Dr. David Luong received his 2023 Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award at the 2024 IEEE Radar Conference, in Denver, Colorado.
Congratulations to Dr. David Luong, a former PhD student now post-doc on being awarded the best dissertation award by the IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems (AES) Society for his thesis titled “Quantum Radar Signal Processing.”
With humility and gratitude, Dr. David Luong summarized his path to success: His research in quantum radar, involving random processes, mirrors the randomness that led to his 2023 Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award. Initially trained as a classical musician, he unexpectedly chose to study physics, shocking everyone. After earning a master’s degree in quantum information, a friend’s forwarded email led to a position at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), transforming him into an engineer. His DRDC supervisor, Dr. Bhashyam Balaji, secured him a PhD spot under Prof. Sreeraman Rajan at Carleton University. This leap resulted in pioneering work in quantum radar signal processing, earning him prestigious awards like the Governor General’s Gold Medal. Dr. Luong credits his success to the support of his family, supervisors, friends, and collaborators, who deserve the accolades. Winning the Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award is an honor, but it’s the ensemble cast of his journey that made it possible.
Read his story in his own words here.