NSF/CBMS Regional Conference in the Mathematical Sciences -- Inverse Scattering for Radar Imaging -- Spring 2008

本次会议邀请伦斯勒理工学院的Margaret Cheney教授作为特邀讲师，将在雷达成像的逆散射领域进行十场讲座。雷达成像的基本原理是用电磁波脉冲照射目标；反射波被记录和分析，以形成目标的图像或确定其特性。雷达成像领域的发展，在过去的五十年中，完全是在工程界。50年前，许多挑战都是工程方面的：很难设计出以必要的高功率传输微波的设备，也很难探测到非常微弱的返回信号。然而，这些硬件问题基本上已经被克服了，剩下的挑战主要是数学方面的：我们应该传输什么样的波形？我们应该把天线放在哪里才能获得我们想要的信息？我们应该如何处理这些数据来制作高分辨率的图像？我们如何检测和移除工件？我们能形成被树叶隐藏的目标的图像吗？我们能确定目标的材料特性吗？只有对这类问题进行数学分析，这一领域未来的任何重大进展才有可能实现。对数学家来说，理解这一领域的基本问题并为这一领域做出贡献是至关重要的。会议将带来该领域的所有主要思想和成果，提供对主要开放问题的更深入理解，并概述该领域的当前方向。参与者将包括成熟的研究人员和感兴趣的合格新人，并将特别努力包括博士后研究员、研究生和传统上代表性不足的群体。会议将允许参与者相互交流，并与首席讲师交流，将促进跨学科的工作和合作，将在有利于建立长期合作的气氛中刺激区域研究活动，并将提供一个跨学科的环境，让数学家和其他领域的研究人员交流

This conference features Prof. Margaret Cheney of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the distinguished lecturer who will deliver ten lectures in the field of inverse scattering for radar imaging. The basic idea behind radar imaging is to illuminate a target with pulses of electromagnetic waves; the reflected waves are recorded and analyzed in order to make an image of the target or to determine its properties.The field of radar imaging has been developed, during the last fifty years, entirely within the engineering community. Fifty years ago many of the challenges were engineering ones: It was difficult to design equipment to transmit microwaves at the high powers necessary and to detect the very faint returning signals. These hardware problems, however, have generally been overcome, and the remaining challenges in the field are mainly mathematical: What waveforms should we transmit? Where should we position the antennas to obtain the information we want? How should we process the data to make high-resolution images? How can we detect and remove artifacts? Can we form images of targets hidden by foliage? Can we determine the material properties of a target? Any significant future progress in the field is possible only if such problems are analyzed mathematically, and it is essential for mathematicians to understand the basic problems in this field and to contribute to the field.The conference will bring all the major ideas and results in the field, provide a deeper understanding of the main open problems, and outline current directions in the field. The participants will include both established researchers and interested qualified newcomers, and special efforts will be made to include postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and traditionally underrepresented groups. The conference will allow participants to interact with each other and also with the principal lecturer, will promote interdisciplinary work and collaborations, will stimulate the regional research activity in an atmosphere conducive to establishing long term collaborations, and will also provide an interdisciplinary environment where mathematicians and researchers from other areas interact