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France – Singapore Lab
Electromagnetism · Radar research
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Lauriane MOUSSET
PhD Student · ONERA / CNES / SONDRA
12/02/2026

My name is Lauriane Mousset, and I am a second-year PhD student at SONDRA. My PhD is funded by ONERA and CNES. I discovered SONDRA during a semester at CentraleSupélec. Coming from a biology background, I was thrilled by the idea of bridging the gap between physics and ecology. In 2022, I began an internship at SONDRA, which led to a poster publication at the 2023 IGARSS conference, co-authored with my supervisors. In 2024, after completing my degree in data science and machine learning applied to biology (AgroParisTech & Université Paris-Saclay), I had the opportunity to undertake my master’s thesis in collaboration with ESA-ESRIN and SONDRA, and continued this work in my PhD.
My research focuses on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to monitor forest ecosystems. Sentinel-1, a European satellite launched in 2014 as part of the Copernicus program, provides C-band SAR imagery every six to twelve days from across the globe. This is an incredible new tool in the remote sensing toolbox for researchers, but it is not yet fully understood. While the scientific community has made great advances in detecting sudden forest changes, such as wildfires and deforestation, slow changes like forest dieback and tree diseases are much harder to detect because these shifts occur gradually. A better understanding of the temporal signature of SAR imagery in forests could greatly help in detecting such disturbances and enhance forest monitoring over large areas.
Thanks to my dual affiliation, I also collaborate with the Electromagnetism and Radar Department (DEMR) at ONERA in Palaiseau and Salon-de-Provence, which is a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills.
I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities that SONDRA has provided me. I have had the chance to collaborate with numerous scientific partners, including ONERA, CNES, and Natural Resources Canada. Working in such a variate and multidisciplinary scientific environment alongside colleagues tackling a wide range of subjects is very interesting and motivating.

Quentin GABOT
PhD Student · ONERA/CentraleSupélec
11/07/2025

Joining SONDRA has profoundly shaped my doctoral journey. From the moment I began my thesis on complex-valued deep generative modeling for SAR applications, the SONDRA team supported my growth—challenging me scientifically while always looking out for my well-being. This balance has empowered me to set—and achieve—ambitious goals throughout my PhD.

Just six months into my program, I published my first paper at the RADAR2024 Conference, demonstrating how a complex-valued convolutional autoencoder can preserve polarimetric properties during reconstruction. That work was later invited for extension in IET Radar, Sonar & Navigation. At the same time, I connected with Teck Yian Lim at DSO Research. Together, we adapted his shift-equivariant convolutional neural network methods to the complex domain, and we expect to present our joint findings at a premier deep learning conference later this year.

My collaborations in Singapore extend beyond this project. During a month-long exchange at IPAL Laboratory, I explored synergies between my expertise and CNRS researcher Benoît Cottereau’s work. We discovered that complex-valued neural networks could mimic neuronal synchrony—a phenomenon that unlocks self-supervised object discovery through phase information. I’m now supervising Johanna Rondony, who is pursuing this line of research for her PhD.

I’m deeply grateful for my time at SONDRA. The rigorous training, the international collaborations, and the culture of support have given me a rock-solid scientific foundation and a global network of colleagues—assets that I know will propel my future career as a researcher.

Harsha PASUMARTHI
PhD Student · CentraleSupélec
14/11/2024
I am Dr. Pasumarthi Babu Sree Harsha pursued my Postdoctoral research in SONDRA from 2022 -2024. I worked on the challenges of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Global Navigation Satellite systems with atmospheric distortions. I had a great welcome in SONDRA with cheerful colleagues and a positive mindset. I have developed a new way of research capability to be productive, efficient and qualitative understanding of the problem. SONDRA has a different position in balancing academics and industrial research problems. I had a great time in SONDRA with beautiful memories. One can find their open-minded time for the thought in solving the research problems. I had found excellent professional support to discuss my thoughts, present and publish them with the International scientific community through SONDRA. With the collaboration with peers from DSO, as a researcher I understand the requirements from both parties from France and Singapore. I highly recommend SONDRA as a great research lab to consider if one wants to explore deep tech research problems with global exposure.
Yanisse BOUDROUZ
PhD Student · CentraleSupélec
13/09/2024
I am incredibly grateful to have been part of the SONDRA laboratory for the past three years. Specializing in RADAR applications, SONDRA has provided me with an environment rich in advanced research, particularly in electromagnetic modelling and radar imaging. These experiences have profoundly shaped my PhD journey, especially in the context of through-the-wall radar imaging. One of the highlights of my time at the laboratory was the opportunity to collaborate internationally. I spent two months at the National University of Singapore in November and December 2023, working on real-time applications and hardware systems closely aligned with my thesis. This invaluable experience enhanced my technical skills and broadened my perspective by engaging with leading experts in the field. Throughout these three years, SONDRA has enabled me to present my work at conferences worldwide, exchanging knowledge with other researchers and staying updated on the latest advancements. It is also a group of colleagues who create a supportive environment where you can always find help, encouragement and great moments. This sense of camaraderie has made the challenges of research much more rewarding. None of this would have been possible without the laboratory’s support, mentorship, and resources. So one more time, thank you SONDRA, for your continuous support and being an essential part of my journey.
Steve TYLER
PhD Student · ONERA / CentraleSupelec
11/10/2022
I am Steve Tyler, a graduate from Sri Lanka, and currently working on an inverse scattering problem in SAR images as a Ph.D. student at SONDRA/ONERA. I had the good fortune of joining SONDRA which is a well-equipped lab with a vibrant environment and with the abundant presence of brilliant pedagogic and administrative members who are well-integrated with the rest of the radar community. The members in SONDRA are very welcoming and open-minded when it comes to discussions on research and scientific exploration, and hence, you can find thesis and internship projects spanning from theoretical to very applied topics being posted all year round. Because of the affiliation between SONDRA and ONERA, I am able to collaborate closely with the Electromagnetism and Radar department (DEMR) in Palaiseau and get to visit the airborne SAR acquisition unit SETHI in Salon-de-Provence, where I also get to see the exciting drills of Patrouille de France.
Nathan PAILLOU
PhD Student · CentraleSupelec
23/06/2021
I am Nathan Paillou, a Ph.D. student at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec. I obtained my engineering degree in Mathematics and Mechanics at ENSEIRB-MATMECA, in France. I chose to do my thesis in this laboratory for its Franco-Singaporean status, which facilitates international work compared to a solely French laboratory. Furthermore, the position on the CentraleSupelec campus is a real asset, from a professional point of view, for the contact with the other laboratories and the engineering school, and from a social point of view. I am in the third year of my thesis, and I have been delighted by these first two years in this laboratory. First of all, the supervision is of high quality, both from a scientific and administrative point of view. I felt it even more during this difficult period of Covid-19. Then, life is pleasant, there are many trainees and Ph.D. students, both French and foreign, with whom I had excellent times, whether working on a joint subject or in my free time. The team spirit is also very present, the members of the team are available to help me when I have a question and are kind to newcomers. Finally, we can follow quality courses to train ourselves and give classes to students, which I found interesting. For all these qualities, I advise anyone, French or foreign, to do a thesis in this laboratory, which combines work quality and quality of life.
Jose Agustín BARRACHINA
PhD Student · CentraleSupelec
15/11/2020
I am J Agustin BARRACHINA, a PhD student at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec. I am an Electronical Engineer with focus on Signal Processing, graduated from ITBA, Argentina. I decided to do my PhD thesis abroad and after much research I decided to go to France not only because of its international prestige but also because the country offers great social and economic support for foreign students most countries lack. I am currently doing my 2 nd -year of PhD in SONDRA, a very stimulating place to investigate due to its level of excellence. Being there, I was greatly impressed by the atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship as everyone is very welcoming and friendly, which I personally consider as important as the PhD topic itself. SONDRA offered me the opportunity to learn a lot about French culture. I met people from all around the world as SONDRA has a fair amount of foreign students and devoted professors in its facilities. For all this and more, I encourage and recommend this experience for every French PhD student looking for academic prestige and also for every foreign student wishing to study abroad.
Bruno MÉRIAUX
PhD Student · CentraleSupelec
07/06/2019
I am Bruno Mériaux, a 2nd-year PhD student at SONDRA/CentraleSupélec. After being graduated in 2017 from the Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay with a Master degree in Signal and Image Processing, I started my thesis in September 2017 on robust signal processing in MIMO systems. Given the established collaborations between CentraleSupélec and National University of Singapore (NUS), I had the opportunity, through SONDRA, to visit Professor Vincent Y.F. Tan of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering during 3 months. This collaboration provided me new skills for my thesis topic. Furthermore, it is very interesting to discover another way of researching in a different work environment. I would therefore recommend this experience to future students.
Thibault TAILLADE
PhD Student · CentraleSupelec
07/06/2019
I am Thibault Taillade and I started my PhD at SONDRA/CentraleSupelec in December 2017 on signal processing for radar images. Thanks to the close relationship between SONDRA and NUS (National University of Singapore), I had the chance to stay 2 months in the Center for Remote Images, Sensing and Processing (CRISP), a NUS laboratory that shares with SONDRA the same concerns in remote sensing and radar imaging. In the scientific and cultural point of view, it was an interesting and rich experience that I recommend for student who wants to have an overseas experience and discover a new work environment.
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