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William W. Edmonson

ABSTRACT:
This talk will provide an overview of the research being performed at the Small Satellite Systems Research Center (S3RC) at NC A&T State University. The main focus of the center is to advance the capabilities, functionality, and scope of mission for small satellites. The objective is to enable these satellites to operate reliably and autonomously for earth observations or deep-space missions. As these satellites represent a new frontier in satellite technology, the area is opportune for developing new functions for this class of satellite system, for miniaturization of payload, and to develop new processes that govern their design and their capabilities. The two research thrusts that will be discussed is in the area of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and inter-satellite communication. Research on MBSE consists developing a methodology that provides a verifiable correct-through-construction design that integrates formal methods into the process. Inter-satellite communication research for small satellites consists of the development of the appropriate protocols at the PHY and DL Layer and the development of using visible light as a communication medium.

BIO:
William W. Edmonson received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NC State University in 1990. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC A&T State University. He is also Director of the Small Satellite Systems Research Center at NC &T whose research focuses on advancing the capabilities, functionality, and scope of mission for small satellites, particularly in the areas of inter-satellite communication and verifiable systems engineering. The objective is to enable these satellites to operate reliably and autonomously for earth observations or deep-space missions with little to no human interaction. Research thrusts at the Center are two-fold: to develop satellite systems and subsystems, and to develop a systems engineering methodology, processes and tools that is optimized for flexible and reconfigurable space systems with the goal of providing a reduced design, build, and launch life cycle for reliable small satellites. Additional research interests of Dr. Edmonson are in the areas of global optimization for digital signal processing/controls applications using interval analysis, computational intelligence and stochastic approximation optimization methods. He is a senior member of the IEEE, and a member of the IEEE P1788 Standards Committee on Interval Arithmetic. He is also a member of AIAA and Technical Chair of the AIAA Small Satellite Technical Committee. From 2010-19 he was the Langley Professor at the National Institute of Aerospace and from 2008-09, he was on an IPA assignment with NASA-Langley as lead systems engineers for GPS radio occultation instrument. Presently, he is collaborating with universities in Great Britain, Ghana, South Africa, Spain, Nigeria, and Portugal on human capacity development and research on small satellites development.

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