June 17, 2008 — Charles L. Weber, an expert in the design of radar and communications systems in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, has been appointed professor emeritus in recognition of his exceptional achievements and contributions to the field. He retired from his position as professor in May 2008.
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Charles "Chuck" Weber
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Weber has had a distinguished 44-year career at USC, specializing in spread-spectrum systems, signal acquisition and tracking, radar systems and blind equalization, areas that are close to Andrew Viterbi’s research expertise. Viterbi served on Weber’s Ph.D. committee at UCLA, where Weber earned his doctorate in 1964. Prior to that, Weber was a Hughes Fellow during his master’s degree work at USC.
He is the author of many technical publications and textbooks and developed several new courses that continue to be offered in the electrical engineering curriculum, said Alexander "Sandy" Sawchuk, chair of the Ming Hsieh Electrical Engineering-Systems Department. Of the publications that have resulted from his research, one, co-written with Professor R. A. Scholtz, was nominated for the Browder J. Thompson IEEE paper of the year award.
"Chuck is an expert in his field, published a textbook,
Elements of Detection and Signal Design, and has practiced in this field at Hughes Aircraft Company, Axiomatix Inc., and other companies," said Scholtz, Fred H. Cole Professor of Engineering in the Hsieh Electrical Engineering-Systems Department. "He has been a reliable and supportive colleague and a major contributor to the development of the teaching program in electrical engineering."
Through the years, Weber has worked on several projects for NASA and was a key contributor to the space shuttle's docking system.
In 1982, he became the founding director of USC’s Communication Sciences Institute. Seven years later, in 1989, he received the USC School of Engineering Service Award.
Weber is a life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and, in 1988, was selected as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Dayton, Ohio.
Sawchuk congratulated Weber on his contributions to the field, adding that the department “…looked forward to his new appointment…and continued involvement in academic life at USC."
