Math professor helps national defense
A CSU professor has made huge technological advancements that
are used for U.S. missile defense.
Aubrey Poore, a professor from the math department, was recently
recognized for his achievements.
Poore was named recipient of the CSU Research Foundation’s 2004
Technology Transfer Award. This award was formerly titled the
Researcher of the Year Award.
“The faculty in the math department is very pleased with the
recognition Aubrey has received,” said Simon Tavener, the math
department chair. “His success is an inspiration to all of us to
work hard and to accept the challenge to try something new.”
Poore researches and develops fast algorithms and complex
equations. His research has improved the speed and accuracy for
tracking military planes and other radar systems. He goes through
large amounts of data and extracts information.
Poore’s research is used for military defense, so the timeline
for processing information is very short. The technology also
allows researchers to differentiate false targets from real
targets. Poore’s work has lead to four patents and two pending
patents.
Poore has been on leave or working part time with the university
for the last three years. In addition to teaching at CSU, he also
heads a company called Numerica, a small business founded in 1996
to deal with the technology commercialization. The company often
works at highly classified levels. It is an independent
organization that works on government contracts. His son runs
Numerica.
Poore said the company is one of the best in the nation, and
this success is what drives him.
“One tends to do things that they truly enjoy and are devoted
to,” Poore said.
Rick Miranda, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, said
Poore is drawn to his work because of its intellectual challenge
and the exciting opportunity for tremendous applications. Miranda
used to be the mathematics department chair.
“It takes a certain amount of fortitude to work on something
like this and he has done it with success,” Miranda said.
Tavener said he was very impressed with Poore’s work when he
realized that Poore was not only inventing and implementing
algorithms based on his theoretical work, but also developing
software that is installed and widely used.
Poore, who is from Atlanta, has lived in Fort Collins since
1973. He attended Georgia Tech University and the California
Institute of Technology. He plans on returning to CSU full time in
the fall.
Poore said the award is also for the students.
“The students have made all this work, and working with them I
have learned a lot. It has really been the students that have made
all of this happen,” Poore said.
Poore looks forward to returning to the classroom full time
because he enjoys working with the students. Some of the former
students who helped with his research are now working at IBM in
Boulder.
“Aubrey had had an impressive number of students graduate with a
Ph.D. under his direction, and I am sure that his effective
mentoring of students is as much a symptom of his highly
professional attitude towards mathematics and research as a reason
for his success,” Tavener said.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.