News Archive

Congratulations to ECE/ARRC Ph.D. student Russell Kenney on being awarded an FY2021 Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship! The DoD NDSEG Fellowship Program, established in 1989 by direction of Congress and sponsored by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, serves to increase the number of United States citizens trained in science and engineering disciplines of military importance.

This program is designed to encourage Baccalaureate recipients to enter Graduate school and ultimately gain Doctorates which align with the DoD services Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) in research and development. Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend, healthcare and travel budget, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution. The NDSEG program received 7,942 submissions this year, resulting in roughly only the top 2% of applicants selected for this highly meritorious fellowship.

Russell's proposed research involves investigating novel fusion-based state estimation techniques for localization and synchronization of distributed radar sensor networks. When implemented, the proposed solution can enable autonomous sensor swarms capable of an extensive array of missions, including distributed high-gain beamforming and synthetic aperture radar imaging. Mr. Kenney is advised by Dr. Jay McDaniel and will continue his Ph.D. studies at the University of Oklahoma.

Congratulations to ECE/ARRC Master’s student Rachel Jarvis on being awarded and selected into the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP). As the country’s oldest fellowship program of its kind, the GRFP recognizes and directly supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Fellows share in the prestige and opportunities of being selected, including a three-year annual stipend, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution. They are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security, as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.

Rachel's proposed research involves investigating novel adaptive pulse compression processing techniques for frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveforms to explore the foundational limitations on modern-day biomedical imaging radars. Successful derivation, implementation, and validation of the proposed research would have a transformative impact on non-ionizing biomedical radar technologies used in applications such as traumatic brain injury, breast cancer detection, and sinusitis diagnosis. Ms. Jarvis is advised by Dr. Jay McDaniel and will continue her Ph.D. studies at the University of Oklahoma starting this upcoming Fall.

The ARRC is pleased to share that Prof. Hjalti Sigmarsson has received the Graddy Award from OU's Graduate College for his work as the graduate advisor for ECE.

The Graddy Award is given based on nominations from the Graduate College, and recognizes outstanding service to graduate students.

A PhD student in the School of Meteorology, Noah is currently advised by Dr. Pierre Kirstetter & Dr. Jeffrey Basara. His recent accomplishments include:

•  ARRC Student Journal Publication Award (2021)

•  School of Meteorology Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (2020)

•  James Bruce Morehead Award for graduate research in weather and climate (2019)

Noah is currently working on understanding precipitation characteristics and processes in tropical cyclones using ground and space-borne radar observations.  Notable publications include "The Inland Maintenance and Re-intensification of Tropical Storm Bill (2015) Part 2: Precipitation Microphysics" and  "Quantifying Precipitation Efficiency and Drivers of Excessive Precipitation in Post-Landfall Hurricane Harvey."

In his free time, Noah enjoys hiking, cooking, playing soccer, and biking. After completing his Ph.D., he hopes to become a professor so that he can continue to do research, teach, mentor and work with students, and participate in field campaigns.

Congratulations to our February 2021 student of the month, Heath Vann.  Heath is a Masters student in the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering, advised by Dr. Nathan Goodman.

Heath's research with Dr. Goodman focuses on on simultaneous transmit and receive (STAR) with all-digital arrays for multi-function applications.

In his free time, Heath enjoys spending time outdoors, playing disc golf, and spending time with his wife.

Ellie Langley has been selected as the ARRC's January 2020 Student of the Month!

Ellie is a School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Masters student advised by Caleb Fulton.

Her current research focuses on working with Dr. Fulton on a project called HORUS, involving phased arrays.

In her free time, Ellie likes to run and play the cello!

Our December student of the month, Tony R. Segales, is a PhD student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  Tony is advised by Prof. Phil Chilson.

"My research centers around developing small unmanned aircraft systems for adaptive atmospheric sampling which utilizes CAD modeling, system optimization, hardware and software integration, and control theory. I am leading the design of the CopterSonde series of vehicles, which focus on the collection of precise weather data at high temporal and spatial resolutions. I also advise other projects in which sensor integration or new UAS are required, such as SENSR."

"I like to spend my free time flying my own RC helicopter and FPV drones at the airfield. I also enjoy playing tennis, watching Formula 1 races, and doing outdoor activities."

On November 30, 2020, the ARRC hosted a virtual ceremony congratulating Arturo Umeyama as the 2020 WNI Scholarship Recipient. Executive Director Bob Palmer gave remarks, along with Dean Berrien Moore and Weathernews Inc. CEO Chihito Kusabiraki.

The $5000 award, established in 2017 to enhance advanced research and development of radar technology, is presented annually to an outstanding ARRC student studying weather radar, observations of the atmosphere, data analysis, and implementation.

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"To get more students excited about engineering careers in RF and help them better understand Electromagnetics (EM) principles, Assistant Professor Jay McDaniel worked with Tektronix to devise a 10-workstation lab for experiential learning opportunities in OU’s EM courses.

Tektronix’s cost-effective USB instrumentation like the TTR500 series vector network analyzer and RSA306B series spectrum analyzer helped OU make a budget conscious purchase that would attract more students to the program and better prepare those students for jobs after they graduate."

Visit the Tektronix website here to read more and view a PDF of the case study.