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Moise Solomon

"Since I'm a radio frequency expert rather than an antenna specialist, I had an outsider's perspective and that led to my research and development of a single-element, multi-mode rectangular patch antenna capable of forming a spatial null."

MITRE's commitment to transferring technology to our sponsors, customers and the general public is at the root of working in the public interest. One of the many responsibilities of the MITRE Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is assisting our staff in acquiring patents for their inventive work. Moise Solomon, a MITRE senior principal integrated electronics engineer, had the opportunity to apply for and receive a patent for his development of a new type of Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna.

"The patent I received was for a GPS antenna that is able to reject interference," explains Solomon. "Back in 1998 one of the primary problems with hand-held GPS field antennas was that they were vulnerable to jamming. The MITRE-sponsored research project I was working on at that time inspired me to look for a novel way to protect these GPS receivers.

"From an antenna engineering perspective, there was no obvious solution for protecting handheld receivers in a small form factor," continues Solomon. "Since I'm a radio frequency expert rather than an antenna specialist, I had an outsider's perspective and that led to my research and development of a single-element, multi-mode rectangular patch antenna capable of forming a spatial null. It was a fairly simple idea. The result—a small, low-cost, adaptive antenna— is capable of forming a steerable pattern null in the vicinity of the horizon where the jamming threat is the greatest.

"This work was part of a project that I was working on in 1998. Six months after I built the antenna, I applied for a patent through the TTO and the MITRE legal office. The patent process took about a year and a half and I received the patent in June 2001," he adds.

"The most important part of the patent process is that it protects the idea so that we can transition it to our customers and sponsors," continues Solomon. "Plus, building hardware prototypes and receiving patents recognizes MITRE's in-house technology and gives us greater credibility as a technical organization."

The patent application process is a coordinated effort among the TTO, the MITRE legal office and the MITRE contracts office. The TTO assists staff with the application paperwork and works with the Chief Engineer within each center, as well as the MITRE legal office to evaluate the potential commercial application of the idea and the need to provide protection for an idea in support of the sponsor.

"It was nice to have the opportunity to apply for a patent," adds Solomon. " I came to MITRE as a new grad in 1988 with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. Since joining MITRE I've had many opportunities to work on complex design and analyses projects—a lot of hands-on technical work. MITRE's culture of technical excellence helped motivate me to complete two masters degrees, one in Electrical Engineering and one from MIT's Sloan School in System Design and Management. I've also been able to continue to pursue new research under the MITRE research program."