Texas award for imaging innovation
Ashok Veeraraghavan, a computer engineer of Indian-American descent and a professor at Rice University, has been bestowed with the prestigious Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in engineering. This accolade stands as one of the highest academic honors in Texas and is annually conferred by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Technology (TAMEST). The award serves to commend emerging researchers within the state who are actively contributing to groundbreaking advancements across diverse fields..
Veeraraghavan was selected for his revolutionary imaging technology that aims to make the invisible visible. His computational imaging lab at Rice University focuses on holistic research in imaging processes, covering optics, sensor design, and machine learning processing algorithms. The lab tackles imaging challenges that go beyond the capabilities of current technologies.
The award specifically acknowledges Veeraraghavan’s contributions to addressing imaging scenarios where the visualization target is inaccessible due to the scattering of light in participating media. This includes challenges such as foggy conditions affecting driving visibility, clouds in satellite imaging, and skin obstructing biological imaging.
Veeraraghavan emphasized the importance of co-design in imaging systems, which considers optics, sensor design, and machine learning algorithms together. This approach enables new degrees of freedom and allows for achieving imaging functionalities that would be otherwise impossible.
The computational imaging lab’s research has made significant advances in imaging through scattering media, a challenging problem in the field. The impact of Veeraraghavan’s work extends to various applications, including human health, microscopy, national security, autonomous vehicles, and photography.
Rice University officials, including Luay Nakhleh and Ramamoorthy Ramesh, praised Veeraraghavan for his achievements and recognized the broader implications of his research for advancing technology in diverse fields. This award adds to the recognition of Rice University faculty, with Jamie Padgett being the recipient of the O’Donnell Award in the previous year.