RF • Microwave • Quantum Sensing

Rajavardhan Talashila (RT)

RF & Microwave Engineer | Quantum / Rydberg RF Sensing | Antennas & Electromagnetics | Wireless Systems

I am an electrical engineer and researcher working at the intersection of RF and microwave engineering, antennas, wireless systems, electromagnetic simulation, and quantum-enabled RF sensing. My current work at NIST focuses on Rydberg-atom-based RF sensing, including angle-of-arrival estimation and atomic-sensor characterization across VHF/UHF and microwave frequencies.

RF & Microwave Antennas HFSS / CST EMI / EMC Wireless Systems Rydberg RF Sensing RF Measurements
LinkedIn Experience Projects Publications Books I’ve Read

Current Research Focus

NIST • Boulder, Colorado

Quantum / Rydberg RF Sensing

Developing and experimentally studying atom-based RF sensors for field measurement, direction finding, and precision RF metrology.

  • Novel RF angle-of-arrival estimation using subwavelength, amplitude-only standing-wave measurements.
  • Rydberg-sensor characterization across VHF, UHF, and microwave frequencies.
  • AC Stark shifts, RF-induced dressed-state behavior, EIT spectroscopy, and experimental automation.
  • Named inventor on patent-related Rydberg RF sensing work.

Selected Research Output

Rydberg RF Angle-of-Arrival Sensing

First-author work demonstrating angle-of-arrival estimation using subwavelength, amplitude-only measurements of standing waves in a Rydberg atom sensor.

Journal of Applied Physics, 2025
View publication →

Professional Experience

2024–Present

Project Associate — NIST

Research in atom-based RF sensing with emphasis on Rydberg electrometry, direction finding, RF-field characterization, optical spectroscopy, and experimental automation.

2021–2023

Senior Application Engineer — Ansys

Supported engineering teams using HFSS and related tools for antennas, PCB structures, sensing devices, EMI/EMC, signal integrity, power integrity, radiation, and RF-system simulation.

Contributed to digital beamforming-array simulation work associated with AFRL.

2020–2021

Project Assistant — 5G Testbed, IIT Madras

Designed, fabricated, and experimentally tested a 3.5 GHz passive bandpass filter and contributed to antenna design and testing for 5G base-station applications.

2010–2012

Junior Telecom Officer — BSNL

Worked with wired telephony, 2G/3G cellular systems, optical-fiber networks, and customer-facing telecommunications operations.

Selected Engineering Projects

Ansys • System-Level RF

Digital Beamforming System Simulation

End-to-end RF system simulation combining Ansys HFSS, Keysight PathWave SystemVue, and AGI/STK. The workflow included realistic RF component characteristics, installed antenna-array patterns, flight dynamics, and time-varying Tx/Rx behavior.

Digital beamforming system simulation

IIT Madras • 5G Hardware

3.5 GHz Bandpass Filter

Designed, fabricated, and experimentally tested a passive 3.5 GHz bandpass filter for the IIT Madras 5G Testbed.

3.5 GHz 5G bandpass filter

IITMSAT • Satellite Communications

Antenna, Polarization & Link Analysis

Studied spacecraft attitude, antenna radiation patterns, LHCP/RHCP behavior, orbital visibility, and link budgets for a LEO satellite communication system using electromagnetic and STK-based analysis.

Related publication →

IITMSAT satellite communication simulation

Doctoral Research • Electromagnetics

Multipole Expansion of Antenna Radiation

Developed and studied multipole and spherical-harmonic representations of radiation from wire, patch, and horn antennas.

Spherical harmonic representation of electromagnetic radiation

Technical Skills

RF & Electromagnetics Antennas, RF & microwave engineering, EMI/EMC, signal integrity, power integrity, wireless systems, RF measurements, electromagnetic modeling
Quantum / Atomic RF Sensing Rydberg atoms, EIT spectroscopy, RF electrometry, AC Stark effects, atom-based field sensing
Simulation & Engineering Software Ansys HFSS, Ansys SIwave, CST Microwave Studio, Keysight PathWave SystemVue, AGI/STK, LabVIEW
Instrumentation Vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, signal generators, LCR meters, semiconductor lasers
Programming Python, MATLAB, Fortran, CUDA Fortran
Research & Experimental Work RF/optical laboratory automation, spectroscopy, data acquisition, signal analysis, model-to-measurement validation

Selected Publications

Talashila, R., Watterson, W. J., Moser, B. L., et al. (2025). “Determining Angle of Arrival of Radio-Frequency Fields Using Subwavelength, Amplitude-Only Measurements of Standing Waves in a Rydberg Atom Sensor.” Journal of Applied Physics, 138(11), 114402. DOI →
Talashila, R., & Ramachandran, H. (2021). “Effect of polarization on the link dynamics of a spinning low-earth orbit satellite aligned with geomagnetic field.” Engineering Reports. Open access →
Talashila, R., & Ramachandran, H. (2020). “Multipole Expansion of Radiation From Patch Antenna Using Quasi-Static Surface Currents.” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 19(12), 2136–2140. IEEE Xplore →
Talashila, R., & Ramachandran, H. (2019). “Determination of Far Fields of Wire Antennas on a PEC Sphere Using Spherical Harmonic Expansion.” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 18(4), 646–650. IEEE Xplore →

Electromagnetics & RF Technical Notes

Education

University of Colorado Boulder

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering — Quantum Sensing

Expected 2026

M.S., Electrical Engineering

2025

IIT Madras

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering — RF & Microwave

2021

M.Tech., Electrical Engineering — Photonics

2021

Beyond Research

I enjoy reading about physics, science, history, philosophy, and literature. I keep a separate reading page with brief notes and reflections.

Explore my reading list →

Let’s Connect

I am interested in opportunities involving RF and microwave engineering, antennas, wireless systems, electromagnetic simulation, quantum sensing, advanced RF measurements, and research-driven hardware development.

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