Jonathan Makela

Jonathan Makela is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, part of The Grainger College of Engineering. He earned his B.S. (1999) and Ph.D. (2003) in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. After postdoctoral research at the Naval Research Laboratory (2002-2004), he joined the UIUC faculty in 2004. His research focuses on multi-technique remote sensing of Earth's upper atmosphere, including ionospheric dynamics, space weather, and instrument development for ground/satellite-based platforms.

• Key Research:
  • Ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms
  • Equatorial and mid-latitude ionospheric irregularities
  • Optical and radio remote sensing systems
• Awards:
  • 2011 Mac Van Valkenburg Teaching Award
  • 2008 Zeldovich Medal (COSPAR/RAS)
  • NSF CAREER Award (2007-2012)
• Labs/Networks:
  • MANGO optical network
  • ICON mission collaboration
  • Global sensing infrastructure development