Mahta Moghaddam
William M. Hogue Professorship in Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California
Director of New Research Initiatives, Viterbi School of Engineering
Head of Microwave Systems, Sensors, and Imaging Lab (MiXIL)
Director of USC Viterbi Center for Arid climate WAter REsearch (AWARE)
Office
634 Powell Hall of Engineering (PHE)
3737 Watt Way
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Tel: (213) 740-4712
Email: Mahta@usc.edu
Administrator
Luz Antunez-Castillo, MBA, EdD
Research Administrator
Ming Hsieh Department
of Electrical Engineering – Electrophysics
3737 Watt Way, PHE 506
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0271
Tel: (213) 740-4694
Fax: (213) 740-8677
Email: antunez@usc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, 1991.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Thesis Advisor: Weng Cho Chew.
Thesis Title: Forward and Inverse Scattering Problems in the Time Domain - M.S., Electrical Engineering, 1989.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Thesis Advisor: Weng Cho Chew
Thesis Title: Response of an Eccentric Dipole in Cylindrically Layered Media - B.S. with Highest Distinction, Electrical Engineering, 1986.
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Positions Held
- 1/2012 – present: Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
- 9/2009- 12/2011: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (and of Applied Physics), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
- 9/2006- 8/2009: Associate Professor (with tenure) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (and of Applied Physics), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
- 9/2003- 8/2006: Associate Professor (without tenure) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
- 1991-August 2003: Radar Science and Engineering Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. Last position title: Senior Engineer.
Awards, Honors, and Memberships
- National Academy of Engineering (NAE), For the development of physics-based computational algorithms for mapping of subsurface characteristics. 2019
- President of IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, 2019-2020
- IEEE-GRSS Distinguished Lecturer, 2017-present
- Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Monash University, Australia, November 2017.
- Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition, First place, for “Thermal View Monitoring” technology, 2017.
- NASA Honor Award: Outstanding Public Leadership Medal for “Outstanding Leadership in Advancement of Microwave Remote Sensing,” 2016.
- NASA Group Achievement Award: AirMOSS Implementation Team, PI Moghaddam (2016); AirMOSS is a NASA Earth Ventures Suborbital Mission, $25.8M funding, involving 5 universities and 7 government agencies and FFRDCs.
- NASA Group Achievement Award: Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Science Team (2016)
- NASA Group Achievement Award, SMAPVEX12, 2012
- University of Michigan Faculty Recognition Award, 2011.
- Outstanding Achievement Award, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan (2010-11 AY)
- Fellow, IEEE (2008)
- Education Excellence Award, College of Engineering, The University of Michigan (2009)
- Outstanding Section Professional Award, IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section (2009)
- Elected member of USNC-URSI (under the National Academies) Commission B, Commission F, Commission K
- NASA Certificate of Recognition: Dual low-frequency radar for soil moisture under vegetation and at-depth (2004)
- NASA Certificate of Recognition: Single-chip high-density FPGA implementation of the SAR azimuth prefilter (2003)
- NASA Certificate of Recognition: Dual frequency stacked-patch array for large aperture antenna feed (2004)
- Fellow of the Electromagnetics Academy (2001)
- NASA Certificate of Recognition: Cassini Program, Cassini Radar Team (1997)
- NASA Group Achievement Award: Cassini Program, Cassini Radar Team (1997)
- Member of Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu (Vice President, 1985-1986)
Student Awards and Honor
- Samuel Prager, NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022.
- Samuel Prager, 1st Prize, Student Paper Competition, IEEE Radar Conference, Oklahoma City, OK, Aprill 2018
- Pratik Shah, 3rd Prize, Student Paper Contest, Progress in Electromagnetics Research (PIERS) 2015, Prague, July 2015.
- Ruzbeh Akbar, 1st Prize, Best Poster, MicroRad Specialist Meeting on Microwave Radiometry for Remote Sensing of the Environment, 2014, Pasadena, CA.
- Ruzbeh Akbar, 3rd Prize, Student Paper Contest, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, July 2013.
- Xueyang Duan, 1st Prize, Student Paper Contest, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2011
- Ruzbeh Akbar, NASA Earth System Science Fellowship, 2010/2011, 2011/2012, 2012/2013.
- Jane Whitcomb, Best Paper-of-the-Year Award (2009) for the paper: Whitcomb, J., M. Moghaddam, K. McDonald, J. Kellndorfer, and E. Podest, “Mapping wetlands of Alaska from L-band SAR imagery,” C. J. Remote Sensing, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 54-72, February 2009
- Xueyang Duan, Student Paper Contest Finalist, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2010.
- Xueyang Duan, Student Paper Contest Finalist, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium, 2009.
- Mark Haynes, Student Paper Contest Finalist, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium, 2009
- Yuriy Gokhman, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, Graduate Student Fellowship, 2008-2009
- Mark Haynes, DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (BCRP), Predoctoral Fellowship, 2008-2011
- Line van Nieuwstadt, NASA Harriet Jenkins Graduate Student Fellowship (2006-2009)
- Nicole Campbell, GEM Graduate Fellowship (2005-2007)
- Mark Haynes, University of Michigan Regents Fellowship for Graduate studies (2006-2007)
- Mark Haynes, Michigan Space Grant Consortium Undergrad Fellowship, (2005-2006)
- Alireza Tabatabaeenejad, URSI Young Scientist Award, General Assembly of the International Union of Radio Science (2005).
Professional Activities and External Service
Government and Professional Agencies
- USNC-URSI (Under the US National Academies) Member-at-Large, 2018-2020
- NASA Advisory Council, Subcommittee on Earth Science, 2010-2013, 2014-2016
- National Academies Organizing Committee on Opportunities to Use Remote Sensing in Understanding Permafrost and Ecosystems: A Workshop, 2013
- Science Team, NASA Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) mission, 2013-present
- Science Team, NASA CYGNSS mission, selected in 2018
- Administrative Committee, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, 2011-2013, 2014-2016
- Administrative Committee, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, 2015-2017
- USNC-URSI representative on the Joint Meetings Committee, 2013-2017
- Chair, Special Awards Committee, IEEE-GRSS, 2015-2016
- Science Definition Team, NASA Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) mission, 2008-2013
- Chair, Algorithms Working Group, SMAP mission, 2008-2014
- Chair, Commission K, US National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI), 2015-2017 (Under U.S. National Academies)
- Alaska Satellite Facility, User Working Group, 2013-2016
- Vice-Chair, Commission K, US National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI), 2012-2014 (Under U.S. National Academies)
- Chair, SMAP 2nd Algorithms Workshop, held March 2010
- Science Team, Japanese Space Agency ALOS-2, 2013-present
- Co-Chair, SMAP Algorithms and Cal/Val Workshop, June 2009
- Steering Committee, Microwave Land Hydrology Workshop, October 2008
- Science Team, Japanese Earth Exploration Agency ALOS/PALSAR mission
- Co-Chair, NASA ESTO Radar Technology Panel, 2003
- Member, NASA Surface Water Working Group
- Member, NASA ESTO Radar/Radiometer Technology Working Group
- Chapter Chair, IEEE-GRS Southeastern Michigan, 2005-2012
- Thesis Opponent, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, May 2007
- Thesis Opponent, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, October 2014
- Thesis External Examiner, KAUST, January 2016
- Thesis External Examiner, University of Alberta, September 2016
- Proposal Evaluation
- Program Evaluator, Science Foundation Ireland, 2014
- Panelist, Science Foundation Ireland, 2017
Editorial Service
- Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, 2015-present (Min Magazine Redesign Award Honorable Mention, 2016)
- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2005-2013
- Guest Co-Editor, IEEE JSTARS, Special Issue on Microwave Remote Sensing for Land Hydrology Research and Applications, 2009
- Guest Editor, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, ICONIC07 Special Issue
- Associate Editor, J. Electromagnetics Waves and Applications, 2008-present
- IEEE Instrumentation and Measurements Society, Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2014
Other
- Invited Participant, National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) conference, Seeing the Future with Imaging Science, 2010
- Technical Advisory Board, WiLinx Corp. (2010-)
- Consultant, Virtual EM, Inc. (2010)
- Consultant, Intelligence Automation Inc., 2014-2015
- General Co-Chair, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium, July 2012, Chicago, IL
- The organizer of numerous conference sessions
- Chair/co-Chair of numerous conference sessions
- Proposal reviews, routinely
- Member of Technical Program Committees, multiple conferences
- Reviewer for:
- IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
- IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
- IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
- IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters
- IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters
- IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement Techniques
- IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems
- IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
- IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
- IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging
- Inverse Problems
- Medical Physics
- Radio Science
- Remote Sensing of Environment
- Remote Sensing
- Journal of Computational Physics
- International Journal of Biomedical Imaging
- Electronics Letters
- Tellus
- Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications
- Journal of the Optical Society of America
- International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
- Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing
- IJPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
- Journal of Optics
- Sensors
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Biogeochemistry
- Optics Express
Selected Internal University Service
- Director of New Research Initiatives, USC Viterbi School of Engineering (2017-)
- Vice Dean for Research, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, 2016-2017
- USC University Committee for Promotion and Tenure (2016-2017, 2017-2018)
- USC Stevens Tech Transfer Office, Faculty Advisory Committee, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
- USC University Research Committee (Chair), 2014-2015 Academic Year
- USC University Research Committee, 2015-2016 Academic Year
- USC University Committee on Academic Review, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016
- Viterbi School Level Research Space Committee, University of Southern California (USC), 2013-2016
- USC Viterbi School of Engineering Transformative Faculty Search Committee (Chair), 2015-2016
- USC Viterbi School of Engineering Transformative Faculty Search Committee, 2013-2014, 2014-2015
- Faculty Recruiting Committee Chair, Electrical Engineering – Electrophysics, USC, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015
- Faculty Recruiting Committee member, Electrical Engineering – Electrophysics, USC, 2017-2018
- Viterbi Effective Technology Transfer Committee, 2014-2015
- Executive Committee, member, Electrical Engineering – Electrophysics, USC, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2017-2018
- Ming Hsieh Institute Advisory Board, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, 2013-present
- Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Advisory Board Member, University of Southern California, 2012-2013, 2013-2014
- Faculty Search Committee, Electrical Engineering-Systems, University of Southern California (USC), 2011-2012
- Executive Committee Member, Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), The University of Michigan (U of M), 2010 – Dec 2011
- AOSS Chair Search Committee, U of M, 2010-2011
- Co-creator, Junior Faculty Mentoring Program in ECE division of EECS (under the NSF/ADVANCE Steps Towards Excellent Practices (STEP) at U of M), June 2009-present
- U of M College of Engineering (Dean’s Office) Female Faculty Liaison, 2010-2011
- Chair, EE Program Committee, U of M, 01/2007-2009
- ECE Chair Search Committee, 2007-2008
- Rackham Graduate School: Michigan Mentoring Initiative Committee (renamed “Mentoring Others Results in Excellence (MORE)”), 2007-2011
- ECE/EECS Undergraduate Academics Committee, 01/2010-05/2010
- EECS Curriculum Committee, 2004-2009
- College of Engineering Curriculum Committee, 01/2007-2009
- College of Engineering, Research Strategy Committee, 01/07-05/07
- Graduate Student Symposium, Judge, 11/2007
- EECS Ad-Hoc Committee for Undergraduate Advising, 2006-2007
- Graduate Admissions Committee, EECS U of M, 2003-2004
- Undergraduate Advisor, EE Program, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007
- Faculty Representative, EE Program Curriculum Committee, 2004-2005
- College Representative, multiple College of Engineering Faculty Candidate interviews
- Qualifying exams (~50)
- Ph.D. committees (~50)
Research Areas
- Microwave sensing of the environment
- Development of sensor systems and algorithms for high-resolution subsurface and subcanopy characterization of root-zone and subcanopy soil moisture, groundwater detection, resource exploration, detection of underground structures, planetary subsurface characterization, and permafrost characterization in the arctic
- Physics-based radar processing at low frequencies: integrating inverse scattering into traditional radar signal processing for subsurface buried object detection, subsurface structure characterization, river channel profile mapping
- Large-scale environmental mapping using satellite radar imagery and high-dimensional multi-modal analysis; application areas include quantifying the changes in wetlands and permafrost in northern high latitudes as an immediate result of global climate change
- Development of radar technologies for climate change, water cycle, and carbon cycle studies
- Opportunistic use of microwave signal spectrum for environmental monitoring
- Electromagnetics in medicine
- Nonlinear inverse scattering and imaging; theoretical and experimental development of microwave and mixed-mode imaging using physics-based models; nonlinear inverse scattering methods for super-resolution
- Microwave thermal therapy systems, adaptive high-power focused microwave ablation
- Real-time non-contact interoperative monitoring of thermal treatment via microwave imaging
- Smart energy-efficient sensor webs
- Sparse autonomous sensor networks for environmental monitoring, including in the arctic; multi-scale sensor networks for validation of satellite-derived estimates of environmental variables
Research Awards Current
- “CYGNSS Competed Science Team: Retrieval of Surface and Subsurface Soil Moisture Profiles Over Diverse Landscapes,” (2018-2021) (PI, NASA SMD)
- “Moisture Continuum Sensing Network,” (2017-2020) (Co-PI/Institutional PI, NASA Earth Science Technology Office)
- “The Airborne Interferometric Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Permafrost Dynamics Observatory,” (2017-2019) (Co-PI/Institutional PI, NASA ABoVE)
- “Estimation of Belowground Biomass and Permafrost Active Layer Properties Using Radar and Lidar Measurements,” (2017-2019) (Co-PI, NASA ABoVE)
- “Multi-Sensor Unmanned Aerial System Platform Including Synthetic Aperture Radar For High-Fidelity Measurement Of Vertically Resolved Soil Moisture Distribution And Its Coupling With Distributed Sensor Network Data,” (2017) (University PI, DoE SBIR Phase 1)
- “EARS: Enabling Opportunistic Environmental Monitoring with Non-Uniform Sampling and Processing Circuits,” (2016-2019) (Co-PI, NSF EARS)
- “Development of a wireless network of in-situ ground-penetrating radar sensing nodes to monitor subsurface soil moisture and groundwater levels in real-time,” (2016) (University PI, USGS Innovation Fund)
- “GNSS Reflectometer Instrument for Bistatic SAR (GRIBSAR) Measurements of Earth Science Parameters,” (2016-2018) (University PI/Lead, NASA SBIR Select)
- “Desert Subsurface Exploration of Aquifers (Desert-Sea): Pre-Project Study,” (2016-2017) (co-I, KISR)
- “Regional Mapping of Soil Conditions in Northern Alaska Permafrost Landscapes Using AirMOSS and Land Model Data Assimilation,” (2014-2018) (PI, NASA IDS)
- “SMAP Science Team: Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithms and Associated Multiscale Calibration and Validation,” (2013-2018) (PI, NASA SMD)
Previous
- “Land Information System for SMAP Tier-1 and AirMOSS Earth Venture-1 Decadal Survey Missions,” (2012-2017) (PI, NASA ESTO-AIST)
- “Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS),” (2010-2016) (PI, NASA Earth Ventures-1, Earth System Science Pathfinder Program)
- “An Inundated Wetlands ESDR,” (2008-2014) (Co-PI, lead for the boreal segment, NASA MEaSURES)
- “Assessment of Accuracy and Uncertainty of the Inundated Wetlands Earth System Data Record,” (2011-2016) (Co-PI, NASA-ESDR Uncertainty Analysis Program)
- “CIF: Large: Collaborative Research: Controlled Sensing, Distributed Signal Processing, And Decision-making In Networked Systems,” (2011-2016) (Co-I, NSF-CCF)
- “Collaborative research: Linking heterogeneity of above-ground and subsurface processes at canopy patch scales to ecosystem-level dynamics,” (2009-2014) (Co-I, NSF HS)
- “Optimal use of active/passive microwave observations at differing spatial and temporal scales to estimate root-zone soil moisture in dynamic, heterogeneous terrains,” (2009-2013) (Co-I, NASA/THP)
- “SMAP Science Definition Team – Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithms” (2009-2013) (PI, NASA SMD)
- “Novel Electromagnetic (Microwave) and Ultrasound Synergistic Technique for Treatment of Cancer,” (2010-2013) (PI, DoD-Army BCRP IDEA Award Collaborative Option)
- “High-Resolution Integrated Ultrasound and Microwave Imaging for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis,” (2008-2012) (PI, NSF CBET)
- “Ground Network Design and Dynamic Operation for Near-Real-Time Validation of Space-Borne Soil Moisture Measurements,” (2009-2012) (PI, NASA AIST)
- “Mapping Wetlands Dynamics for Reducing Uncertainties in the Boreal North American Carbon Budget,” (2008-2012) (PI, NASA CARBON)
- “Implementation of the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium (GLCWC) Wetland Mapping Protocol,” (2010-2013) (Co-PI, EPA, Great Lakes Initiative)
- “Sand Mapping Radar,” 2007-2011 (Co-I, KACST)
- “Noncontact River Cross Section Measurement with Radar,” 2005-2010 (PI, USGS)
- “Soil Moisture Smart Sensor Web using Data Assimilation and Optimal Control,” 2006-2009 (PI, NASA AIST)
- “Atmospheric Propagation for an X-band Venus Altimeter,” (2008) (co-PI, JPL/DRDF Spontaneous Concepts)
- “Dual-low-frequency Radar for Soil Moisture Under Vegetation Canopy and At-depth,” 2002-2005. (PI, NASA ESTO Instrument Incubator program)
- “Biomass and Wetlands Maps of the North American Boreal Region from SAR Imagery,” 2001-2005. (PI, NASA CARBON)
- JPL Technical Lead, “Application of Remote Sensing Technology to the Alameda Corridor, Los Angeles, CA.” 2001-2002. (Applications Program)
- “Fusion of Radar and Optical Remote Sensing Data: Estimating Inputs to Ecosystem Models,” 1997-2000. (PI, NASA TE)
- “Radar Scattering Inversion: Forested Areas,” 1994-96. (PI, NASA MPE)
- “Assessing Fire Susceptibility and Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery.” 2000-indefinite. Japanese Space Agency, PI, NASDA. No-cost basis data.
- “The Niono Irrigation Project and Malaria: A Computer Model,” 2002-2006. (Co-I. NIH/UCLA lead)
- “Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) On-Board Azimuth Pre-Filter Processor,” 2000-2002. (Co-I, NASA ATIP)
- “Multi-Gigabit/sec Optical Communication Transceiver for Earth Science,” 2001-2002.(Co-I, NASA AIST)
- “Assimilation of SAR-Derived Parameter Maps into BIOME-BGC Process Model Over BOREAS Study Area,” 1997-1999 (Co-I, NASA).
- “Estimation of Hydrological Parameters in Boreal Forest Using SAR Data,” 1993-96. (Co-I, NASA)
Current Graduate Students in Alphabetical Order
- Amir Azemati, Ph.D., started 08/14
- Kazem Bakian-Dogaheh, Ph.D. started 08/17 (co-advisor)
- James Campbell, Ph.D., started 08/14
- Richard Chen, Ph.D., started 08/12
- Wenjie Chen, Ph.D., started 08/17
- Aslan Etminan, Ph.D., started 08/15
- Negar Golestani, Ph.D., started 08/14
- Sam Prager, Ph.D., started 08/2015
Alumni
- Pan Liang, Ph.D. 12/04 (Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER))
- Preston Partridge, MS, 5/04 (Aerospace Corporation)
- Chih-Hao Kuo, Ph.D. 12/07 (Schlumberger-Doll Research)
- Alireza Tabatabaeenejad, Ph.D., 09/08 (Research Assistant Professor, USC)
- Line van Nieuwstadt, Ph.D.,12/10 (Michigan Tech Research Institute)
- Yuriy Goykhman, Ph.D., 09/11 (Virtual EM, Ann Arbor, MI)
- Xueyang Duan, Ph.D., 12/11 (Post-doc, USC)
- Mark Haynes, Ph.D., 12/11 (Post-doc, USC)
- Kubilay Savci, M.S., 6/13 (Navy, Turkey)
- Mariko Burgin, Ph.D., 12/13 (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
- Agnelo Silva, Ph.D., 06/2015 (Decagon Devices / METER Inc.)
- Ruzbeh Akbar, Ph.D., 01/2016 (Post-doc at MIT)
- Guanbo Chen, Ph.D., 12/2016 (Post-doc at USC)
- Pratik Shah, Ph.D., 12/17 (Post-doc at USC)
- Uday Khankhoje, post-doc till 8/2013 (Assistant Professor, IIT)
- Majid Albahkali, Ph.D., 08/18 (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST))
Post-Doctoral Fellows
- Maha Ali, 11/2006-05/2011
- John Stang (joint with Medical School), 09/2009-02/2012
- Alireza Tabatabaeenejad, 10/2008-02/2012
- Yuriy Goykhman, 9/2011-12/2011
- Mark Haynes, 5/2012-6/2013
- Xueyang Duan, 1/2012-5/2014
- Daniel Clewley, 6/2012-7/2014
- Uday Khankhoje, 8/2012-8/2013
- Pratik Shah, 2/2018-08/2018
- Agnelo Silva, 8/2015-2/2016
- Le Yang, 8/2015-7/2016
- Guanbo Chen, 3/2017-06/2019
Undergraduate Student Projects
- Amy Chiang
- Steven Clarkson
- Mark Haynes
- Song Liang
- Nathaniel Osborn
- Edwin Kek
- Lester Peh
- Junhui Loh
- Brian Foster
- Scott Rudolph
- Lai Wei
- Sam Prager
- Maksym Tsvetkov
- Abbas Husseini
- Sarena Kapai