A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering has been honored with the position of topical associate editor for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.
Dr. Hanwen Yu is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping, working with Dr. Hyongki Lee. The editor appointment is for one year, and Yu said the organization reached out to him because of his previous work for the publication.
“I didn’t apply for the position,” Yu said. “The editor-in-chief reached out to me and asked me if I would like to be the topical associate editor. I think the reasons I was picked were for my research contributions to improve the phase unwrapping technique, a critical step for synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) remote sensing and my paper review service for journals in IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society.”
The appointment letter from Dr. Simon Yueh, the editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, noted Yu's high level of skill and precision as the reason for his selection.
“Your appointment, which was approved by the Vice President of Publications of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society on 13 June 2020, demonstrates the recognized competence, professionalism and esteem in which you are held by your peers,” Yueh wrote. “It is truly through the efforts of senior individuals like yourself who volunteer their time that our engineering standards and scientific advances are maintained.”
Yu has contributed 138 verified paper reviews on journals through July 2020. From November 2018 through June 2020, he served as the guest editor of the special section “InSAR in Remote Sensing” of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine, a sister journal to his new position. From March 2019 through May 2020, he served as the guest editor of the special section “InSAR Signal and Data Processing” of the Sensors. He was also elected as the IEEE Senior Member and the best reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing in 2019.
Yu first started at UH in January 2017, pointing to the work of Lee and the NCALM lab as the prime draws. His research focuses on InSAR signal processing and application, optimization model design, and machine learning. He earned his Bachelor's degree and doctorate in electronic engineering from Xidian University in China in 2007 and 2012, and his Master of Science in computer science from the University of Memphis.
“The NCALM lab at UH is famous for remote sensing research in the United States,” he said. “The outstanding InSAR remote sensing research achievements from Professor Hyongki Lee’s team is what initially attracted me to the university.”