Remote Sensing Instrument Design and Engineering for Earth Science Applications

Abstract:
The process of taking a theoretical concept and converting it to a working device is a discipline known as systems engineering. Good system engineering practices begin with the development in a field of expertise, such as microwave engineering, and applying it to satisfy a need.
In this talk, Prof. Siqueira will provide an overview of one such application: the need for quantifying forest structure and its role in the global carbon budget. This journey begins with some of the basic science behind carbon cycles and the use of remote sensing instrumentation and modeling for reducing the uncertainty in the carbon budget. Once a particular technology is settled upon, the next step is to translate the application requirements into a hardware system design, where the trade space of transmit power, thermal noise, antenna design, and other system parameters are taken into account and balanced in the creation of an implementable efficient design for addressing the needs of our Earth Sciences community.
Paul Siqueira is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and is a graduate of Michigan's Radiation Laboratory in 1996. Since graduating from Michigan, he has been a senior engineer at the Jet Propulsion's Radar Science and Engineering Section, a visiting scientist at the European Commission's Joint Research Center, and now a co-director of UMass' Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory, where he designs, develops and applies microwave remote sensing instruments for earth science applications. Prof. Siqueira teaches courses in microwave engineering, microwave metrology, and microwave systems engineering. He is a principal investigator for NASA's Terrestrial Ecology and Earth Science Technology programs, is a member of the Science Definition Team for NASA's next generation SAR (NISAR), a science advisor for JAXA's (Japanese Exploration Agency) ALOS-2 instrument, a Harvard Forest Bullard Fellowship recipient, and Chairman of the Alaska Satellite Facilities' User Working Group.