Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine October 2017 - 60

One-On-One With Hugh Griffiths
Technical Activities Board (TAB) four times a year. I wouldn't call
that stressful, but it was very interesting to see how the IEEE works
at that level and to participate in the decision-making.
Lorenzo: What do you think about the current radar
technology? Is it a mature technology, or do you think there is
a lot to do?
Hugh: I'm sure some people regard radar as a mature technology,
but just a glance at radar conferences and journals shows that there
are plenty of new things happening. Some say we shouldn't use
the term 'radar,' because this reminds people of conventional, oldfashioned technology. Instead, we should speak of 'RF sensing.' I
have some sympathy for this view.
Lorenzo: Where do you think the future of radar will be?

Figure 4.

Prof. Griffiths receiving the IET A F Harvey Prize award, 2012.

ral). But at that time I was also working on a book Advances in Bistatic Radar with Nick Willis. I remember writing a sentence in the
introduction saying something to the effect that: 'the next decade is
going to be an exciting one for bistatic radar,' and I realized that if I
stayed in management I would not be able to play a very big part in
that. So I returned to UCL to a research chair (Figure 3C and 3D).
That illustrates a dilemma for the engineer: whether to go into
senior management roles, where the salaries are undoubtedly higher, or to stay in research, where the intellectual stimulation and
satisfaction are greater.
Lorenzo:... and also the contribution to the society. Not to
mention the excitement of receiving awards.

Hugh: I think large, conventional monostatic radars will tend to be
replaced by adaptive, intelligent radar networks. These are potentially more flexible, more robust, and less expensive than presentday approaches. They will involve the use of cognitive techniques
to manage them in an intelligent way. The spectrum congestion
problem will become ever more severe, so it will be necessary to
develop adaptive, spectrally-cleaner waveforms.
Lorenzo: What are the technologies to keep an eye on?
Hugh: Passive radar (of course), quantum radar, cognitive radar,
waveform diversity, imaging inside buildings.
Lorenzo: What's your most inspiring radar person?
Hugh: There are so many people that I admire, all for different
reasons. For sheer enthusiasm and inspiration, Bob Hill was unsurpassed, and we miss him greatly (Figure 5).

Hugh: The biggest tangible recognitions have been the IET A F
Harvey Research Prize (Figure 4) and the
IEEE Picard Medal. But more generally,
I hope that I have played some part in the
development of bistatic radar over the past
couple of decades. At radar conferences it's
now usual to have several sessions devoted
to bistatic radar and passive radar, so these
are now mainstream subjects.
Lorenzo: Besides paving the way for
passive radar research, you have also
been actively engaged with the IEEE.
What roles did you serve?
Hugh: I was lucky to become a member of
the Radar Systems Panel quite early in my
career (about 1987). I served on the AES
Board of Governors at various times since
2000, and as President of the AES Society
for 2012/13. That meant attending the IEEE
60

Figure 5.

A gathering hosted by Bob Hill in Annapolis MD, following the 2005 IEEE International Radar Conference, and including Chris Baker, Jacques Cilliers, Hugh Griffiths, Willie Nel, Don Sinnott, Merrill
Skolnik and Simon Watts.

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE

OCTOBER 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine October 2017