My research revolves around novel applications of diffraction theory to radar systems. This has included the development of a multilayer coherent backscattering simulator, which can efficiently simulate radar echoes from rough terrains with an arbitrary number of geological layers. This algorithm has been used to support studies pertaining to several air- or spaceborne radar sounders, including the RIME instrument of ESA's JUICE probe. I have also conducted research about the optimal engineering choices for novel radar systems with a specific application, such as a radar sounder for lunar lava tube exploration, and or on the use of orbital arrays for radar sounding using, e.g., smallsats in formation flying. Another of my domains of interest is the use of Jupiter's radio emission to perform passive sounding of its icy moons through comprehensive simulations.

Journal papers

• The phase response of a rough finite square facet in the linear phase approximation
  C. Gerekos(in preparation, 2020).
• Martian roughness analogues of Europan terrains and implications on radar backscatter
  C. Gerekos, C. Grima, G. Steinbrügge, S. Thakur, K. Scanlan, D. Young, L. Bruzzone, D. Blankenship.(in review, 2020).
• A coherent method for simulating active and passive radar sounding of the Jovian icy moons
  10.1109/TGRS.2019.2945079pdf (22.5 Mo)C. Gerekos, L. Bruzzone, M. Imai.IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 2250-2265, 2020.
• The ASI P-band helicopter-borne integrated sounder-SAR system: preliminary results of the 2018 Morocco desert campaign
  10.3390/rs11161845S. Perna, G. Alberti, P. Berardino, L. Bruzzone, D. Califano, I. Catapano, L. Ciofaniello, E. Donini, C. Esposito, C. Facchinetti, R. Formaro, G. Gennarelli, C. Gerekos, R. Lanari, F. Longo, G. Ludeno, M. M. d'Alessandro, A. Natale, C. Noviello, G. Palmese, C. Papa, G. Pica, F. Rocca, G. Salzillo, F. Soldovieri, S. Tebaldini, S. ThakurMDPI Remote Sensing, 11(16), 1845, 2019.
• Distributed radar sounder: a novel concept for subsurface investigations using sensors in formation flight
  10.1109/TGRS.2019.2929422pdf (7.6 Mo)L. Carrer, C. Gerekos, F. Bovolo, L. Bruzzone.IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 57, no. 12, pp. 9791-9809, 2019.
• A coherent multilayer simulator of radargrams acquired by radar sounder instruments
  10.1109/TGRS.2018.2851020pdf (10.2 Mo)C. Gerekos, A. Tamponi, L. Carrer, D. Castelletti, M. Santoni, L. Bruzzone.IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 56, no. 12, pp. 7388-7404, Dec. 2018.
• A multi-frequency radar sounder for lava tubes detection on the moon: design, performance assessment and simulations
  10.1016/j.pss.2018.01.011pdf (7.8 Mo)L. Carrer, C. Gerekos, L. Bruzzone.Planetary and Space Science 152C (2018) pp. 1-17.

Conference papers

• EnVision mission to Venus: Subsurface radar sounding
  Lorenzo Bruzzone, Francesca Bovolo, Sanchari Thakur, Leonardo Carrer, Elena Donini, Christopher Gerekos, Stefano Paterna, Massimo Santoni, Elisa SbalchieroInternational Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2020 (accepted for publication).
• Mars as an analog to anticipate radar surface reflectivity at Europa
  C. Grima, C. Gerekos, K. Scanlan, G. Steinbrügge, D. Young, S. Kempf, D. Blankenship51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 2020, The Woodlands, USA (cancelled due to COVID-19).
• Comparing the multifractal properties of Europan and Martian surfaces
  pdf C. Gerekos, C. Grima, G. Steinbrügge, K. Scanlan, D. Young, L. Bruzzone, D. BlankenshipEPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019, September 2019, Geneva, Switzerland.
• The ASI P-band helicopter-borne integrated sounder-SAR system: preliminary results of the 2018 Morocco desert campaign
  S. Perna, G. Alberti, P. Berardino, L. Bruzzone, D. Califano, I. Catapano, L. Ciofaniello, E. Donini, C. Esposito, C. Facchinetti, R. Formaro, G. Gennarelli, C. Gerekos, R. Lanari, F. Longo, G. Ludeno, M. M. d'Alessandro, A. Natale, C. Noviello, G. Palmese, C. Papa, G. Pica, F. Rocca, G. Salzillo, F. Soldovieri, S. Tebaldini, S. ThakurInternational Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2019 (pp. 8550-8553), July 2019, Yokohama, Japan.
• Radar sounding of Jovian icy moons: a simulation approach to active and passive sounding scenarios
  pdfC. Gerekos, L. Bruzzone.European Planetary Science Congress (Vol. 12), September 2018, Berlin, Germany.
• A new technique for simulating radar echoes from layered subsurface targets
  10.1109/IGARSS.2018.8519257C. Gerekos, A. Tamponi, L. Carrer, D. Castelletti, M. Santoni, L. Bruzzone.International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2018 (pp. 459-462), July 2018, Valencia, Spain.
• Distributed radar sounder system: a novel approach to across-track resolution enhancement and clutter reduction
  10.1109/IGARSS.2018.8519462L. Carrer, C. Gerekos, L. Bruzzone.International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2018 (pp. 6765-6768), July 2018, Valencia, Spain.
• An approach to lava tube detection in radar sounder data from the Moon
  10.1109/IGARSS.2018.8519146E. Donini, F. Bovolo, C. Gerekos, L. Carrer, L. Bruzzone.International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium 2018 (pp. 8424-8427), July 2018, Valencia, Spain.
• Detection of lunar lava tubes with orbiting radar sounder systems
  pdf L. Carrer, C. Gerekos, L. Bruzzone.European Planetary Science Congress (Vol. 11), September 2017, Riga, Latvia.
• The time transfer and Synge world functions in relativistic global navigation satellite systems
  C. Gerekos, A. Heffernan.Relativistic Geodesy 2016 conference, March 2016, Bad Honnef, Germany.
• The time transfer function in RPS
  C. Gerekos, A. Heffernan.593rd WE-Heraeus Seminar on Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation, June 2015, Bad Honnef, Germany.

Theses

• Advanced backscattering simulation methods for the design of spaceborne radar sounders
  pdf (16.0 Mo, under embargo) C. GerekosDoctoral thesis
• Investigating the impact of β-stabilisation in JET hybrid plasmas through non-linear gyrokinetic simulations
  pdf (4.3 Mo) C. GerekosMaster's thesis