ELE Master of Science Thesis Defense by Kenneth Bowers-ECE

Monday, April 28, 2025 at 12:00pm to 2:00pm

Topic:

Exploiting Depth Invariant Modes in a Bayes Factor Based Environmentally Aware Active Sonar Processor 

Abstract:

Active sonar detection strategies must sensibly exploit awareness of the undersea environment in order to optimally address critical system uncertainties and risks. Presented here is a Bayes Factor (BF) inference processor for high frequency broadband active sonar with short vertical arrays operating in shallow water ocean waveguides. The approach exploits critical information streams such as sea state and sound speed profiles driven by temperature and salinity processes that are often available on useful time scales.  Acoustic scattering from a depth uncertain scattering body of interest characterizes the compound alternative hypothesis and a decision is made against a composite null hypothesis of reverberation and ambient acoustic noise. The BF processor is shown to be a proper marginalization over a set of time-varying quadratic forms of array observations in the beam-delay space.  Performance bounds on the BF are illuminated by considering the focused nature of depth invariant modes at range. We illustrate BF inference on a few representative sound speed profiles. Performance in classic terms of probability of detection as a function of false alarm rate are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach. [This work supported by The Office of Naval Research.] 

Advisor(s): Dr. Paul J. Gendron, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Dartmouth 

Committee Members:
Dr. David A. Brown, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Dartmouth; Dr. Ana Doblas, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Dartmouth; Dr. Dayalan P. Kasilingam, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Dartmouth 

NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public. 

*For further information, please contact Dr. Paul J. Gendron

Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 213A 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Paul J Gendron
508.999.8510
pgendron@umassd.edu