A team consisting primarily of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has completed a new book on radar technology aimed at both students and professionals.

The book, Principles of Modern Radar: Basic Principles, was authored by 15 radar engineers and scientists -- 12 of whom are associated or formerly associated with Georgia Tech. The 960-page work, published by SciTech Publishing Inc., was edited by Georgia Tech researchers Mark A. Richards, James A. Scheer and William A. Holm.

"The genesis of this publication can be found in the highly-respected Georgia Tech professional education short course entitled Principles of Modern Radar, which was first offered over 40 years ago," said Holm, a principal research scientist with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the associate vice provost for Distance Learning and Professional Education at Georgia Tech. "This book will be used to support that course, or any course that offers a complete, comprehensive introduction to radar technology."

The new work, he added, should not be confused with a 1987 text, also entitled Principles of Modern Radar and written by some of the same authors. The current publication is an entirely new effort handled by a different publisher.

"Radar technology has progressed very extensively during the last 20 years," said Richards, who is a principal research engineer in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the book's editor-in-chief. "The action today is in signal processing – that's where the technology has developed most significantly."

Consequently, he said, the new book provides an extensive treatment of signal processing along with thorough overviews of radar technology, subsystems and phenomenology. It also covers such cutting-edge transmitter-receiver technologies as phased-array radars and radar exciters.

Scheer noted that Principles of Modern Radar: Basic Principles is actually the first of a two-volume series. A volume on advanced radar concepts, largely by the same team of authors, is expected to be published by SciTech in 2011.

"The rapid evolution of hardware computing power has enabled software signal-processing techniques that can do so much more with a given radar signal, and this new work reflects that tremendous change," said Scheer, a retired GTRI engineer who continues to work and teach at Georgia Tech. "I would call it a comprehensive presentation of radar technology that also contains a relatively high level of signal-processing content. It can serve as a basic-principles text for radar courses or as a reference for practicing engineers."

In addition to the three editors, chapter contributors for Principles of Modern Radar: Basic Principles include: Christopher Bailey, GTRI; William Dale Blair, GTRI: Joseph A. Bruder, GTRI; Nicholas C. Currie, GTRI; Randy J. Jost, Utah State University; Byron M. Keel, GTRI; David G. Long, Brigham Young University; Jay Saffold, Research Network Inc., formerly with GTRI; Paul E. Schmid, Engineering Systems Inc.; John Shaeffer, formerly with GTRI; Gregory A. Showman, GTRI, and Tracy Wallace, GTRI.

More information on Principles of Modern Radar: Basic Principles can be found on the Web at http://www.scitechpub.com/pomr/.

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Media Relations Contacts: Kirk Englehardt (404-407-7280)(kirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986)(jtoon@gatech.edu).

Writer: Rick Robinson