Biography: Sudeep Sarkar is professor and chair of computer science and engineering in the USF College of Engineering and associate vice president for special programs at USF. He has more than 25 years of experience conducting and directing fundamental and applied research in computer vision, image processing, and pattern recognition. He developed a new imaging device that can be used to collect data about the physical characteristics of human skin in terms of its color, texture, and elasticity, which is critical in diagnosing diseases such as melanoma. He is also a pioneering leader in the area of gait biometrics, a field that analyzes and catalogs the unique characteristics of the ways in which individuals walk. This development for identity detection has potential uses in security and threat assessment, as well as environmentally-aware electronic devices and smart rooms. Sarkar is also a leader in the development of recognition systems to translate videos of sign language into text to facilitate communication between hearing-impaired and hearing individuals. He holds six U.S. patents, has licensed technologies and has published high-impact journal and conference papers. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering, on a University Presidential Fellowship, from The Ohio State University. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 1994, the USF Teaching Incentive Program Award in 1997, the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1998, and the Askounes-Ashford Distinguished Scholar Award in 2004. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), National Academy of Inventors (NAI), American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and International Association for Pattern Recognition (IAPR).   https://cse.usf.edu/~sarkar/SudeepSarkar/About_Me.html