News Archive

"After a debilitating motorcycle accident, a top radar researcher defied the odds with help from family and colleagues on two OU campuses."  Anne Barajas Harp of Sooner Magazine has written a story on faculty member Caleb Fulton's motorcycle accident last fall, and his amazing recovery.  Please read more here

Congratulations to ECE/ARRC undergraduate researcher Nicole Palmer for being awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grant from the University of Oklahoma's Honors College. Students must choose a faculty mentor and submit a budget and a one-page proposal on a research project that they will conduct and present at the Honors College's Undergraduate Research Day. Nicole's proposal was around the idea of using an automotive radar module, a 2D mechanical actuator system, and a custom timing and control design to generate synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of a target scene. This measurement setup can be used as a SAR demonstrator during tours of the Radar Innovations Lab (RIL) to help guests visualize complex radar concepts. Her concept was fully funded for $986.53 to purchase the radar and data conversion module needed for the experiment. Nicole is an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. Jay McDaniel, who will serve as the faculty mentor for this UROP. Congratulations, Nicole, on this outstanding accomplishment!

A $7.4 million grant awarded from the United States Office of Naval Research to the University of Oklahoma will fund the development of a scanner and innovative digital radar solutions to support research, prototyping and testing of advanced digital radar concepts for the Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense. The project will also make OU home to the largest university-based scanner for near-field measurements in the nation.

Mark Yeary, project lead and Presidential Professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said the near-field scanner is “an indoor antenna measurement system that is used to conduct high-accuracy antenna characterizations” and provides essential support for radar before being deployed in the field, including “reduced detection times and improved targeting precision.”

“We want to change how to think about and use radar, and we want to do that by creating the most flexible and advanced digital radar systems here at the University of Oklahoma,” he added.

Yeary said the overarching goal is to build a state-of-the-art measurement system and to host its supporting experiments to enhance the nation’s security and train the next generation of students.

“This project builds on the research team’s years of expertise developing the world’s most advanced weather radar and applies OU research expertise to make an impact for aerospace and defense critical issues,” said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, OU vice president for research and partnerships.

The three-year project will create the largest near-field scanner in the nation at a university, to be housed at OU’s Advanced Radar Research Center. The face of the scanner will be 20 feet by 20 feet and will enable OU to characterize its large mobile phased array radar systems, which are currently under development, prior to participation in joint experiments with the U.S. Department of Defense.

“It is an absolute delight to see this strong team land such a major award from the Navy,” said Bob Palmer, ARRC executive director and an associate vice president for research and partnerships. “The capabilities this funding will enable will put OU and ARRC at the top nationally with helping the Navy study the advantages of digital phased array radars.”

November's student of the month, Cesar M. Salazar Aquino, is a Ph.D. student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  Currently advised by Robert Palmer and Boonleng Cheong, Cesar's research focuses on blind range mitigation technique for solid state weather radars, and PAR analysis and waveform design for improved co-pol and cross-pol performance.  Asked about how he spends his free time, Cesar said, "I like to read, play video games, and watch TV.  Big fan of tech and tech-related content.

Click here to view the virtual tour of the Radar Innovations Lab.

Join scientists from the Radar Innovations Lab as they take you on a behind-the-scenes look at radar research!  Learn about next-generation radar technology, mobile radars, and severe weather!

You can also click here to view the Q&A that took place afterwards on our Facebook page.

Congratulations to Justin Metcalf for being elected to the IEEE AES Society’s Radar Systems Panel (RSP). This is the panel that makes IEEE award nominations, selects radar conference venues and oversees conference operations, contributes to radar-related IEEE standards, and promotes radar education initiatives. Selection to the panel shows recognition from the IEEE radar community for sustained contributions and support of IEEE radar activities.

Dr. Metcalf joins Dr. Yeary and Dr. Goodman on the panel of approximately 45-50 members from industry, government, and academia. Furthermore, one of our former ARRC engineers, Dr. Faruk Uysal, was also selected.

Going forward, each month we will have a Student of the Month for the ARRC. For the month of October, we will be highlighting Morgan Schneider! She is a School of Meteorology Masters student and is currently working with Dr. Bodine & Dr. Palmer.  Morgan has given us some notes regarding her current research: "My main research involves studying Doppler velocity errors caused by debris centrifuging in tornadoes. At the moment, I’m beginning to test methods for mitigating those errors so that we can collect better radar-based estimates of tornado wind speeds. My biggest weather interests are tornado dynamics and tornadogenesis, and I’d like to research those topics more in the future." Morgan has recently received a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award.  Regarding how she spends her free time, Morgan said, "I’m a musician at heart — I play the clarinet, piano, and sing. I also enjoy playing video games and hanging out with my two cats!"

This year at the ARRC, weather fest is going to be a little different. Everything will be virtual! Please join us for a virtual tour of the lab followed by a LIVE Q&A on Facebook!

ECE/ARRC student Brian Sun and David Schvartzman Cohenca of CIMMS/ARRC have both received $5000 Gallogly College of Engineering Dissertation of Excellence Awards. The award recognizes Ph.D. students who have achieved outstanding research results while encouraging them to complete their dissertations with excellence. Brian is advised by Dr. Jay McDaniel, and David is advised by Dr. Tian Yu. Congratulations Brian and David on this outstanding achievement!

ECE/ARRC graduate student Arturo Umeyama has received a $5000 Gallogly College of Engineering Dissertation of Excellence Award. The award recognizes Ph.D. students who have achieved outstanding research results while encouraging them to complete their dissertations with excellence. Arturo is advised by Dr. Jorge Salazar, and his dissertation is focused on new in-situ UAV instrumentation for phased array radar calibration. Congratulations Arturo on this outstanding achievement!