Education

(a) CT image of corroded concrete (b) FLIM image of cells (c) CLEAN enhancement of radio telescope image

Class projects prepare students to synthesize and apply knowledge. Some imaging-themed class projects I supervised include (a) computed tomography image views of concrete corrosion, (b) fluorescence lifetime microscope images of HeLa cells, and (c) a radio telescope image of a quasar processed using the CLEAN algorithm.

Courses Taught

I taught a range of undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Virginia: (link opens syllabus)

  • APMA 2501 Mathematics of Information: S19+, S20 (cross-listed as ECE 2066)

  • ECE 2066 Science of Information (How the iPhone Works): F16, S19+, S20 (cross-listed as APMA 2501)

  • ECE 4750/6750 Digital Signal Processing: S15, S16+, S17, S18

  • ECE 5755 Digital Signal Processing Laboratory: S15, S16, S17

  • ECE 6711 Probability and Stochastic Processes: F14, F19, F20

  • ECE 7776 Advanced Digital Signal Processing: F15*, F17, F18

(F: Fall semester, S: Spring semester, * new course, + redesign)

Uncompressed Image

Uncompressed image of stone fresco

Fourier Compression

Fourier compressed image of stone fresco showing blur artifacts

Wavelet Compression

Wavelet compressed image of stone fresco with block artifacts

Imaging problems like image compression are an excellent setting for exploring signal processing concepts like the difference between Fourier and wavelet transforms.

Ignite Program

I participated in the 2015-2016 Ignite Program organized by the Center for Teaching Excellence for early career faculty at UVA. As part of this program, I completed the week-long intensive Course Design Institute, where I redesigned the ECE 4750/6750 Digital Signal Processing course to feature project-based learning, in-class programming and group activities, and a mix of formative and evaluative assessment experiences. Using similar methods, adapted to graduate students seeking to gain a better understanding of how to approach research, I developed a new graduate seminar in the subject, ECE 7776 Advanced Digital Signal Processing. This new course provides graduate students a basic understanding of concepts used in modern signal processing research, as well as engages students in critiquing and discussing current literature and embarking on their own original research projects. Future iterations of both courses will continue to adapt to this learner-centric hands-on approach.

Previous Teaching Experience

At MIT, I co-developed (with Sharat Chikkerur) a January 2010 course (during the MIT Independent Activities Period) in C programming, called Practical Programming in C. This course has been archived on MIT's OpenCourseWare initiative and has been visited or adapted by users around the world.