Fall Semester 2024
Class meets at: 2:00 p.m.-2:50 p.m. MWF in 406C
Instructor: Dr. David Long long@ee.byu.edu 801-422-4383
Office: EB450C
Office Hours:Posted outside door. email for an appointment
Course Description: This survey course will cover various topics in Microwave Remote Sensing with emphasis on spaceborne remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans. The primary methods and applications of microwave remote sensing will be considered with both active (radar) and passive (radiometry) techniques covered. Some of the issues related to the design of spaceborne microwave sensors will be discussed along with radiative transfer theory. Students will individually research one topic in depth through the preparation of a research paper.
Course Objectives: Introduce the student to the techniques used in microwave remote sensing and enable them to perform high level design tradeoffs and analysis of such systems.
Prerequisites: Advanced calculus, introductory EM theory (e.g., ECEn 360), and signal processing (e.g., ECEn 380), or instructor's consent.
Text: (required) Ulaby and Long, Microwave Radar and Radiometric Remote Sensing, University of Michigan Press, 2014. This is a very good book (if I do say so myself). This one you will want to keep in your personal library. It is also available in E-form.
Instructor's Philosophy: I emphasize system-level design and analysis with a systems approach to engineering. My goal as your instructor is to help you develop intuition and real understanding of fundamental engineering principles and practices. While understanding the mechanics of using engineering concepts and techniques is, of course, critical, knowing when to apply a given technique can be even more important.
I feel the instructor's role is to expound upon the reading material and homework and to provide additional examples and explanations as needed. As a student it is your responsibility to read the reading assignments prior to coming to class, to actively participate in the class by listening and asking questions, and to complete the assignments and home work on schedule. All of these are designed to help you understand and apply the material. There is no "busy work". Tests are designed to evaluate your ability to apply what you have learned. Homework assignments are designed to reinforce what you have learned and provide practice using the material.
Grading:
Daily Quizes 1%
Mid-term Exam 20%
Analysis Report 25%
Oral presentation 5%
Research report 25%
Final Exam 24%
Total 100%
Analysis Report: Each class member will select one of several possible data sets from remote sensing system to analyze in detail. Class members will write a 10-15 page report presenting their findings and their experience analyzing this real data set. Note: English, format, etc. will count! The report should take the form of a journal paper being presented to mainline remote sensing journal such as IEEE TGARS. I strongly suggest the use of LaTeX for your reports.
Class presentation: Each class member will research and prepare a 15 min lecture on a topic related to the course and approved by the instructor. You will be graded by other class members and the instructor. Please negotiate your presentation date with the instructor.
Research Report: Each class member will research and prepare a 10-15 page research paper on a topic related to the course and approved by the instructor. The same topic may only be used for both the presentation and report with the instructor's permission. The reports should be tutorial in nature with other class members as the audience. Note: English will count! The first draft of the report will be edited by class members. Members of the class will be review and edit the report, make comments, and return the report to the author. The final version of the report (the one graded by the instructor) will be due on the day of the author's class presentation. Only the final version of the report will be graded.
Exams:
The mid-term
exam will be administered in class one day during the second
or third week of October as arranged with students in the class.
The final exam will be 2-5 pm Mon 16 Dec 2024 in CB406
as set by the University schedule. The final will be comprehensive. By
University policy you MUST take the exam on schedule.
Homework: Homework problems are optional and will not be graded. However, homework assignments will be good practice for the exams, which are based in part on the homework assignments.
Reading: Will be assigned in each class period for the next period. Source will be primarily from Ulaby and Long but may include handouts.
Personal Health Considerations: If you are ill and unable to take the exam on schedule contact your instructor before the close of the schedule exam period. Mental health concerns and stressful life events can affect students' academic performance and quality of life. BYU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS, 1500 WSC, 801-422-3035, caps.byu.edu) provides individual, couples, and group counseling, as well as stress management services. These services are confidential and are provided by the university at no cost for full-time students. For general information please visit https://caps.byu.edu; for more immediate concerns please visit http://help.byu.edu.
Students with disability: Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the University Accessibility Center (801-422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the UAC. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895, D-282 ASB.
Preventing Sexual Misconduct:As required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the university prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in its education programs or activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment—including sexual violence—committed by or against students, university employees, and visitors to campus. As outlined in university policy, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are considered forms of “Sexual Misconduct” prohibited by the university. University policy requires any university employee in a teaching, managerial, or supervisory role to report incidents of Sexual Misconduct that come to their attention through various forms including face-to-face conversation, a written class assignment or paper, class discussion, email, text, or social media post. If you encounter Sexual Misconduct, please contact the Title IX Coordinator at oordinator@byu.edu or 801-422-2130 or Ethics Point at https://titleix.byu.edu/report-concern or 1-888-238-1062 (24-hours). Additional information about Title IX and resources available to you can be found at titleix.byu.edu.
Students with disability: Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the University Accessibility Center (801-422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the UAC. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895, D-282 ASB.
Academic Honesty: The first injunction of the Honor Code is the call to "be honest." Students come to the university not only to improve their minds, gain knowledge, and develop skills that will assist them in their life's work, but also to build character. "President David O. McKay taught that character is the highest aim of education" (The Aims of a BYU Education, p.6). It is the purpose of the BYU Academic Honesty Policy to assist in fulfilling that aim. BYU students should seek to be totally honest in their dealings with others. They should complete their own work and be evaluated based upon that work. They should avoid academic dishonesty and misconduct in all its forms, including but not limited to plagiarism, fabrication or falsification, cheating, and other academic misconduct.
Inappropriate Use of Course Materials: All course materials (e.g., outlines, handouts, syllabi, exams, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, audio and video recordings, etc.) are proprietary. Students are prohibited from posting or selling any such course materials without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. To do so is a violation of the Brigham Young University Honor Code.
Plagiarism: Intentional plagiarism is a form of intellectual theft that violates widely recognized principles of academic integrity as well as the Honor Code. Such plagiarism may subject the student to appropriate disciplinary action administered through the university Honor Code Office, in addition to academic sanctions that may be applied by an instructor. Inadvertent plagiarism, which may not be a violation of the Honor Code, is nevertheless a form of intellectual carelessness that is unacceptable in the academic community. Plagiarism of any kind is completely contrary to the established practices of higher education where all members of the university are expected to acknowledge the original intellectual work of others that is included in their own work. In some cases, plagiarism may also involve violations of copyright law. Intentional Plagiarism-Intentional plagiarism is the deliberate act of representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one's own without providing proper attribution to the author through quotation, reference, or footnote. Inadvertent Plagiarism-Inadvertent plagiarism involves the inappropriate, but non-deliberate, use of another's words, ideas, or data without proper attribution. Inadvertent plagiarism usually results from an ignorant failure to follow established rules for documenting sources or from simply not being sufficiently careful in research and writing. Although not a violation of the Honor Code, inadvertent plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct for which an instructor can impose appropriate academic sanctions. Students who are in doubt as to whether they are providing proper attribution have the responsibility to consult with their instructor and obtain guidance. Examples of plagiarism include: Direct Plagiarism-The verbatim copying of an original source without acknowledging the source. Paraphrased Plagiarism-The paraphrasing, without acknowledgement, of ideas from another that the reader might mistake for the author's own. Plagiarism Mosaic-The borrowing of words, ideas, or data from an original source and blending this original material with one's own without acknowledging the source. Insufficient Acknowledgement-The partial or incomplete attribution of words, ideas, or data from an original source. Plagiarism may occur with respect to unpublished as well as published material. Copying another student's work and submitting it as one's own individual work without proper attribution is a serious form of plagiarism.
Respectful Environment: "Sadly, from time to time, we do hear reports of those who are at best insensitive and at worst insulting in their comments to and about others... We hear derogatory and sometimes even defamatory comments about those with different political, athletic, or ethnic views or experiences. Such behavior is completely out of place at BYU, and I enlist the aid of all to monitor carefully and, if necessary, correct any such that might occur here, however inadvertent or unintentional. "I worry particularly about demeaning comments made about the career or major choices of women or men either directly or about members of the BYU community generally. We must remember that personal agency is a fundamental principle and that none of us has the right or option to criticize the lawful choices of another." President Cecil O. Samuelson, Annual University Conference, August 24, 2010, "Occasionally, we ... hear reports that our female faculty feel disrespected, especially by students, for choosing to work at BYU, even though each one has been approved by the BYU Board of Trustees. Brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be. Not here. Not at a university that shares a constitution with the School of the Prophets." Vice President John S. Tanner, Annual University Conference, August 24, 2010
Last revised: 22 Jul 2024