CAREER: An Integrated Approach to the Study of Inverse Methods in Electrical Engineering

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The objective of this CAREER award is to develop a fully integrated career plan designed to meet the educational needs of students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department of Northeastern University. The underlying theme behind all aspects of this work is the study of inverse problems, a topic which is all but absent at the undergraduate level and not often considered even in the graduate school despite the ubiquity of these problems in many fields of engineering and the applied sciences. In the area of educations activities, two projects are envisioned. At the undergraduate level, a capstone design course in the general area of signal processing is being developed and implemented. At the graduate level, a course devoted to the study of the theoretical and practical issues surrounding linear inverse problems is being developed. In the area of research, we are exploring the use of statistical and multiscale signal processing methods for solving non-linear electromagnetic inverse scattering problems. These algorithms will incorporate scattering models based upon a Green's function formulation of the vector Helholtz equation. A statistically-based, multi-grid-type algorithm for extracting image and target information (number of targets, locations, and classifications) is being developed. The incorporation of detailed, physical models directly into the data processing algorithms makes these techniques directly applicable to a wide range of problems including radar signal processing for image formation and target detection/classification, remote sensing, microwave medical imaging, and geophysical exploration.