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Jay W. McDaniel, PhD
McDaniel Microwave Group
Welcome to the McDaniel Microwave Group (MMG) webpage. The MMG research team is part of the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) housed within the Radar Innovations Laboratory (RIL) on the research campus at The University of Oklahoma. MMG's research specializes in radar system design for defense, commercial, and remote sensing applications; RF/microwave component design; electromagnetic modeling and simulations; and multi-sensor fusion techniques for position, navigation, and timing. The research group is led by Dr. Jay McDaniel, Assistant Professor within the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Latest News
Dr. McDaniel Selected to Receive the Prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award
The NSF has awarded Dr. McDaniel with a $625k research grant titled "CAREER: UAV-Based Radar Suite for Bulk-Snow Characterization and Risk Management." This CAREER project will encompass both the development of a new UAV-based custom snow-penetrating sensor technology and enable research on snow hydrology and snow-loading on freshwater lakes and river ice. The technological research will produce fine spatiotemporal data using intelligent monitoring capabilities that allow mapping of snow loading and ice thickness on freshwater lakes and rivers through 3D echogram formation and wind redistribution of snow using coherent change detection. These data would support actionable risk management strategies that drastically improve residents’ lives and socioeconomic resiliency. The CAREER project will also incorporate aspects of this research in graduate and undergraduate courses, includes experiential laboratory exercises through design-build projects, and as part of the RISING STudent Ambassador Research (RISING STAR) program will involve Native American and first-generation students to increase diversity and interest in STEM careers
Dr. McDaniel Appointed as Associate Editor of the New IEEE Transactions on Radar Systems (T-RS)
Dr. McDaniel was recently appointed by Dr. Shannon Blunt of the University of Kansas to serve as an associate editor of the new IEEE transactions on radar systems (T-RS) editorial board. The new journal focuses on advances in the study and development of radar systems for a wide range of applications. Articles on theoretical, application-oriented, and experimental studies with an emphasis on novelty in radar systems are considered. A full list of research topics can be found here.
Alex Adkisson awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant by the University of Oklahoma's Honors College
Congratulations to ECE/ARRC undergraduate researcher Alex Adkisson 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. Alex's proposal was around the idea of integrating a real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS solution in the currently existing navigation solution used for SAR imaging to drastically enhance positional accuracy. The concept was fully funded for $961.28 to purchase the RTK GPS and communication modules needed for the experiment. Alex is an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. Jay McDaniel, who will serve as the faculty mentor for this UROP. Congratulations, Alex, on this outstanding accomplishment!
Office of Naval Research (ONR) Awards Grant to MMG
The ONR has awarded the MMG with a $725k research grant titled "Fusion-Based State Estimation for Localization and Synchronization of Distributed Radar Sensor Networks." This grant will help fund research around using current state-of-the-art fusion methodologies and novel estimation techniques to synchronize and localize moving radar sensors. Thus, this effort will investigate the fundamental mathematics, algorithm development, and system-of-systems architecture needed for distributed, mobile radar system synchronization, localization, and navigation with and without artificial signals.
IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement (TIM) Paper Accepted - Led by Ms. Rachel Jarvis
Congratulations to Ms. Rachel Jarvis on her recently accepted IEEE TIM paper titled "Application of Adaptive Pulse Compression in Cluttered Radar Cross Section Measurements." This article discusses a post-processing method, based on the reiterative minimum mean-squared-error (RMMSE) adaptive pulse compression (APC) algorithm, to achieve highly accurate radar cross section (RCS) measurements in challenging test environments. To validate the concept, the RCS of a 15.2 cm sphere is extracted in two measurement configurations (with and without a large nearby dominating scatterer). Implementation of APC in post-processing yields a 71.2% improvement in average RCS error compared to traditional processing in the sphere-only measurement and an 88.2% improvement in the presence of a metal plate. Congratulations, Ms. Jarvis, on this seminal contribution!
Dr. Brian Sun Graduates with Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
Congratulations to Dr. Brian Sun for graduating with a doctoral degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Sun's Ph.D. research was focused on the theory, simulation, and instrumentation of a novel multi-inertial measurement unit fusion concept to achieve highly accurate position estimation with unprecedented reductions in cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWaP). Brian's instrumented system achieved a three-orders-of-magnitude reduction in C-SWaP and has been flown with synthetic aperture radar systems to provide the navigation data needed for highly-focused SAR images. Dr. Sun's work has been published in IEEE and was recently awarded an international patent. Brian will be joining the Advanced Radar Research Center as a research engineer.
Mr. Eric Wells Graduates with M.S. in Electrical Engineering
Congratulations to Mr. Eric Wells for graduating with a master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Eric was tasked with designing and implementing a suspended integrated strip-line (SISL) architecture using castellated vias to enable surface-mountability of the SISL structure. Eric was able to accomplish the task at hand and validate the theory and simulation with measurements of a thru-line through C-band and a frequency-agile S-band bandpass filter. Eric will be joining Northrop Grumman as an RF design engineer after graduation.
Mr. Jon Knowles Graduates with M.S. in Electrical Engineering
Congratulations to Mr. Jon Knowles for graduating with a master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Jon was tasked with theorizing, simulating, fabricating, and measuring a novel component which he calls the filtering attenuator (filtenuator). This is a reduced cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWaP) microwave component for highly-integrated front-ends that can improve dynamic range while simultaneously filtering out nearby jamming signals. Jon will be continuing his education at the University of Oklahoma as a Ph.D. student in the MMG and ARRC.
Mr. Kurt Konyalioglu Graduates with M.S. in Electrical Engineering
Congratulations to Mr. Kurt Konyalioglu for graduating with a master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Kurt was tasked with integrating a Ku-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system for airborne vertical-SAR measurements. Kurt worked with the OU flight school and took airborne V-SAR measurements and correlated them with digital elevation maps using geospatial measurements provided by the onboard inertial navigation system. Kurt will be joining the Advanced Radar Research Center as a radar engineer after graduation.
Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) Awards Grant to MMG
The KCNSC has awarded the MMG with a $320k research grant titled "The Future of Airborne Radar (FY22): Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging, Frequency-Agile Electronics, Distributed Radar Sensor Networks, and IMU Fusion for Position, Navigation, and Timing."
IEEE Access Paper Accepted - Led by Ms. Rachel Jarvis
Congratulations to Ms. Rachel Jarvis on her recently accepted IEEE Access paper titled "Methodology and Techniques for Highly-Precise Radar Cross Section Measurements at W-Band." In summary, this explores the challenges of radar cross section (RCS) measurements at W-band and proposes several techniques to overcome these challenges to obtain an accurate RCS measurement. The RCS of a 2.54 cm sphere is extracted with only 0.304 dBsm average error across the 80-90 GHz frequency range. Moreover, the average error of a distributed target consisting of four 2.54 cm spheres was extracted with 1.60 dBsm of average error, which was made possible due to precise laser alignment. Congratulations, Ms. Jarvis, on yet another excellent scholarly contribution!
Congratulations to Mr. Jon Knowles for 3rd Place at the WAMICON Student Paper Competition
Congratulations to ECE/ARRC graduate student Jon Knowles for placing third place in the IEEE Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference (WAMICON) student paper competition! Jon presented his paper and poster titled "Design of a Symmetric Lumped-Element Bandpass Filtering Attenuator (Filtenuator)." Mr. Knowles was also awarded a plaque and a $500 cash prize from the Advanced Radar Research Center for competing and placing in the top three spots.
IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement (TIM) Paper Accepted - Led by Ms. Rachel Jarvis
Congratulations to Ms. Rachel Jarvis on her recently accepted IEEE TIM paper titled "Wideband Measurement Techniques for Extracting Accurate RCS of Single and Distributed Targets." This paper was co-authored by colleagues Dr. Jessica Ruyle and Dr. Justin Metcalf at OU. In summary, this article discusses both test setup and signal processing techniques to achieve highly accurate radar cross section (RCS) measurements across a wide bandwidth. This high accuracy is achieved through both postprocessing algorithms and test setup hardware modifications. The postprocessing techniques include calibration, clutter cancellation, and time-gating, all of which are applicable to a generic anechoic chamber setup.
Andrew Gonzales awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant by the University of Oklahoma's Honors College
Congratulations to ECE/ARRC undergraduate researcher Andrew Gonzales 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. Andrew'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 volumetric 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. His concept was fully funded for $909.99 to purchase the radar and data conversion module needed for the experiment. Andrew is an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. Jay McDaniel, who will serve as the faculty mentor for this UROP. Congratulations, Andrew, on this outstanding accomplishment!
IEEE Journal of Microwaves (JWM) Paper Accepted - Led by Mr. Russell Kenney
Congratulations to Mr. Russell Kenney on his recently accepted IEEE JMW paper titled "Two-Dimensional Beam Pattern Synthesis for Phased Arrays with Arbitrary Element Geometry via Magnitude Least Squares Optimization." This paper was co-authored by colleague Dr. Jorge Salazar at OU. In summary, this paper details the combination of an extended Woodward -Lawson synthesis procedure with the magnitude leat-squares optimization method to optimize shaped beams with an arbitrary geometry phased array with real-time capability. The algorithm was demonstrated on near-field measurements taken from a phased array demonstrator developed at the ARRC. This journal was the result of Mr. Russell Kenney's final design project from Dr. Jorge Salazar's ECE 5973: Phased Array Antenna class.
Upcoming Events
WAMICON 2023
When: 17 - 18 Apr. 2023
Where: Melbourne, FL
IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conf.
When: 22 - 25 May 2023
Where: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International Microwave Symposium
When: 11 - 16 June 2023
Where: San Diego, CA
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