Atmospheric Radar Research Center
Encyclopedia
The Atmospheric Radar Research Center (ARRC) is an interdisciplinary research center of the University of Oklahoma
(OU) located at the National Weather Center
in Norman, Oklahoma
. The ARRC consists of 12 faculty members from the School of Meteorology (SoM), School of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE), and the School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science (CEES), over 30 graduate students, and several postdocs and staff. The ARRC is administered by the University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences
and the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering
.
The ARRC is leading several initiatives at OU related to weather radar
, including a comprehensive interdisciplinary educational program, radar hardware development through its Radar Innovation Laboratory (RIL), detailed studies of the complex interaction of precipitation
particles with radar signals by the initiation of its Radar Microphysics Laboratory (RML), and numerous relationships with private industry. The RIL is a modern facility for radar design, fabrication, and testing. It represents a commitment on the part of the University of Oklahoma
to radar hardware innovations. In 2008, with the impetus of creating a testbed for radar signal processing
and hardware research/development, the ARRC has led the system design and construction oversight of the OU-PRIME
(Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering) facility. The ARRC has also established a close collaboration with the National Severe Storms Laboratory
(NSSL) and Lockheed Martin
on research connected with the Multi-Mission Phased Array Radar (MPAR) program. Contributions are being made to many theoretical, hardware, and algorithmic fields of phased array research.
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
(OU) located at the National Weather Center
National Weather Center
The National Weather Center , located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, is a confederation of federal, state, and academic organizations that work together in partnership to improve understanding of events occurring in Earth's atmosphere over a wide range of time and space scales...
in Norman, Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
. The ARRC consists of 12 faculty members from the School of Meteorology (SoM), School of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE), and the School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science (CEES), over 30 graduate students, and several postdocs and staff. The ARRC is administered by the University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences
University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences
The College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma consists of the School of Meteorology and Department of Geography...
and the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering
University of Oklahoma College of Engineering
The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering in the engineering unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. It has an enrollment of 2,086 undergraduates and 2,193 graduate students,...
.
Areas of Focus
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
, including a comprehensive interdisciplinary educational program, radar hardware development through its Radar Innovation Laboratory (RIL), detailed studies of the complex interaction of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
particles with radar signals by the initiation of its Radar Microphysics Laboratory (RML), and numerous relationships with private industry. The RIL is a modern facility for radar design, fabrication, and testing. It represents a commitment on the part of the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
to radar hardware innovations. In 2008, with the impetus of creating a testbed for radar signal processing
Signal processing
Signal processing is an area of systems engineering, electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time...
and hardware research/development, the ARRC has led the system design and construction oversight of the OU-PRIME
OU-PRIME
OU-PRIME is an advanced Doppler weather radar. It was completed in January 2009 after a ten-month construction period and commissioned on April 4, 2009. It is operated by the Atmospheric Radar Research Center at the University of Oklahoma...
(Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering) facility. The ARRC has also established a close collaboration with the National Severe Storms Laboratory
National Severe Storms Laboratory
The National Severe Storms Laboratory is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather research laboratory located at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma....
(NSSL) and Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
on research connected with the Multi-Mission Phased Array Radar (MPAR) program. Contributions are being made to many theoretical, hardware, and algorithmic fields of phased array research.
Current ARRC Faculty Members and Expertise
- Dr. Michael Biggerstaff, Associate Professor (SoM), polarimetric radars, mobile radars, cloud physics and electrification, hurricanes, severe local storms, storm dynamics
- Dr. Boonleng Cheong, Research Scientist (ARRC), advanced signal & array processing, radar system design, clutter filtering and adaptive real-time processing
- Dr. Phillip Chilson, Associate Professor (SoM), Adjunct Associate Professor (ECE), atmospheric radar interferometry, upper-atmospheric physics, wind profiler technology, atmospheric dynamics
- Dr. Jerry Crain, Professor (ECE), phased array antennas and radar, radomes, microwave antennas, and electro-magnetic systems
- Dr. Yang Hong, Associate Professor (CEES), Radar Hydrology, Satellite Remote Sensing, Land/Surface & Hydrological Modeling, Natural Disaster Prediction, Artificial Intelligence, Hydrometeorology & Hydroclimatology, Sustainable Development
- Dr. Robert Palmer, Tommy C. Craighead Chair and Professor (SoM), Adjunct Professor (ECE), ARRC Director, atmospheric radar signal/array processingArray processingArray processing is signal processing of the outputs of an array of sensors to:* Enhance the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio compared to that of a single sensor using conventional or adaptive beamforming....
, imaging (phased array) radar design, radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
interferometryInterferometryInterferometry refers to a family of techniques in which electromagnetic waves are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves. An instrument used to interfere waves is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy,...
, clutterClutter (radar)Clutter is a term used for unwanted echoes in electronic systems, particularly in reference to radars. Such echoes are typically returned from ground, sea, rain, animals/insects, chaff and atmospheric turbulences, and can cause serious performance issues with radar systems.- Backscatter coefficient...
mitigation, radar system design - Dr. Alexander Ryzhkov, Adjunct Professor (SoM), CIMMS/NSSL, polarimetric radars, precipitation microphysics, detection of severe weather including tornados
- Dr. Sebastian Torres, Adjunct Assistant Professor (ECE), CIMMS/NSSL, radar signal processing, design of embedded DSP systems
- Dr. Mark Yeary, Associate Professor (ECE), ARRC Associate Director, radar signal processing, real-time hardware development, next-generation digital receiver design, and radar tracking algorithm development
- Dr. Tian-You Yu, Associate Professor (ECE), Adjunct Associate Professor (SoM), ARRC Associate Director, Radar signal and array processing, weather radar interferometry, knowledge-based algorithms for detection of severe weather
- Dr. Guifu Zhang, Associate Professor (SoM), Adjunct Associate Professor (ECE), remote sensing theory/technology/application, weather radar polarimetry and interferometry
- Dr. Yan Zhang, Assistant Professor (ECE), intelligent radio and radar sensing, RF-microwave system and instrumentation, random-noise radar, real-time system implementation on FPGA and DSP
Related links
- MeteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
- RadarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
- Severe weatherSevere weatherSevere weather phenomena are weather conditions that are hazardous to human life and property.- Examples Include :Severe weather can occur under a variety of situations, but three characteristics are generally needed: a temperature or moisture boundary, moisture, and , instability in the...
- University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...