Dr. Matt Markel
Dr. Matt Markel has excelled in engineering, technology and product development, and leadership in both the defense and commercial sectors. In addition, he is a dynamic and engaging speaker, using his background and insights to break down and explain very complex topics in a way we all can understand. Currently he is the CEO of Spartan Radar, a radar technology company focused on building better radars and making radars better through cutting edge software. In addition, he is promoting his book, Radar for Fully Autonomous Driving, the seminal and definitive resource for making radars that help bring the dream of self-driving cars to a reality.
Dr. Markel created and led the radar division of Ghost Autonomy, an autonomous driving company using breakthroughs in collision avoidance technology to develop safe, attention-free self-driving for mass market consumer cars. Prior to Ghost, he led the radar team at Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project. His radar department designed and delivered multiple generations of indigenously designed tracking and imaging radars to Waymo’s self-driving fleet. He developed the radar research and development framework that has provided numerous cutting-edge technologies and capabilities to Waymo’s radar product line.
At Raytheon, Dr. Markel was a Principal Engineering Fellow on the Space and Airborne Systems Technical Staff. He served as the Technical Director for Raytheon Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW), has been directly involved in the transition of key radar and EW capabilities to the U.S. military, and has been a Principal Investigator for multiple radar and EW research programs that advanced the state of capability, effectiveness, autonomy, and cognition in U.S. systems.
Prior to Raytheon, he was the chief engineer of a portfolio of proprietary programs in the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base. Here he also created and led the very successful Special Programs Threat working Group, an organization chartered to bring together experts from across the Intelligence Centers to assess and project adversary technology and weapon developments.
Dr. Markel is widely recognized as an expert and leader in radar, especially automotive radar for autonomous systems, Technology Readiness Assessments and Technology Readiness Levels (he served on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) panel of subject matter experts that created the ubiquitous Best Practices for Evaluating Technology Readiness guide), and electronic warfare. He is the inventor on multiple patents and trade secrets from his time at Raytheon and Waymo, with patents pending from his work at Ghost Autonomy.
Recent Appearances
Autonocast (Episode #285, Aug 3, 2023)
The Autonocast is an exciting weekly show discussing the latest in transportation technology with industry leaders. It is widely regarded as the preeminent forum on the future of transportation. In this episode Kirsten and Ed sit down with Dr. Matt Markel of the up-and-coming sensing startup Spartan Radar. The ensuing discussion covers the evolving automotive sensor market, the relationship between radar hardware and software, the unique needs of commercial vehicles, and much more.
The Road to Autonomy (Episode #144, June 6, 2023)
Industry expert Grayson Brulte hosts this informative program covering all aspects of autonomy. In this episode Grayson and Dr. Markel discuss multiple topics from the current state of radar in autonomy, how software is enabling the future of both automobiles and radar, and an interesting contribution on the “radar vs. lidar” debate.
Noteworthy Panels and Keynotes
2022- Texas Analog Center of Excellence at The University of Texas Dallas Panel: “When Will My Car Drive Me to Work”
2022 Dallas Internet of Things
“Talking about Autonomous Vehicles” with Dr. Matt Markel
2023 Tech Titans Emerging and Entrepreneurial Group
“Emerging Technologies in the Application of Machine Learning,” moderated by Dr. Matt Markel (Feb 9, 2023)
2021- The Road Ahead for Imaging Radar.
This event highlighted the importance and future potential of 4D Imaging Radar technology – its impact on the automotive market today and its future possibilities. It featured industry experts Dr. Matt Markel, Vice President of Radar Systems at Ghost Autonomy, Johan Lassing, CEO of Qamcom, Gonen Barkan, Radar Lead at General Motors, Ram Machness, Chief Business Officer at Arbe, and was moderated by Kobi Marenko, Co-Founder and CEO at Arbe.
2020- Financial Times automotive ADAS panel at Future of the Car Summit 2020. Torsten Lehmann of NXP, Glen De Vos of Aptiv and Dr. Matt Markel of Waymo delve into how recent advances in automotive radar are reshaping the way vehicles “see” the environment around them. Learn how radar is evolving and the differences in its implementation between mass production OEMs or a companies at the frontier of Autonomous driving. See how this rapidly evolving technology promises to transform safety on the roadways of the world.
2020 Radar and its Role in Autonomous Vehicles, IWPC Dr. Markel presented the keynote and moderated this engaging set of speakers at the International Wireless Industry Consortium’s focus day for autonomous vehicles. (link – requires IWPC access)
2019 Raytheon Engineers Week, El Segundo, CA
Invited Tech Talk speaker for week-long event celebrating advances in engineering.
Recent and Upcoming Engagements
2022- Texas Analog Center of Excellence at The University of Texas Dallas Panel: “When Will My Car Drive Me to Work”
2022 Dallas Internet of Things
“Talking about Autonomous Vehicles” with Dr. Matt Markel
2023 Tech Titans Emerging and Entrepreneurial Group
“Emerging Technologies in the Application of Machine Learning,” moderated by Dr. Matt Markel (Feb 9, 2023)