New Faculty Spotlight: Ralf Birken
Ralf Birken was appointed Research Assistant Professor after serving as a Senior Research Scientist and collaborating with Profs. Ming Wang and Sara Wadia-Fascetti on the VOTERS Center. Dr. Birken has over thirteen years of research and engineering experience in near-surface geophysical mapping focusing on the development of efficient non-invasive electromagnetic (GPR and EMI) subsurface imaging array systems and their applications. Before joining Northeastern University, Dr. Birken gained valuable experience in industry as Chief Scientist and Vice-President of Research and Development for Witten Technologies, Inc., which provided him with a unique perspective needed for the VOTERS project, in that it is housed in a university environment but requires the development and fabrication of sensors and sensing systems for further commercialization. Dr. Birken completed a postdoctoral research appointment with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, working on acquisition, processing, and visualization of 4D radar data sets. Dr. Birken earned a M.S. in Geophysics in 1992 at the University of Cologne in Germany and a Ph.D. in Geological and Geophysical Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1997. He holds several U.S. patents, as well as being an active member of the world-wide geophysical community. Dr. Birken has taken on an active advisory role for several graduate students within the VOTERS Center, including several on interdisciplinary projects.