MS Defense

Approach to Unwrap a 3D Fingerprint to a 2D Equivalent

Ravikiran Dighade

10:00am Thursday, 2 August 2012, ITE 352

Fingerprints are the most widely used biometric feature for human identification because of their accuracy and uniqueness. Traditional fingerprint acquisition techniques are contact based and result in poor quality images. The new generation of non-contact based scanners captures high resolution and detailed 3D fingerprint scan, which addresses many of the problems of traditional fingerprint acquisition techniques. The majority of existing fingerprint databases available today are 2D, so there is a need for backward compatibility for the 3D scans captured. In order to solve this interoperability issue, I present an algorithm to unwrap the 3D fingerprint to its 2D equivalent image to be able used in an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System.

Program Committee: Drs. Marc Olano (Advisor, Chair), Penny Rheingans and Dr. Gymama Slaughter

Gul Seckin, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, has contributed a chapter to the Encyclopedia of Cyber Behavior, three new volumes that aim to synthesize the scientific knowledge of cyber behavior across a wide range of disciplines, from medicine and business to the social sciences. Seckin’s chapter is titled “Cyber Behaviors of Self Health-Care Management.” She writes:

As the technologies for health management develop, it becomes more important to explore the health management behavior of computer-connected patients. This chapter aims to serve this purpose by discussing the background and current state of knowledge about how usage of the Internet technology affects individuals’ self health care management behavior. The chapter discusses the health care management behaviors of cyber patients in three subsections: (1) cyber empowerment in e-patient networks (2) digitally connected cyber seniors and (3) concerns around cyber health care management, including implications for medical encounters and online information quality.

Gov. Martin O’Malley has called for a special legislative session on gambling next month in what the Baltimore Sun has dubbed “a high-stakes political bet that he can prevail in a struggle over one of the most contentious issues facing Maryland.” O’Malley would like to expand gambling in Maryland through a proposal that he says would add $100 million in revenue to next year’s state budget. A win could bolster his image as an effective leader both within the state and nationally. But what are his chances?

Donald F. Norris, professor and chairman of UMBC’s Department of Public Policy, told the Sun that an outcome in O’Malley’s favor is likely, saying, “It is either a done deal or very, very close to a done deal.” He added that passing the legislation would “show people who are watching that…he’s got the goods.”

COLLOQUIUM
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The Advanced Computing Systems Research Program

David J. Mountain
Technical Director, Center for Exceptional Computing

1:00pm Friday, 7 September 2012, ITE 227, UMBC

The Advanced Computing Systems (ACS) Research Program recently relocated from Adelphi, Maryland, to the Research Park complex next to UMBC. What type of computing research does ACS focus on? How is it organized? What opportunities for collaboration exist for UMBC? This talk will provide answers to these questions, explain how ACS tackles its research challenges, and provide a sneak preview of upcoming ACS presentations on specific research projects.

David J. Mountain is the Technical Director at the Center for Exceptional Computing (CEC), a Department of Defense research laboratory in the UMBC Research Park. The mission of the CEC is to collaborate with industry, academia, and the government to drive innovative research that will impact advanced computing systems at the multi-petaflop scale and beyond. His responsibilities include directing research activities in technical thrusts including power efficiency, chip IO, system level interconnects, file system IO, productivity, and resilience.

Mr. Mountain’s personal research projects have included radiation effects studies, hot carrier reliability characterization, and chip-on-flex process development utilizing ultra-thin circuits. He has been actively involved with 3D electronics research for nearly two decades. Mr. Mountain is the author of seven papers, has been awarded eight patents, and is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

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Directions and more information on recent and upcoming talks.

Maryland Morning‘s Sheila Kast spoke with Tad Aburn of the Maryland Department of the Environment for a segment entitled “Heat and Air Quality” on July 20th.

On the program’s web page is a link to UMBC’s U.S. Air Quality: The Smog Blog, run by the university’s Atmospheric Lidar Group and which serves as “a daily diary of air quality in the U.S. prepared using information from satellites, ground-based measurements, and models,” according to the website.

That diary has been important in compiling data for Maryland to determine the effect of pollution and other atmospheric elements on Maryland not only from its own contributions, but contributions from other states as well, with Aburn concluding to Kast that “we clearly need help in reducing the pollution that floats in from upland areas [outside of Maryland].”

Read the true story of a Baltimore woman's unwitting contribution to science, and the personal, professional, and ethical questions faced by the family, friends, and researchers whose lives she has touched.

A must-read for anyone interested in a research or medical career!

Don Engel, assistant vice president for research, was interviewed in the August issue of Communications of the ACM, the primary journal for the field of computer science. Engel spoke about his participation in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) “Shredder Challenge.” Engel was half of the two-person team “Schroddon,” which was earned second place.