John Gharib

Background

About John Gharib

I graduated from Cal Poly SLO with my blended Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering in June 2024. My Master's thesis investigates the use of Shuffled Faster-than-Nyquist (SFTN) signaling for Physical Layer Security. Faster than Nyquist signaling is a capacity approaching signaling technique where data symbols are transmitted faster than the Nyquist Rate. The full text is available on the Cal Poly Digital commons: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2835/ At my most recent internship at General Atomics I created a Simulink model to validate the design of an FMCW radar in an adverse channel, developed two programs in Python to enable user-friendly control of an Ettus USRP SDR, and began work on my Master's thesis. The various programs I wrote and contributed to enabled users to tune an Ettus SDR to a selected frequency band and record spectral content. At my first internship at General Atomics, I characterized a high-power RF amplifier by measuring it's frequency response, linearity, and spurious tone generation. I also modified an RF filter to increase the passband, which required hand wound inductors as filter elements. Additionally, I created a model of an advanced communication system to determine its supported data rates versus range over various scenarios. My main design project was programming an STM32 microcontroller, in C, to log RS-422 signaled data and store it to an SD card for datalogging purposes. At Alphatec Spine, I designed a test fixture to automate testing the effectiveness of an electrically insulative coating on surgical dilators. To do this, I performed a conceptual design based on the existing test procedure, designed and breadboarded a circuit that would automate the testing, and did a full PCB layout in Altium for the finished product. The main control circuit for this was a Raspberry Pi Pico, which I programmed in C to calculate and display the results of the test. I am also an Eagle Scout, which is the product of years of hard work and dedication. My project was building and installing three benches in the parking lot of my former high school. The project required coordinating with the school to find a suitable location and a design for the benches, leading groups of scouts to help assemble and install them, and working with local companies to find the best prices for the materials.