Alexandra is an electrical engineer originally from Romania. She joined the Institute of Communications and Navigation in Oberpfaffenhofen in 2013 to work on the LDACS-based surveillance application. LDACS (L-Band Digital Aeronautical Communication System) is the future communication standard for air traffic management. Developed at the Institute of Communications and Navigation in cooperation with partners, LDACS is currently undergoing the ICAO standardization. In her research work, which she also used to obtain a PhD degree, Alexandra studied the feasibility of using the LDACS aeronautical communication signals as ‚‚signals of opportunity‘‘ for passive non-cooperative surveillance purposes. The motivation for this work is the need to provide accurate backup surveillance services for critical civil aviation scenarios when the aircraft transponders are malfunctioning or intentionally switched off. She is currently working on extending this work to also include a passive non-cooperative situational awareness in the air component as well as a passive cooperative surveillance capability.
Starting January 2023, Alexandra was appointed as the group leader of the Aeronautical Communications research group. In addition to the LDACS communications and surveillance research topics, this group also addresses the design and implementation of dedicated data links for unmanned remotely controlled aircraft as well as for autonomously flying drones. In her free time, Alexandra enjoys reading and travelling with her family.
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