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Probal Sanyal and his
wife Sunanda on the city wall of Xian, China in November 2006. |
Seasoned Traveler Calls Central New York Home
Probal Sanyal
March 2007
An explorer at heart, Probal Sanyal, an employee at MITRE's Rome,
New York, site, has a love of learning new things that is evident
in his research work and his travels around the world.
Sanyal, a signal processing engineer, first came to MITRE in 1990
and has spent his entire MITRE career at the Rome site. "My job's
focus is engineering research and analysis of various—mostly
military—systems," he says. "In this area, the products we
deliver are mainly reports and briefings. Since there is an emphasis
on research, we often publish and present papers at conferences."
He continues, "Over the years, I have worked on a variety of projects.
The very first one I worked on was missile defense. Later I supported
a non-cooperative target identification project." Other radio and
radar projects followed. "I was on a project for the Speakeasy radio,
which I thought of as the 'United Nations radio,' since the received
transmission may be in French but you could listen to it in English,"
he says with a laugh. "Of course, rather than French and English,
they were the different radio protocols used by the Army, Air Force,
and others."
A Focus on Research
Many of the projects MITRE's Rome site supports are research-oriented
ones, often sponsored by the Air Force. "I think one of the benefits
to working off-site from the main campuses is that we have more
time to devote to our research work," explains Sanyal. "Plus, I
feel fortunate that many of our projects are on the cutting edge.
It is a semi-academic atmosphere where we have the time and freedom
to think deeply about the problems and the possible solutions. And
we have all the latest tools, computers, and software necessary
to do our job."
MITRE's Rome, New York, site
Established in 1978, MITRE's Rome, New York, site was
originally created to support the former Rome Air Development
Center. The eight MITRE staff currently at the site
support the Air Force Research Laboratories in a number
of different research areas. The site also participates
in a number of research initiatives and short duration
technology studies sponsored by MITRE, the Air Force's
Electronic Systems Center, and DARPA. |
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Much of Sanyal's recent work focuses on developing new techniques
for detecting moving surface targets—such as trucks, ships,
and other vehicles—using radar. "We have been using real radar data
and have filed for a patent on a new technique. Last December, I
had the opportunity to present a paper on MITRE's work at a conference
in Bangalore, India, and I'm looking forward to presenting more
papers at other international locations."
Having worked in the non-profit sector prior to coming to MITRE,
Sanyal knew MITRE had an excellent technical reputation and had
used MITRE documents in his work. "I have found that not everyone
knows about MITRE but those who do have a high opinion of us. It
feels good to know that I work for a well-respected company," he
says. Plus, he's quick to point out another benefit to working at
MITRE. "I think that because of our special status, many other companies
are willing to let us be privy to some of their novel technical
ideas before they become public knowledge."
An International Traveler
Originally from India, Sanyal and his wife enjoy living in Syracuse,
New York, which is approximately 45 miles from his office. "I have
lived in Syracuse for the past 30 years. The commute to Rome is
close to an hour one-way but I don't mind the drive, most of which
is on the New York Thruway," he says. "Syracuse is at the very heart
of beautiful central New York. We have many other Indians living
in this area, and a wide variety of cultural and religious activities
are available." He also considers the relatively close proximity
to several major cities on the east coast a plus.
From their home base in Syracuse, Sanyal and his wife have traveled
extensively. "One of our hobbies is traveling, and working at MITRE
has allowed us to pursue this hobby because my work usually allows
me to take time off at the times that suit me," he says. "Over the
years, we have been to many places. We have gone back to India about
a dozen times and have seen the Taj Mahal. We have been to London,
Paris, Amsterdam, and many other large European cities. We have
been to the Vatican, and we saw Prague just before Czechoslovakia
broke up into two parts. We have seen the Parthenon in Athens and
have been to Corinth, where St. Paul preached. We have been to Petra
in Jordan. We dipped our toes in the waters of the Dead Sea. We
have been to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Great Barrier Reef off
the coast of Australia, and to Rio in Brazil. And last fall, we
were climbing the Great Wall north of Beijing in China."
The Sanyals hope there are many more trips in their future. "There
are so many places we have not been to yet but still hope to visit,"
he says.
—by Kay M. Upham
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