Speaker:  Dr. Mark Yeary

Title:
Multi-Function Phased Array Radar Systems for Next-Generation Weather Observations

Abstract:
With the decreasing cost of phased array antennas, their use for weather surveillance is becoming more practical, especially when combined for multifunction target detection.  This lecture surveys the hardware design and signal processing aspects of two experimental radar systems.  A significant advantage of phased arrays that can be applied to weather surveillance is adaptive beamforming.  Using adaptive beamforming to spatially filter clutter and intermittent radio frequency interference (RFI) is a novel approach to mitigate these issues, which is not possible with parabolic reflector antennas.  Moreover, spatial filtering is also applicable to phased-array-specific techniques such as beam multiplexing and adaptive scanning when only a few pulses are collected; this situation is especially challenging for conventional ground clutter filters. The National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) with its multichannel phased array antenna provides an opportunity to test some of these new capabilities.  In addition, various techniques have been used to improve volume update times, including the use of agile and multibeam radars.  Imaging radars, similar in some respects to phased arrays, steer the radar beam in software, thus requiring no physical motion. In contrast to phased arrays, imaging radars gather data for an entire volume simultaneously within the field of view (FOV) of the radar, which is defined by a broad transmit beam. As a result, imaging radars provide update rates significantly exceeding those of existing mobile radars, including phased arrays.  Finally, the discussion concludes with a brief discussion of the national Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) initiative.  The U.S. Government currently operates seven distinct radar networks providing weather and air traffic surveillance and enabling air traffic control and homeland defense missions (approx. 550 radars).   Many of these systems are approaching end of life.  An MPAR system that relies on mostly digital phased array technologies in a multifunction capacity is a key solution. 

Bio:

Dr. Mark Yeary received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station in 1999.   Since 2002, he has been with the University of Oklahoma (OU)’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and with OU’s Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC), where he is a full professor and holder of the Hudson-Torchmark Presidential Professorship.  He has served as a PI or Co-PI on grants from NASA, NSF-ATM, NSF-DUE, NSF-ECCS, ONR, NOAA-CSTAR, NOAA-NSSL, Raytheon, DARPA, and the AFOSR.  A total of $15M has been raised, and since arriving at OU in 2002, he has supervised and supported 42 undergraduate and graduate students in the completion of research toward their degrees. In addition, he has provided support for eight post-doctoral researchers.  His research and teaching interests are in the areas of digital signal processing (DSP) as applied to customized DSP systems, tactical radars, and weather radars, with an emphasis on hardware prototype development and applied signal processing.  In addition, he has spent eleven summers with Raytheon near Dallas, TX as faculty researcher on a variety of radar projects.  Dr. Yeary was with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Lincoln Laboratory in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013 semesters on sabbatical.  He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) and a member of the IEEE’s Radar Systems Panel.