Researchers at KU’s Radar Systems Laboratory Honored with Multiple Prestigious Awards and Recognitions

The Radar Systems Laboratory (RSL), one of six centers of research at KU’s Institute for Information Sciences (I2S), received a flurry of awards for the recent work of faculty and current and former students involving multiple radar-related research initiatives.

Faculty members Shannon Blunt and Patrick McCormick were recognized for career contributions in the field and one current and one former student received honors for research papers.

“These recognitions are a source of pride for KU and underscore the School of Engineering’s position as a worldwide leader in radar research,” said Dean of KU Engineering Mary Rezac. “Our faculty continue to tackle critical problems in this space and it’s evident that our students gain knowledge and experience that has them well-prepared for the next step in their career path.”

Shannon Blunt, RSL center director and the Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and computer science ECS, received the IEEE/AESS 2025 Warren D. White Award for “fundamental and practical contributions to radar waveform design for advanced radar systems.” The award recognizes a radar engineer for outstanding achievements due to a major technical advance (or series of advances) in the art of radar engineering.

“It was a very pleasant surprise to learn that KU had essentially swept the AESS radar awards this year,” Blunt said. “I don’t believe that has ever happened in the history of these awards. While I’m obviously deeply honored on a personal level, it is really a team effort and so much of the credit goes to the outstanding researchers and students in RSL.”

Blunt was also recently selected as a Fellow of the Military Sensing Symposia (MSS) for “contributions to national defense and civilian applications of radar waveform diversity and design.” As part of this designation, he will also be recognized at the MSS Tri-Service Radar symposium this June.

Patrick McCormick, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and scientist at I2S, won the IEEE/AESS Fred Nathanson Memorial “Young Radar Engineer” Award for “advancements in waveform design and algorithms for radar and communications spectrum sharing.” The award provides international recognition for outstanding contributions to the radar art by individuals younger than 40 years old.

Christian Jones, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on “Robust and Efficient Structure-Based Radar Receive Processing” in December 2023, received the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society’s (AESS) Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award. That award recognizes an outstanding doctoral dissertation in the Field of Interest of AESS and is predominantly represented by radar research. Its purpose is to grant international recognition for the most outstanding doctoral dissertation by an IEEE/AESS member.

Blunt, McCormick and Jones will receive their awards at the IEEE International Radar Conference in Atlanta in May.

Daniel Herr, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in October 2024 and now works at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, received the Best Poster Award for his 2024 paper on the “Analysis of Pulse Compression Effects for Combat Lancer 2022.” Herr will also be recognized for this achievement at the MSS Tri-Service Radar Symposium in Tucson, Arizona, in June.

RSL conducts research in radar and other electromagnetic/acoustic sensing problems, including advanced system concepts, radar image formation, adaptive radar signal processing, multi-function systems, real-time/cognitive sensing, radar waveform diversity and design, and radar modelling and simulation. Many RSL innovations have been incorporated into operational radar and sonar systems.