UD alumnus one of Popular Science magazine’s ‘Brilliant 10’ Young Scientists

University of Delaware alumnus Deva Ramanan has been named one of Popular Science magazine’s “Brilliant 10” Young Scientists.

The designation places Ramanan on the magazine’s annual “honor roll” of the 10 most promising scientist for 2012.

Ramanan, who earned his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at UD in 2000, is an associate professor of computer science at the University of California Irvine (UCI). There he is working to improve a computer’s image recognition capability, or in simpler terms, a computer’s ability to “see people.”

He has devised a computational algorithm that allows computers to recognize three dimensional flat photography through software that “teaches” the computer to identify body parts and match them to a flexible human template.

It is work he believes could lead to advances in future computer vision systems, particularly in pedestrian-detection systems for self-driving cars, videogame systems enhancements, even home monitoring for patients undergoing long-term rehabilitation.

Article by Megan Marschall

Photo courtesy of the University of California Irvine