Master Class: Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

Give time to the issues that matter most!
Sign up for the pre-conference master classes and dedicate more time to networking with peers and in-depth learning in a classroom environment. During the focus day you can expect:

• Smaller, classroom style sessions
• Detailed materials / live applications
• In-depth discussions with focus day leaders and fellow attendees

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Master-Class A: Miniature Broadband Antenna Designs Using Metamaterials

This course will cover several topics relating to small antennas for narrowband and ultrawideband applications. Particular emphasis will be on the use and integration of materials (ceramics, polymers, textures and mixtures of these), inductive and capacitive loading using lumped or distributed RF circuits for achieving specific gain, bandwidth and size objectives.

Design approaches and guidelines will be described in pursuing small antenna design using material and circuit combinations. Among them will be miniature spirals (from VHF and higher), GPS, SATCOM and printed antenna designs on textured dielectrics. During the second part of the workshop, antenna miniaturization using metamaterials for Army applications will be presented.

How you will benefit:

• Discover latest antenna technology developments
• Understand antenna design details and limitations on small antenna size limits What you will cover:
• Both narrowband and wideband elements
• Analysis methods, optimizations and small antenna performance limits

About the Session Leaders:

John L. Volakis, Ph.D., is the Roy and Lois Chope Chair Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Ohio State University. He has published more than 200 refereed journal articles and more than 250 conference papers on numerical and analytical techniques in electromagnetics. Dr. Volakis has also coauthored two books Dr. Volakis is the editor of Antenna Engineering Handbook (4th Edition) which is released this summer.

Dr. William "Keefe" Coburn has 25 years experience as an electronics engineer at the Army Research Laboratory (formerly the Harry Diamond Laboratories) primarily in the area of CEM for EMP coupling/hardening, HPM and target signatures. He currently is in the RF Electronics Division of the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate applying CEM tools for antenna design and analysis. Dr. Chris Fazi has been employed by the Army Research Lab (formerly the Harry Diamond Labs) since 1975. He has been involved with RF and microwave front-end designs, and is the PM for Frequency Control, an Army R&D program for ultra stable RF/microwave sources. He is particularly interested in communication links involving very low RF power.

11:15 AM - 2:15 PM Master-Class B: Phased Array Antennas for Radar and Communications

Lunch will be served

Learn more about phased array antenna theory, design practices and state-of-the-art technologies. Focus on practical issues, such as required design trade-offs, technology limitations, effects of errors, and characterization, alignment and calibration techniques. Review phase array theory, definitions, notation and concepts. Explore the applications of phased arrays, special techniques and designs and concrete examples.

How You Will Benefit:

• Examine the theory and motivation for phased arrays
• Master basic technologies and explore emerging technologies
• Know how the components are made into a system and how to get wide bandwidth out of a phased array What You Will Cover:
• Design, components and applications of phased arrays
• Error analysis
• Measurement, alignment, and calibration

About the Session Leader:

Mark Mitchell, Chief Engineer of Georgia Tech Research Institute's Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory, has more than 20 years experience in the field of phased array antennas. He has been part of the government team in the development of numerous phasedarray systems, including THAAD radar, GBR-P, SPY-3, and Cobra Judy Replacement S-Band and X-Band phased arrays. Mitchell has published more than 30 papers on phased array antennas and technologies.

2:30 PM - 5:30 PM Master-Class C: Advanced Space-Time Adaptive Processing

This workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in space-time adaptive processing (STAP). Beginning with STAP fundamentals, the discussion then progresses through numerous real-world implementation issues that currently confront system engineers. Finally, a thorough overview of current robust and knowledge-aided STAP methods will be detailed that hold the promise of realizing STAP’s true potential.

How you will benefit:

• Gain a working understanding of STAP
• Learn about STAP’s potential and limitations
• Receive an in-depth overview of the current State-of-the-art

About the Session Leader:

Dr. Joseph R. Guerci is a recognized leader in advanced sensor signal processing and STAP. He is the author of the popular book: “Space-Time Adaptive Processing for Radar”, Artech-House, 2003, as well as over 80 peer reviewed publications, two book chapters, and 8 US Patents. He was recently awarded the 2007 IEEE Warren D. White Award for “Excellence in Radar Adaptive Processing and Waveform Diversity”. He has over 23 years of experience in industrial, academic, and governmental capacities, including a recent 7 year term with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).