Dr. Carl Edward Baum’s Life and Legacy
D. V. Giri (1), F. M. Tesche (2) and W. D. Prather (3)
(1) Department of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Pro-Tech, 11-C Orchard Court, Alamo, CA 94507-1541; www.dvgiri.com
(2) Department of ECE, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0915
(3) Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117
In this paper we wish to trace the life and legacy of this iconic researcher and thinker. In
a career that spanned five decades, this remarkably creative engineer introduced
innumerable new concepts in mathematics, electromagnetic theory and system design,
many of which remain the standards of excellence today. From his earliest designs in
EMP sensors and simulators to the latest developments in high-power microwave and
ultra-wideband antenna and system design, Dr. Carl Baum’s research has remained ever
on the forefront of technology. His advances in EM theory have left an indelible mark
and a lasting legacy on the technical world and have led to much of what we do today in
EMP, HPM, SEM, Topology and Target ID.
His scientific contributions were prodigious. He has written innumerable technical notes,
articles, books, and presentations and was the editor of the Note Series that has published
state-of-the-art research results for the past 45 years. He received the Richard R.
Stoddart award of the IEEE EMC Society (1984), and the Harry Diamond Memorial
Award (1987), the AFSC Harold Brown Award (1990), and the Air Force Basic Research
Award (Honorable Mention) in 1999. In addition, he has received 5 Best Paper Awards
from the AMEREM/EUROEM Awards Committee, and he and his research team were
honored as an AFOSR Star Team for 2000-2002 and received the 1st annual R. Earl Good
Award from AFRL (2004) for their work in target identification. He was named an
IEEE Fellow in 1984, an EMP Fellow in 1986, and the first Air Force Research
Laboratory Fellow in 1996, but the honors that meant the most to him came in July of
2004 when he was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering by Otto von
Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany during EUROEM 2004 and received a
special honor from his colleagues in Russia for his lifetime of achievements. He received
the IEEE John Kraus Antenna Award (2006) and also the Electromagnetics Award from
IEEE (2007). He was a member of Commissions A, B, & E of the U.S. National
Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) and established the
SUMMA Foundation which sponsors various electromagnetics-related activities
including scientific conferences, publications, short courses, fellowships, and awards. He
has led EMP short courses and HPE workshops around the globe. Dr. Baum was an
active organizer of scientific conferences and workshops that bring together researchers
from all over the United States and the world to share the latest in electromagnetic
research.
This non-technical presentation (not showing Maxwell’s equations) will include a
collection of his groundbreaking contributions in electromagnetics over the years and
hopefully, will serve as a backdrop for the remainder of the papers in this very special
session in memory and honor of Dr. Carl E. Baum.
Dr. D. V. Giri
Dept. of ECE, Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, & Pro-Tech, Alamo, CA 94507
Dr. F. M. Tesche
Dept. of ECE, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0915
and
Mr. William Prather
AFRL, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117
Presented at a Special Session (S-U.14) In Memory of Dr. Carl E. Baum
2011 IEEE AP-S/URSI Symposium and Meeting
Spokane, WA
3- 8 July 2011
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2
2010
Circa 1945
Circa 1960
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NEMP Simulators (3 basic types)
EM Sensors ( Fields, Currents etc.)
Lightning Research
The Singularity Expansion Method - SEM
BLT Equation (Baum, Liu, Tesche) aka (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato)
P X M Antennas
High-Power Narrowband sources and antennas (Mark N PHASER)
Moderate band sources and antennas (MATRIX)
Hyperband Sources and antennas (IRAs)
Applications such as Target ID, buried object detection etc.,
EM Topology ; utility in coupling to complex objects
Short courses EMP 201, Technical workshops in many countries
Most recently HPE 201 in Switzerland - 2009
Visited and lectured in Beijing in Oct 2010.
 His Giant Footsteps have become Pathways for many !
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• 1970 – AF R&D Award
• 1984 – Richard Stoddard Award (IEEE)
• 1984– IEEE Fellow
• 1987 – Harry Diamond Award
• SUMMA EMP Fellow
• 1996 – AFRL Fellow
• 2004 – National Academy of Engineers
• 2004 – Honorary Doctorate – Magdeburg
• 2006 - IEEE John Kraus Antenna Award
• 2007 IEEE Electromagnetics Award f
* Donated his monetary awards
for scientific research
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After serving in the United States Air Force for 42
years as both an officer and a civilian scientist,
Dr. Baum retired from the government in 2005
and
Continued his work as a Distinguished Professor of
Electrical Engineering at the University of New
Mexico.
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An idea generator with a duty cycle of unity !
enormously compelling ideas
Had informed opinion about many topics
You heard him before you see him
>> sound can travel faster than light?
Talking to him was like getting a cup of water from a fire hydrant
You may not have him on your side, but you did not want him on the
opposite side
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a singular man !
had no patience for nuances or incompetence
did not like beaurocracy
stood out in a crowd!
Spreads his knowledge, not for profit, but as a prophet!
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C. D. Taylor & D. V. Giri
HPM SYSTEMS and EFFECTS
A Summa Book
Book Chapter by D. V. Giri
NEMP Radiating Antenna
edited by J.D.Taylor
Taylor & Francis Publisher
CRC Press
1994
1994
HPEM Radiators by
D. V. Giri
Electromagnetics Series
edited by C. E. Baum
Harvard University Press
August-September 2004
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He was a member of Commissions A, B, & E of the USNC/URSI
Established the SUMMA Foundation which sponsors various
electromagnetics-related activities including scientific conferences,
publications, short courses, fellowships, and awards.
He has led EMP short courses and HPE workshops around the globe.
Dr. Baum was an active organizer of scientific conferences and
Technical Workshops researchers from all over the United States
and the world to share the latest in electromagnetic research.
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This is a German noun which is put
together from 4 single nouns:
Abschirmung
Zerstörung
Durchfuehrung
Draht
(Shielding)
(Destruction)
(Lead through)
(Wire)
Shielding is destroyed if one conducts a
wire through an aperture from outside to
the shielded room.
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Design of an airborne platform for transient or
broadband CW field measurement (F 106Baircraft)
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Design of a high-voltage, high-frequency inductors
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Design of high-voltage, high-frequency capacitors
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DISCUS
DIstributed Source Conducting medium Underground Simulator
Surface Burst >> System in source region
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How do you measure radiated field 100s of meters in air from
a pulse-radiating antenna on ground?
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Install a field sensor on an aircraft
Electric or magnetic sensor?
Calculation of fields for comparison
Sensor location on the aircraft?
Error estimation
Design (EM, aerodynamic, flight
constraints etc)
 general aircraft
 F 106 B aircraft-specific
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Conventional Wisdom
Inductance = Magnetic flux /current
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Torroidal Inductor:
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•no field outside the torroid
Solenoidal Inductor:
•Terminals are too close to
each other, unsuitable for highvoltages
• high-magnetic fileds/ large magnetic
•high stray capacitance
C
dipole moment
• excessive interfering magnetic fields
• good high-voltage standoff
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• N turns
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• C eff = C + (C/N)
~C
•Field containing , but not
suitable for high voltage ,
high-frequency
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New Design:
• about (1/4) of torroidal inductance
for same geometry and turns
• Diagonally opposite terminals, highvoltages/currents posssible
• C eff = ( C / (N/2) ) + ( C /(N/2) )
= 4 C/ N
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Look Ma...
<<< C
• Built and used them
No fields ; low capacitance ; high currents
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Problem with Capacitors (peaking circuit of Marx pulsers for NEMP)
As you increase the frequency, nature of their construction resulted in open-circuit
resonances
ENTER Carl...
SYMMETRY ... SYMMETRY ... SYMMETRY
Look at a Capacitor as a system with internal characteristics that support symmetric
and anti-symmetric current and charge modes
◦ maximize symmetry ( >>> eliminate certain modes)
◦ lossy foils
◦ short transit times
◦ multiple tabs for outputs
Dihedral D2d Capacitor
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EMP Testing of underground objects
HF part with conducting medium
on top of earth surface
LF
LF
AIR
EARTH
Buried
transmission
line rods
Buried
transmission
line rods
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Proof of Concept Test Cell
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Experimental Data from DISCUS
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~ 70 kV/m e-field at 0.5 m
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The exact shape or geometry of an object is unimportant
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Shapes can be morphed by stretching, compressing & twisting
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Cutting and joining are prohibited
Photograph from: The Shapes of Space by G. P. Collins, Scientific American, pp 94-103, Scientific American, July 2004
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Carl enjoyed playing the piano and creating his own
musical compositions, many of which have been
heard at the biennial AMEREM and EUROEM
conferences.
His compositions can also be heard at one of the
many churches in Albuquerque that host the annual
concerts of the Albuquerque Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus,
and even at his own church where he used to be the
choir director. Twenty-three of these compositions
have been recorded.
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“ Many HEMP Simulators were also built in Western Europe
with Britain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden,
Switzerland and Italy being the major ones. Besides my own
involvement, great credit is due to D. V. Giri (my alter ego) for
many of the detailed calculations, and working with U.S.
Pulser manufacturers“
Reminiscences of High-Power Electromagnetics, by Carl Baum
IEEE EMC Transactions, March 2007- 50th Annivaersary of IEEE EMC Society
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It is not about the destination,
all about the Journey.....
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