Engineering student tests radar technology to jointly benefit Weber State, Hill Air Force Base
OGDEN, Utah — A graduate student is using his engineering know-how to develop and test technology that could soon be used by researchers at Weber State University and military personnel at Hill Air Force Base.
Gavin Messerly earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at WSU in 2023 and is currently working on his Master of Science in Computer Engineering. He also works full-time at Hill AFB as a project lead in the 309th Software Engineering Group.
At Hill, Messerly oversees special projects for interns and new hires coming into the 309th SWEG.
One of those projects is to test a new kind of ground-penetrating radar, or GPR, that will use software-defined radio to generate high-resolution images. GPR units are used to “see” objects underground.
“We want to develop a more affordable and open-source GPR unit,” Messerly said. “Radios are cheaper, they use less power, and they’re a lot lighter than traditional radar units, so we’re asking, how good of a GPR unit can we create out of a radio?”
The new twist on GPR technology could serve two purposes: Military personnel in the explosive ordnance disposal career field are interested in using GPR to detect buried landmines, while researchers at WSU aim to study subsurface organisms around the Great Salt Lake.
Both can be found at roughly the same depth, Messerly said. With his research, he said he’s killing two birds with one stone, exploring technology that’s useful to both the military and the university — and it will simultaneously serve as a capstone project for his master’s degree.
The research is backed by Christian Hearn and Tye Gardner, professors in WSU’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and supported by the 309th SWEG through an Educational Partnership Agreement between WSU and Hill AFB, which enables the sharing of resources and research.
The end goal, outside the scope of Messerly’s capstone project, would be to lay the foundation for lighter, drone-based GPR units, which could fly over landscapes and identify underground objects from afar.
Messerly said he’s confident in his research and leadership skills, and that his brain is wired for problem solving. His research proposal was approved last month and he’ll continue working on the project for at least the next year.
“I’ve always found engineering to be fascinating, just the design of these complex systems that we have all around us,” he said.
Messerly “always knew” he wanted to go to college. During his junior year at WSU, he scored a spot in the Premiere College Internship Program at Hill AFB, then transitioned to the PALACE Acquire program, a full-time paid training program for students or recent graduates in STEM and other areas crucial to national defense. This aligned perfectly with Messerly’s academic goals.
“I’ve loved working at Hill because I’m involved with real development projects,” Messerly said. “It’s not the kind of internship where you’re just doing the work other people don’t want to do. You’re programming or developing or creating or engineering.”
Messerly said he has met lots of engineers at Hill AFB who talk about their college education at other universities.
“Weber State has a smaller program, but you get the same quality education,” Messerly said. “At other schools, classes are a hundred people; mine are maybe 12 to 15 people. I get a lot more one-on-one time with my professors, and I feel like I learn a lot more that way.”
Weber State also made it easy to transition into the engineering master’s program, with two courses counting for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Messerly said.
He plans to graduate in December 2025 and continue working at Hill AFB.
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu