V. Chandrasekar (“Chandra”), PhD

Dr. Chandrasakar (Chandra) has extensive experience in radar system design, radar network development, DSP design, and RF communication systems and has made pioneering contributions in the area of polarimetric radar observations in the atmosphere. He has also contributed significantly to the areas of weather radar and its applications to atmospheric sciences. He is an avid experimentalist conducting special experiments to collect in-situ observations to verify the new techniques and technologies. He holds 31 patents in the field of radar system design, radar network development, DSP design, and RF communication systems, most of which have been licensed to commercial radar companies. Additionally, Chandra was instrumental in developing the “Esophageal Impedance Detection System” (US patents 8635053B2, US7818155B2), which received FDA approval and is the “gold standard,“ currently used by gastroenterologists to determine the suitability of patients for surgery.

Chandra has organized and participated in ten large multi-agency, national level experiments, including the Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS) program at CSU, DARPA NGI program, CSU-CHILL radar facility, the NASA TRMM mission, and the NASA GPM mission, and the CASA NSF Engineering research Center.

Broadly, Chandra’s research looks at dual-polarization technology, solid-state transmitters for weather radars, small X-band frequency radars, and polarimetric phases array radars. Through the extensive research done in all these areas, his lab has been able to make solid-state transmitters a mainstream and “industry accepted” concept for weather radar development. Further, his dual-polarization technologies have enabled weather radars to use higher attenuation X-band frequencies, allowing them to become physically smaller and less expensive. Currently, the lab is focusing on developing new technologies to combat issues related to AESA antennas and their ability to change their polarimetric characteristics for their potential incorporation into phased array weather radars.