In a first for the University of Hawaii and the state, HCAC hosted the Joint PIERS and 2003 IEEE Topical Conference on Wireless Communication Technology and the NSF 2ND Wireless Grantees Workshop October 15-17, 2003 at Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.The conference attracted over 600 of the best minds in wireless technology to Hawaii for the exchange ideas and research findings.

Along with the highly regarded faculty of the University of Hawaii, UH graduate students also presented their research and attended workshops. Undergraduate level students volunteered their time to the operations of the conference. The purpose of the 2003 IEEE APS Conference was to help enable the next generation of Wireless Communications Technology. The Antennas and Propagation Society of IEEE sponsored the topical conference on Wireless Communications Technology. To address multidisciplinary research needs, the conference was held in parallel with the "Wireless Grantees Workshop" sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The conference was technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and the technical/research committee on electromagnetic Theory and the Antennas and Propagation technical group of IEICE.

Topics included:
• Smart antennas and adaptive antenna array
• Advanced propagation modeling and sounding of communication channels
• Base station and handheld antenna technologies, design and measurement
• Technologies for ultra-wide band communications
• Wave and optical technologies for wireless devices and systems
• Basic theory of EM waves for wireless technology
• Optical, microwave, and millimeter waveguide technology for wireless systems
• Front-end receiver design technologies including: