Basic Research Funded Scientist Receives Electrical and Electronics Engineers Award

  • Published
  • By Erin Crawley
  • AFOSR Public Affairs (Quantech)
ARLINGTON, Va. --  An Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded professor at the University of New Mexico has received the John Kraus Antenna Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The IEEE presented the award to Dr. Carl Baum at its 2006 IEEE International Antennas Propagation Symposium held in Albuquerque, N.M.

Baum, a distinguished research professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at UNM, is considered the world's foremost authority on transient phenomena in electromagnetics.

During his research tenure Baum has developed various types of physical simulators for the nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Baum said these simulators operated in pulsed modes and were replicated around the world.

"This simulator research extended these ideas to radiate fast pulse led to ultra-wideband antenna concepts, most notably impulse radiating antennas (IRAs), which have various applications including weapons, radars, and communications," Baum said.

Currently several of Baum's basic research projects in ultra-band wideband antenna concepts are funded by AFOSR. One project deals with fundamental electromagnetic theory, which Baum describes as "an extension of the forward scattering theorem for lossless bodies." That research is significant for radar target recognition.

Baum's other AFOSR-funded project concerns an extension of the ultra-wideband antenna concepts to focusing in the near field.

"We are working with the biological researchers at Old Dominion University. They need fast, concentrated, intense electromagnetic fields for their anti-cancer research," said Baum.

Prior to his work with AFOSR, Baum was stationed at AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., from 1963 to 1971. He stayed on as a civil servant in the position of senior scientist until retiring during the summer of 2005.

As part of his basic research portfolio Dr. Arje Nachman, a program manager in the physics and electronics directorate at AFOSR, overseas Baum's current AFOSR funded work.

Nachman describes Baum as an asset to the Air Force.

"Doctor Carl Baum has been a productive researcher at Kirtland Air Force Base for decades. He is a remarkable combination of theorist and technician who can conceive of a putative antenna design and then proceed to bring it to fruition. His 'lecture notes' attest to this and are one of his greatest legacies."

Baum received the John Kraus Antenna Award from the Antennas and Propagation Society of IEEE for the development of novel and innovative ultra-wideband antenna concepts that have enabled a new area of electromagnetics. He shares the award with Drs. Everett Farr, owner of Farr Research Inc., Albuquerque, N.M., and D.V. Giri, owner of Pro-Tech, Berkeley, Calif. Farr Research produces ultra-wideband antennas as well as an antenna made for use by individuals. Pro-Tech conducts research in electromagnetic propagation, antenna analysis and microwave engineering.

Among his many honors and accomplishments, Baum is a fellow of IEEE and has published four books. AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program. As a vital component of the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFOSR supports Air Force's mission of control and maximum utilization of air and space. Many of the technological breakthroughs enjoyed by millions today, such as lasers, GPS, and the computer mouse trace their scientific roots to research first funded by AFOSR.