Air Force funded scientist receives technical achievement award Published March 26, 2007 By Maria Callier Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Signal Processing Society has chosen an Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded scientist for the 2006 Technical Achievement award. Dr. Arye Nehorai, chairman and professor of the department of electrical and systems engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected for his contributions to radio sensing with applications to radar, sonar, biomedicine and the environment. The nomination came from the IEEE's Signal Processing Society's technical committee on sensor array and multichannel processing. The award honors a person who, over a period of years, has made outstanding technical contributions to theory and/or practice in technical areas within the scope of the Society, as demonstrated by publications, patents, or recognized impact on the field. Mr. Nehorai will receive $1,500, a plaque and a certificate during an April awards ceremony in Honolulu. The recipient derived fundamental results on the performance of statistical sensor array processing, which other researchers subsequently have used. He also pioneered the use of vector sensors, which significantly improve the accuracy of finding sources of waves and targets by radar systems. Mr. Nehorai said he was surprised when he learned of his selection. "The technical achievement award is the highest recognition for contributions within the scope of the IEEE Signal Processing Society," he said. "This society has more than 20,000 members worldwide, and there are only two recipients every year. It was the first time that I was nominated." Dr. Jon Sjogren, sensing, surveillance and navigation program manager at AFOSR, has overseen much of Mr. Nehorai's research, beginning in1989. "Professor Nehorai is an asset to AFOSR programs," said Mr. Sjogren. "He's helping create a new area of radio sensing based on controlled signals, timing and locations. One main item that we funded was his concept of vector electric-magnetic," or detection that occurs when a single sensor assumes the beam-forming role of multiple sensors. Currently, Mr. Nehorai is leading a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant supported by the Defense Department through AFOSR entitled, "Adaptive Waveform Design for Full Spectral Dominance." The project involves research on how to increase radar systems' resolution, detection, accuracy, and communication systems capacity.