Idelfonso Tafur Monroy

"The intertwining of physical and virtual realities through virtual reality and Internet-of-things will require ubiquitous connectivity and sensorial networks.  We need better, faster, more scalable connectivity at lower energy costs."

Idelfonso Tafur Monroy is Full Professor in the Electro-Optical Communication group and the Institute for Integrated Photonics. His research focuses on photonic terahertz systems. His long-term vision is to advance photonic techniques and technologies for the generation, detection and processing of electro-magnetic waves in the sub-THz to THz spectrum domain. At the technological level, the development of complex THz functionalities in compact modules with satisfactory performance metrics for applications (e.g. communications, agri-food, security, bio-medical) supported by photonic integration circuits.  At the theoretical level, to develop pertinent models for THz systems and sub-systems and co-design approaches with electronics.  

Tafur Monroy is team leader in project 5G PPP blueSPACE, a European research project led by TU/e that will develop wireless technology for 5G wireless systems. It aims to increase the speed of the current 4G network by a factor of 100. He is also leader of the H2020 ITN CELTA project (Convergence of Electronics and Photonics Technologies for Enabling Terahertz Applications).

Tafur Monroy is also involved in the Danish startup Bifrost Communications, which has the potential to save the global telecommunications industries millions of Euros.  

He is co-author of over 500 journal and conference papers and has graduated 20 PhD students. 

Idelfonso Tafur Monroy obtained his MSc from Saint Petersburg University of Telecommunications (Russia) in 1992 and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 1999. He also took courses at Stockholm University (Sweden), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and Utrecht University. Tafur Monroy worked as Assistant Professor in Electro-Optical Communications at TU/e from 1999 to 2006, after which he became Associate Professor and later Full Professor at DTU Fotonik (Denmark). In the meantime, Tafur Monroy also worked at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications (China), UC Berkeley (USA) and ITMO University (Russia) as visiting professor.  

Tafur Monroy founded Bifrost Communications in 2015. In 2017, he returned to TU/e to become Professor of Photonic Terahertz Systems and join the Institute for Photonic Integration.