Michael Benson, a graduate student majoring in electrical engineering, has been selected to receive a 3-year fellowship from NASA from the Earth System Science Fellowship Program. The program supports the training of interdisciplinary scientists to support the study of the Earth as a system.

For his research, Mr. Benson plans to utilize SAR and its related imaging techniques to accomplish two related objectives. He explains, "First, I will use Michigan's existing coherent scattering model for vegetated stands to estimate variable vegetated parameters and to develop 3D model of an arbitrary vegetated stand (area) on the surface of the earth using these techniques. From these results, I will develop a technique to isolate the ground- bounce component of the SAR return signal, in effect defoliating the stand. From this isolated signal, differential InSAR will be utilized to monitor the planet's crustal movement."

Mr. Benson works with Prof. Kamal Sarabandi, the Rufus S. Teesdale Professor of Engineering, and is a member of the Radiation Laboratory.