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2004 Silver Medal for Scientific/Engineering Achievement
2004 Silver Medal for Scientific/Engineering Achievement
Three Local Engineers Receive High Honors from U.S. Department
of Commerce
Three staff members of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration's (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication
Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, Colo., received a Silver Medal for
Scientific/Engineering Achievement from the U.S. Department of
Commerce at ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, November 9,
2004. They shared the award with a colleague from NTIA's Office of
Spectrum Management (OSM).
Electronics engineers Frank H. Sanders of NTIA/ITS, Jeffery A.
Wepman of NTIA/ITS, and Steven R. Engelking of NTIA/ITS, along with
Robert Sole of NTIA/OSM, received a group silver medal for
developing technology to assess the performance of Dynamic
Frequency Selection (DFS) devices. DFS is a new technology that may
make it possible for WiFi and other wireless communications systems
to share the 5 GHz portion of the spectrum currently occupied by
radars. This accomplishment supports the Commerce Department's
strategic objective to advance innovative spectrum sharing
technologies.
DFS devices listen for radar energy on their operational
frequencies and then jump to other frequencies where there are no
local radar signals, to avoid interference. However, there were no
testing systems in place that could verify proper operation of
emerging DFS devices. Sanders, Wepman, Engelking, and Sole
developed a testing system which replicates the most advanced
radars in the world. The testing system fires a series of radar
pulses at a DFS device, and then monitors the device to verify that
it stops transmitting when it is hit. The testing technology design
has been transferred to other agencies, including the Federal
Communications Commission, as well as private companies
domestically and abroad.
ITS is the research and engineering arm of NTIA. ITS performs
telecommunications research to support NTIA and Commerce Department
goals. NTIA serves as the principal adviser to the Executive branch
on domestic and international telecommunications and information
policy issues.