Creativity in Antenna Research [Guest Editorial]

The IEEE AP-S Symposium in July 2012 began with a reception in the Art Institute of Chicago, a gallery full of masterpieces by some of the world´s greatest painters and sculptors. For those fortunate enough to attend, this was a marvelous experience, both because of the wonderful art on show there, and for the chance to mingle with friends from the antennas and propagation world. But for me something else happened. I began to muse on the process of creativity, both in art and in antenna research. Creativity is a key part of research, but how little we seem to talk about it, and how infrequently it comes up in the ways we organize our research training. So this essay is an attempt to bring together some of my thoughts into the place of creativity in antenna research, thrown up by the comparison of the antenna research process with the process of art.