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Thermal imagery captured in the Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) spectrum has long-played a vital role in thermal physiology. Signs of stress and inflammation which are unseen in the visible spectrum, can be detected in LWIR due to principles of blackbody radiation. As a result, thermal facial imagery provides a unique modality for physiological assessment of states such as chronic pain. In this presentation, I will provide a presentation of my research into image registration to align visible-thermal images that serve as a prerequisite for image- to-image translation using conditional GANs and Diffusion Models. I will share recent work leading research with the National Institutes of Health applying this research in a real-world setting on cancer patients suffering from chronic pain.

Dr. Catherine Ordun is a Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, leading AI Rapid Prototyping and Tech Transfer solutions for mission-critical problems for the Federal Government. She drives AI rapid prototyping to support mission-critical proof-of-concepts across multiple AI domains, in addition to AI tech transfer to support algorithm reuse and consumption. She also leads multimodal AI research supporting the National Cancer Institute for chronic cancer pain detection. Dr. Ordun is a Ph.D. graduate of the UMBC Department of Information Systems advised by Drs. Sanjay Purushotham and Edward Raff, and obtained her bachelors degree from Georgia Tech, masters from Emory, and an MBA from GWU Business School. She also has an appointment at UMBC as Adjunct Research Assistant Professor.

Degree Mentors

• Dr. Maria Sanchez, Director of the Engineering and Computing Education Program, College of Engineering and Information Technology
• Ryan Kmetz, Energy Manager at Maryland Energy Administration
• Carrie Sauter, Individualized Study

Why did you choose to major in INDS?

I graduated high school knowing that I wanted to combine my interests in architecture and meteorology, as well as my academic skills in engineering-related sciences, to major in something similar to architectural engineering. I had no plans on moving out of state, so when I came for freshman orientation at UMBC, I met with Dr. Kenneth Baron to discuss my aspirations, and he advised me to major in INDS to craft my own degree that would incorporate all of these disciplines as none of the existing majors encapsulated my interests fully. It was so interesting to hear that was possible, and I am fortunate to this day to have had that opportunity at UMBC. 

Since that day, the INDS department has supported me and helped guide me to refine my degree to include not only architecture, meteorology, and engineering, but also the crucial component of social science, which helps address how to meet communities’ needs when making structures, and the community itself, more resilient. I strongly feel my current comprehensive understanding of the field was only possible because I was able to take an interdisciplinary path through different departments’ courses. The overall experience contributed to my confidence and passion in this field, so I am always excited to talk to others about both my degree and the INDS program overall. 

What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?

I originally sought to immediately obtain a Master of Architecture in graduate school, but am now instead planning on working at a location that will assist in paying for graduate school as I want to utilize that degree to assist with licensure and other future career opportunities. In the long term, I aspire to work for either a state or federal agency, such as FEMA, and provide a perspective that better incorporates communities’ needs when preparing them for natural disasters, and especially assisting after disasters, by making the structures and community more resilient. 

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Disability Advocacy Union (DAU)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• INDS 430: Kinetic Sculpture Project

For more information on Yeva-Kristina's INDS journey please click here:

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Thermal imagery captured in the Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) spectrum has long-played a vital role in thermal physiology. Signs of stress and inflammation which are unseen in the visible spectrum, can be detected in LWIR due to principles of blackbody radiation. As a result, thermal facial imagery provides a unique modality for physiological assessment of states such as chronic pain. In this presentation, I will provide a presentation of my research into image registration to align visible-thermal images that serve as a prerequisite for image- to-image translation using conditional GANs and Diffusion Models. I will share recent work leading research with the National Institutes of Health applying this research in a real-world setting on cancer patients suffering from chronic pain.

Dr. Catherine Ordun is a Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, leading AI Rapid Prototyping and Tech Transfer solutions for mission-critical problems for the Federal Government. She drives AI rapid prototyping to support mission-critical proof-of-concepts across multiple AI domains, in addition to AI tech transfer to support algorithm reuse and consumption. She also leads multimodal AI research supporting the National Cancer Institute for chronic cancer pain detection. Dr. Ordun is a Ph.D. graduate of the UMBC Department of Information Systems advised by Drs. Sanjay Purushotham and Edward Raff, and obtained her bachelors degree from Georgia Tech, masters from Emory, and an MBA from GWU Business School. She also has an appointment at UMBC as Adjunct Research Assistant Professor.