A Maxwellian Look beyond Opaque Interfaces

I wonder if James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish mathematical physicist and father of the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, could have imagined being included on the cover of a book dealing with a sensing technology used to locate the position of buried pipes, to analyze the integrity of buildings, and to uncover ancient archaeological sites The idea is by Raffaele Persico, the author of “Introduction on Ground Penetrating Radar: Inverse Scattering and Data Processing” (Persico, 2014 [1]). Aware of the fact that his work is not just for beginners, Raffaele Persico guides us to the fascinating, as well as complex, world of the physics of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data processing, with the competence of the researcher, the teacher, the technologist and, let me just say, the sensibilities of a humanist. I know the author and his passion for Dante and the Divine Comedy, which could have inspired him in the structure of the work and the communication method chosen for the contents. The reader feels the presence of the author (Virgilius) who guides them (Dante), tests his/her understanding, invites him/her to reflect on how to maximize the retrieved amount of information, and other typical ‘obsessions’ of remote sensing scientists.