Ana Inês Inácio: Pioneering RF Sensor Systems and Global IEEE Leadership

When Ana Inês Inácio arrives at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in The Hague, she focuses on signals most people overlook: radio waves connecting satellites, sensors, and emerging wireless networks. The integrated circuits she designs form the backbone of next-generation RF sensor systems, which are essential for advancing radar technologies.

About Ana Inês Inácio:

• Employer: Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)
• Title: Scientist
• IEEE Membership Grade: Senior member
• Alma Mater: University of Aveiro, Portugal

Inácio’s contributions to RF sensor systems and her leadership in the IEEE have earned her global recognition. She recently received the IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Young Professional Award for her “leadership in IEEE Young Professionals, fostering innovation and inclusivity, and pioneering advancements in RF sensor systems, bridging technical excellence with impactful community engagement.”

The award highlights her dual career path: advancing RF circuit design while empowering engineers worldwide to build professional communities.

Balancing Innovation and Leadership

Inácio explains her approach:

“I’ve always liked building things. Sometimes that means circuits; sometimes it means helping people connect and grow together.”

This combination of technical innovation and global leadership extends the impact of her work far beyond the laboratory.

Early Inspirations: From Rural Portugal to Engineering

Inácio grew up in Vales do Rio, a rural village near Covilhã in central Portugal. The region’s economy revolved around farming and textiles, including the textile industry where her grandfather worked as a machinery repair technician. He became her first engineering mentor, teaching himself electrical systems through correspondence courses. At home, he repaired industrial looms and household appliances while explaining the underlying principles to his granddaughter.

“He would show me why something broke and how we could fix it,” she recalls. “It sparked my curiosity.”

Her mother was a tailor who later managed other tailors, and her father transitioned from factory work to culinary school, eventually cooking at an elder-care facility. Curiosity was a shared trait in her family.

Academic Journey: From Aveiro to Eindhoven

By high school, Inácio was equally drawn to mathematics, physics, biology, and geology. Encouragement from teachers and an uncle, an engineer, guided her toward electronics engineering.

In 2008, she enrolled in an integrated master’s degree program in electrical and telecommunications engineering at the University of Aveiro, a five-year program combining undergraduate and graduate studies.

In 2012, an opportunity to study abroad reshaped her path. She moved to the Netherlands to attend Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) through a six-month European exchange program with the University of Aveiro. A professor encouraged her to stay, and she completed her final year of her master’s in the Netherlands.

Her thesis focused on improving the linearization of RF power amplifiers at Thales, a company based in Hengelo, Netherlands, specializing in defense and security electronics. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Aveiro in 2013.

Research and Professional Growth

After graduating, Inácio joined the integrated circuit design group at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. There, she conducted collaborative research as part of a nationally funded program focused on linearization techniques for RF power amplifiers.