Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine January 2018 - 63

Maksimova et al.

Figure 3.

Left: Reflector antenna (70 m in diameter). Right: phased antenna array (800 m x 150 m in size) both designed with the use of SAT.

Starting in 1946, Yakov served at the Sevastopol Flak School.
In 1948, he joined the Artillery Radio Technical Academy (ARTA)
in Kharkiv. From then, until 1980, his life was connected with
this Academy. In 1964, Yakov defended his thesis for the Dr.Sci
degree, which was focused on the statistical antenna theory. He
received the academic title of Professor in antennas and propagation in 1966.
After his discharge from the Armed Forces in 1980, he
worked with the Kharkiv National University of radio Electronics
(KNURE).

STATISTICAL ANTENNA THEORY (SAT)
Prof. Shifrin has made fundamental contributions to a number of
areas of modern radio physics. He is a founder of a new scientific
direction - Statistical Antenna Theory (SAT). This theory is defined as the theory of antennas with random sources. For the first
time, investigating fully the properties and potentials of real antenna that are (in essence) radiating systems with random sources
was permitted. Of special importance is the application of SAT
to the analysis and assessment of possibilities of large reflector
antennas (RA) and phased antenna arrays (PAA). First, because of
the increased antenna sizes and complication of their design and
the randomness in antennas caused by internal and external factors, there are noticeable increases in the deterioration of antenna
characteristics. Second, large RA and PAA are expensive and their
cost could be as high as 50 to 90 percent of total cost of the radio
technical systems. It is very important, therefore, to be aware of
the reasons and character of randomness in them and their influence on antenna parameters, and to know how to decrease this
influence. Namely, the solution of those issues constitutes the essence of SAT.
JANUARY 2018

Professor Shifrin's investigations in the field of SAT covers
almost 55 years. His research started in the late fifties - early sixties. His monograph, Issues of Statistical Antenna Theory (1970),
gives a deep and systematic exposition of the foundation of SAT.
In 1971, his book was translated and published in the United States
and became, therefore, known around the world.
After 1970, a series of investigations by Prof. Shifrin and his
disciples was accomplished directed at developing the general fundamentals of SAT. Concurrently, significant attention was paid to
applications of this theory in practice. During that period, several
dozen research efforts were accomplished at the request of various
scientific-research institutions, aimed at finding the influence of
randomness on characteristics of radio technical systems they were
developing.
In general, one has every reason to attribute Shifrin's SAT
investigations as the cornerstones of general antenna theory and
practice. As experience has shown, designing large expensive antennas is unthinkable without using the latest knowledge of SAT,
its approaches, and results.

LONG DISTANCE TROPOSPHERIC RADIO WAVE
PROPAGATION (LDTP)
The second direction of the fundamental research of Prof. Shifrin and his disciples was concerned about the effects of the long
distance tropospheric radio wave propagation (LDTP). These
long-term investigations (1956-1962) had been accomplished
for 40 different path lengths and at 3 cm-, 10 cm-, and 1.5
m-wavebands, during different seasons of the year. The highquality RLSs of a country antiaircraft system were used in this
research that covered a wide range of issues related to the LDTP

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine January 2018