Short-Term Educational Experiential Project on Microwave Communication Channel for Borehole Telemetry

Major changes are occurring in introductory microwave engineering to geophysics. The paper describes a short-term undergraduate course on microwave communication in the new propagation channel at S. Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University (KATU), Kazakhstan. Along with the continuously evolving curriculum of microwave engineering education, there remains a constant issue - the recognized of obligatory laboratory experience. Characterization of telemetry channel was offered to undergraduate students in the framework of research course on communications. It helps students to familiarize with specific application of microwaves in X-band. The main attention is focused on microwave measurements and its limitations, like in industry, different effects at high frequencies (higher order modes, radiation, coupling etc.), influence of scattering etc. Investigations in the new channel of geophysical information transfer became the educational project arise from opportunity given to undergraduates to receive some practice in the microwaves in very short time. It is one more unique opportunity enough to inflame interest of undergraduate students in their possible future career in urgent growing area between geophysics and microwave communications.