Dr Francesco Fornetti
MEng(Bristol), PhD (Bristol)
Expertise
As a teaching-focused academic, the main objective of my work is to improve and modernise the delivery and content of our courses thus enhancing the student learning experience.
Current positions
Associate Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering
School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
My research interests include wide bandgap semiconductor devices and materials, particularly Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). During my time as a researcher at UoB, I succeeded in enhancing their application, mainly in the field of pulsed power amplifiers for Radar systems. I also had the opportunity to develop novel test methodologies and practical measurement rigs for GaN amplifiers at microwave frequencies. My PhD thesis, which includes introductory chapters on advanced semiconductor materials and devices in terms of their physics, technology, research status and commercial availability, has had thousands of downloads and very positive feedback. It also formed the basis of a popular webinar on GaN, which I presented. This was sponsored by one of the largest GaN manufacturers in the world, Cree Inc.
Publications
Recent publications
09/10/2023Authentic Assessment in RF Engineering Through Simulation-Based, Online Exams [Educator’s Corner]
IEEE Microwave Magazine
Conquer Radio Frequency
Conquer Radio Frequency
Instrumentation Control, Data Acquisition and Processing with MATLAB
Instrumentation Control, Data Acquisition and Processing with MATLAB
Facilitating the understanding of RF circuits through time-domain simulations and animations
European Microwave Week 2012: "Space for Microwaves", EuMW 2012, Conference Proceedings - 42nd European Microwave Conference, EuMC 2012
Evaluation of commercial GaN HEMTs for pulsed power applications
IET European Pulsed Power Conference, 2009, Geneva, Switzerland
Teaching
I see academic teaching as the process of stimulating curiosity and creating enthusiasm about a subject in a way that encourages, inspires and enables students to explore the subject independently beyond the confines of a prescribed syllabus.
One of my main achievements has been the use of AWR Design Environment, a powerful simulation package traditionally employed for the design of RF & Microwave circuits, as a teaching and learning tool. To support this, I created many bespoke video tutorials which may be freely accessed on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/rfmicrowave) and website (explorerf.com). These enabled students to turn the simulator into a virtual laboratory, a place where they could safely carry out inquiry-based and experiential learning.
My material is also used by prominent academic institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, Queen Mary University London and Loughborough University. Some of it was developed through the Professors in Partnership initiative (https://www.awr.com/support/academia/university-program-faculty).
Also, in 2015 I created home lab kits (http://explorerf.com/home_lab_kits.html) that students could use anytime and anywhere to gain a further understanding of laboratory exercises or carry out their own experiments. These greatly promoted independent learning, reduced the pressure that students used to feel during scheduled lab sessions and helped us cater for the very broad range of abilities of first-year undergraduates, by removing stringent time constraints for practical work.
Some of my other pedagogical initiatives include the use of self-marking for coursework and the introduction to a flipped-classroom approach, supported by problem-based learning, to my first-year courses.
