Moeness Amin, PhD
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director of the Center for Advanced Communications | Villanova College of Engineering Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Moeness Amin, PhD, is an expert in the theory of signal and array processing with applications to radar, sonar and communications.
Media
Social
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Education
University of Colorado Boulder
PhD
University of Petroleum and Minerals
MSEE
Cairo University
BS
Select Accomplishments
2022 IEEE Picard Gold Medal in Radar Technologies and Applications
The IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications was established in 1999, in honor of Dennis J. Picard. Dr. Amin was recognized for his contributions to radar signal processing across a wide range of applications including through-the-wall imaging and health monitoring.
2017 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Advanced Defense Science and Technology
The Fulbright Distinguished Chair Awards comprise approximately 40 distinguished lecturing, research and lecturing/research awards that range from three to 12 month tenures. Dr. Amin’s Fulbright Distinguished Chair appointment is to the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Australia.
2016 Alexander von Humboldt Prize
The Alexander von Humboldt Prize is sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This international honor recognizes the lifetime achievements of researchers whose fundamental discoveries and new theories and insights have had a significant impact on their discipline, and who are “expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements" in the future. Dr. Amin will spend a period of six months from 2016 to 2019 at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
2016 IET Achievement Medal
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Achievement Medals are awarded to individuals who have made major and distinguished contributions in the various sectors of science, engineering and technology, covering energy, transport, manufacturing, information and communications and the built environment. Dr. Amin’s award reflects his outstanding achievements and seminal contributions to signal analysis and processing over the past three decades.
2014 IEEE Signal Processing Society Technical Achievement Award
This award, given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Signal Processing Society, honors a person who, over a period of years, has made outstanding technical contributions to theory and/or practice in technical areas within the scope of the Society. Dr. Amin’s award citation is for "fundamental contributions to signal processing algorithms for communications, satellite navigations and radar imaging."
2009 EURASP Individual Technical Achievement Award
The European Association of Signal Processing grants the Technical Achievement Award to a scientist who has made significant research contributions in Signal Processing Theory and Applications. Dr. Amin’s citation is for "contributions to radar imaging and interference mitigation in communications and navigation systems.”
Affiliations
- Member of the Board of the Proceedings for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Select Media Appearances
NextUp: The Philly Company Working on a Wearable Device to Detect COVID-19 Symptoms
Philadelphia Magazine online
2020-09-30
Director of the Center for Advanced Communications in Villanova’s College of Engineering Moeness Amin recently joined forces with RTM Vital Signs to develop an accurate, easy-to-use technology to monitor at-risk individuals, including seniors, for early signs of COVID-19 — before the infection progresses to a dangerous and potentially irreversible degree.
According to Amin, his team has expertise in analyzing and processing signals to gain intelligence, whether those signals come from ultrasound sensors, radar sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), or acoustic sensors like the one found in RTM’s latest device.
“Our objective is to analyze the signal and make sense of it,” he said. “The sensor measures all the markers — temperature, oxygen level, breathing rate, and heart rate. Then, through an app, the algorithm comes up with a risk index that will alert the person wearing the device, and if needed it can also alert the caretaker or doctor that this person has crossed a risk threshold and that it might be time for the person to get tested.”
COVID-19 Sensor Uses Tech Developed by Villanova Professor
KYW Newsradio radio
2020-09-24
A Villanova University engineering professor has developed technology for a sensor that can detect whether someone may have early symptoms of COVID-19.
Moeness Amin, a signal processing engineer, is director of the Villanova College of Engineering Center for Advanced Communications.
He came up with the algorithm, or mathematical process, to get the remote monitoring system to work.
The sensor, the size of a quarter, is worn on the outside of the trachea or neck area, and is connected by way of Bluetooth technology to a smart phone.
A COVID-19 sensor uses a small electronic device glued to the neck area where it can monitor the trachea for breathing.
He said it can yield critical data that medical professionals can use to detect the early symptoms of COVID-19.
New Tools Let Police See Inside Peoples' Homes
NPR - Marketplace radio
2015
"I talked to a guy who evaluated the range R and other devices for the Army research lab, his name is Moeness Amin, and he's a Professor of Engineering at Villanova. 'If you use very high resolution you can resolve the arms, the legs and maybe the torso, but the problem with high-resolution is that you have to use very high frequencies and high frequencies do not penetrate the wall.'"
X-Ray Vision is Here
PBS - NovaNext
2014-09-24
Another problem was accuracy. Moeness Amin, director of the Center for Advanced Communications at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, says proponents of through-wall imaging promised more than the technology could deliver. “They were very ambitious in terms of what the physics could actually allow,” he says. “Most assumptions from the lab were unfortunately invalid because the real world is very complicated. When a frequency goes through a wall it hits not only you but the chair, the ceiling, the filing cabinets, the interior walls. There is a lot of clutter and the radar hits all of this.”
Keeping the Elderly Safe with RADAR: Technology Could Help Track Breathing, Heart Rates and Accidents
The Daily Mail online
2014-05-09
In order to increase the safety and security of an elderly person living alone, researchers at Villanova University are examining the use of through-the-wall radar technology to detect falls and monitor the elderly in their individual living spaces.
Dr Moeness Amin, director of the Center for Advanced Communications in the College of Engineering, is the Principal Investigator for the project. His research focuses on various applications for radar imaging, including search and rescue, defense, and law enforcement.
"Radar is becoming faster, less expensive, more compact and more reliable, so people have started thinking about transitioning this technology into healthcare," says Dr. Amin.
New Technologies to Help Seniors Age in Place
The Wall Street Journal
2014-06-02
Urban radar has been used by the military to find and observe people hidden in buildings from a distance. The goal with the elderly is to detect a fall without disturbing them unless they have just fallen. "The whole idea is you cannot have visual access to inside," says Moeness Amin, director of the Center for Advanced Communications at Villanova University.
Who Will Watch You Fall? A Radar Detection Program for the Elderly
The Atlantic
2014-04-21
Dr. Moeness Amin is the director of the Center for Advanced Communications in the college of engineering at Villanova University. He was the lone academic representative at several NATO conferences on through-the-wall radar imaging. Amin’s research focuses on various applications for radar motion-detection technology, including search and rescue, military, and law enforcement such as robberies and hostage situations. Now it also includes using radar to identify when people fall in their homes.
Select Academic Articles
Sensing, Tracking, and Recognition of Macro–Micro Hand Gestures Using Interferometric MIMO Radar
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology LettersXiangrong Wang, Hengfeng Liu, Xianghua Wang, Victor C. Chen, Moeness G. Amin, Kaiquan Cai
2024
Radar Based Joint Human Activity and Agility Recognition via Multi Input Multi Task Learning
IEEE XploreEmre Kurtoğlu, Moeness G. Amin, Sevgi Z. Gurbuz
2024
Automatic Arm Motion Recognition Based on Radar Micro-Doppler Signature Envelopes
IEEE XploreZhengxin Zeng, Moeness G. Amin, Tao Shan
2020
