2024 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Sanjeev Gunawardena

Citation: For contributions to the innovation, education,
standardization, and proliferation of satnav software-defined receiver tools and technology

Dr. Sanjeev Gunawardena is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in satnav software-defined radio (SDR) technology. He designed and developed nearly all of the satnav SDR RF front-ends, data collection systems, and FPGA-based real-time processing engines employed in Ohio University research and flight tests from 1999 to 2014. His collaborative research resulted in the first documented real-time implementation and flight test demonstration of GPS/INS deep integration.

Dr. Gunawardena was a key contributor to Northrop Grumman’s satnav SDRs program where he developed a highly flexible and power efficient IP block known as the GNSS Engine for Correlation (GenCor); used today as part of Northrop Grumman’s SERGEANT.

In 2012, Dr. Gunawardena developed a generic multiconstellation SDR that natively performs enhanced chipshape correlation processing; distributed in the form of a MATLAB toolbox known as ChameleonChips. This tool helped understand the underlying causes behind nominal GPS signal deformation and contributed towards the successful deployment of the operational CAT-1 LAAS. ChameleonChips was also the basis for, and resulted in, the successful ratification of the ION SDR Metadata Standard in 2021 – ION’s second official standard.

Dr. Gunawardena has been active in the DoD community as member of AFRL’s NTS-3 science team where he led developed prototype waveform generators that influenced NTS-3 payload architectural decisions, and other SDRs adopted to support advanced signals experiments.

Dr. Sanjeev Gunawardena has been with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) since 2014; serving as a research associate professor of electrical engineering since 2021. Since joining AFIT, he has graduated 15 MS students and is currently advising five PhD and eight MS students. He has authored or co-authored two book chapters, 19 journal articles, 20 peer-reviewed conference papers, and 57 conference papers. He received his MSEE and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University.