Our students, professors and partners are our best ambassadors
I am incredibly grateful to have been part of the SONDRA laboratory for the past three years. Specializing in RADAR applications, SONDRA has provided me with an environment rich in advanced research, particularly in electromagnetic modelling and radar imaging. These experiences have profoundly shaped my PhD journey, especially in the context of through-the-wall radar imaging. One of the highlights of my time at the laboratory was the opportunity to collaborate internationally. I spent two months at the National University of Singapore in November and December 2023, working on real-time applications and hardware systems closely aligned with my thesis. This invaluable experience enhanced my technical skills and broadened my perspective by engaging with leading experts in the field. Throughout these three years, SONDRA has enabled me to present my work at conferences worldwide, exchanging knowledge with other researchers and staying updated on the latest advancements. It is also a group of colleagues who create a supportive environment where you can always find help, encouragement and great moments. This sense of camaraderie has made the challenges of research much more rewarding.
None of this would have been possible without the laboratory’s support, mentorship, and resources. So one more time, thank you SONDRA, for your continuous support and being an essential part of my journey.
I am Steve Tyler, a graduate from Sri Lanka, and currently working on an inverse scattering problem in SAR images as a Ph.D. student at SONDRA/ONERA. I had the good fortune of joining SONDRA which is a well-equipped lab with a vibrant environment and with the abundant presence of brilliant pedagogic and administrative members who are well-integrated with the rest of the radar community. The members in SONDRA are very welcoming and open-minded when it comes to discussions on research and scientific exploration, and hence, you can find thesis and internship projects spanning from theoretical to very applied topics being posted all year round. Because of the affiliation between SONDRA and ONERA, I am able to collaborate closely with the Electromagnetism and Radar department (DEMR) in Palaiseau and get to visit the airborne SAR acquisition unit SETHI in Salon-de-Provence, where I also get to see the exciting drills of Patrouille de France.
I am Nathan Paillou, a Ph.D. student at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec. I obtained my engineering degree in Mathematics and Mechanics at ENSEIRB-MATMECA, in France. I chose to do my thesis in this laboratory for its Franco-Singaporean status, which facilitates international work compared to a solely French laboratory. Furthermore, the position on the CentraleSupelec campus is a real asset, from a professional point of view, for the contact with the other laboratories and the engineering school, and from a social point of view.
I am in the third year of my thesis, and I have been delighted by these first two years in this laboratory. First of all, the supervision is of high quality, both from a scientific and administrative point of view. I felt it even more during this difficult period of Covid-19. Then, life is pleasant, there are many trainees and Ph.D. students, both French and foreign, with whom I had excellent times, whether working on a joint subject or in my free time. The team spirit is also very present, the members of the team are available to help me when I have a question and are kind to newcomers. Finally, we can follow quality courses to train ourselves and give classes to students, which I found interesting.
For all these qualities, I advise anyone, French or foreign, to do a thesis in this laboratory, which combines work quality and quality of life.
I am J Agustin BARRACHINA, a PhD student at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec. I am an Electronical Engineer with focus on Signal Processing, graduated from ITBA, Argentina. I decided to do my PhD thesis abroad and after much research I decided to go to France not only because of its international prestige but also because the country offers great social and economic support for foreign students most countries lack. I am currently doing my 2 nd -year of PhD in SONDRA, a very stimulating place to investigate due to its level of excellence. Being there, I was greatly impressed by the atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship as everyone is very welcoming and friendly, which I personally consider as important as the PhD topic itself. SONDRA offered me the opportunity to learn a lot about French culture. I met people from all around the world as SONDRA has a fair amount of foreign students and devoted professors in its facilities. For all this and more, I encourage and recommend this experience for every French PhD student looking for academic prestige and also for every foreign student wishing to study abroad.
I am Bruno Mériaux, a 2nd-year PhD student at SONDRA/CentraleSupélec. After being graduated in 2017 from the Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay with a Master degree in Signal and Image Processing, I started my thesis in September 2017 on robust signal processing in MIMO systems. Given the established collaborations between CentraleSupélec and National University of Singapore (NUS), I had the opportunity, through SONDRA, to visit Professor Vincent Y.F. Tan of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering during 3 months. This collaboration provided me new skills for my thesis topic. Furthermore, it is very interesting to discover another way of researching in a different work environment. I would therefore recommend this experience to future students.
I am Thibault Taillade and I started my PhD at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec in December 2017 on signal processing for radar images. Thanks to the close relationship between SONDRA and NUS (National University of Singapore), I had the chance to stay 2 months in the Center for Remote Images, Sensing and Processing (CRISP), a NUS laboratory that shares with SONDRA the same concerns in remote sensing and radar imaging. In the scientific and cultural point of view, it was an interesting and rich experience that I recommend for student who wants to have an overseas experience and discover a new work environment.