CAREER: Time-domain Forward and Inverse Scattering Techniques for Ultrawideband Remote Sensing

微波探地雷达可以探测地雷、定位地下管道、识别跑道地下缺陷。毫米波可以穿透不导电的墙壁和衣服，以及许多包装。基于毫米波的遥感系统可以探测违禁品、塑料炸药和陶瓷武器，同时提供良好的图像识别和分辨率。因为微波和毫米波也能更好地穿透灰尘、雾和烟雾，所以它们在战场场景、恐怖袭击反应和火灾救援行动中很有用。在这个项目中，我们将研究和开发新的时域反演技术，利用随机（无序）介质中超宽带（UWB）散射和传播的基本方面。超宽带遥感系统很有吸引力，因为它们利用了在较低频率（更多地穿透有损材料）和较高频率（更大的分辨率）下运行的优势，并且更不受大气和多径干扰的影响。新的成像和检测技术将利用时间反转合成反向传播来实现超分辨率、时域统计稳定性和超宽带信号在无序介质中的选择性聚焦。我们还将开发新的时域正演求解器，用于uwb波在随机介质中的传播。由此产生的前向解算器将允许模拟越来越逼真的遥感场景的虚拟场景，并具有更高的几何保真度和数值精度，从而允许更好地综合识别UWB弱散射机制，并提高逆散射算法的整体效率。上述研究目标与教育组成部分相结合，旨在为工程学生开发一个强大的跨学科计划。在本科阶段，它将涉及课程的修订和改进本科课程，并引入与上述研究目标相一致的本科早期研究经验。在研究生阶段，该项目将开发两门新的研究生课程，并将涉及该项目的各个方面。

Microwave ground penetrating radar can detect landmines, locate undergroundpipes and identify subsurface defects in runways. Millimeter-waves canpenetrate through non-conductive walls and clothing, and many packaging.Remote sensing systems based on millimeter waves allow detection ofcontraband, plastic explosives, and ceramic weapons, while providing goodimage identification and resolution. Because microwaves and mm-waves canalso better penetrate through dust, fog, and smoke, they are useful inbattlefield scenarios, terrorist attack responses, and fire rescueoperations.In this project, we will study and develop new time-domain inversiontechniques that exploit fundamental aspects of ultra-wideband (UWB)scattering and propagation in random (disordered) media. UWB remote sensingsystems are attractive because they take advantage of operation at bothlower (more penetration into lossy materials) and higher frequencies (largerresolution), and are more immune to both atmospheric and multipathinterference effects. The new imaging and detection techniques will utilizetime-reversal synthetic back-propagation to achieve super-resolution,time-domain statistical stability, and selective focusing of UWB signals indisordered media. We will also develop new time-domain forward solvers forUWB wave propagation in random media. The resulting forward solvers willallow the simulation of virtual scenes of increasingly realistic remotesensing scenarios and with increased geometric fidelity and numericalaccuracy, thus allowing for better synthetic discrimination of UWB weakscattering mechanisms and improved overall efficiency of inverse scatteringalgorithms.The above research objectives are integrated with an educational componentaimed at developing a strong interdisciplinary program for engineeringstudents. At the undergraduate level, it will involve the curricularrevision and improvement of undergraduate courses, and the introduction ofundergraduate early research experiences aligned with the above researchobjectives. At the graduate level, this project will develop two newgraduate courses, and will involve graduate students on all aspects of thisproject.