNTHESISER FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS” as part of the 2nd year Design Exercise EEE262.
Professional activities and memberships
  • SMIEE
  • MIET
Other responsibilities
  • Theme Lead for Electromagnetics, Wireless Hardware & RF Devices. 
  • Director of UKRI National mmWave Measurement Facility.
     

Links

Information and Communications Engineering  EPSRC Millimetre Wave Measurement Laboratory   Future Millimetre Wave RF Transceiver Architectures for Communications Systems …