SIUE’s Scott Umbaugh’s New Books Explain Novel Developments in the Ever-Evolving Digital Age
Advances in the digital age are numerous and unparalleled – from medical diagnostics to space exploration and from special effects imaging for motion pictures to restoration of satellite images. Thanks to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Distinguished Research Professor Scott E. Umbaugh, PhD, the academic community can help make it all understandable.
“My books are designed to be used by the academic community in teaching and research, with PowerPoint Slides, online software and a complete Solutions Manual for all the included problems,” said Umbaugh, professor of electrical and computer engineering and graduate program director for the SIUE School of Engineering’s (SOE) Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Umbaugh, who has been teaching computer vision, image processing and computer and electrical engineering design for more than 30 years, has recently published two new textbooks:
- Digital Image Processing and Analysis (DIPA): Computer Vision and Image Analysis, 4th Edition
- Digital Image Processing and Analysis (DIPA): Digital Image Enhancement, Restoration and Compression, 4th Edition
“The books can also be used for self-study by those involved with application development, whether they are engineers, scientists or artists,” he continued. “The new edition has been extensively updated and includes numerous problems and programming exercises that will help the reader and student to develop their skills.”
Regarding Umbaugh’s textbook on computer vision and image analysis, he commented: “The diversity of applications is one of the driving forces that make it such an exciting field to be involved in for the 21st century. This book presents a unique engineering approach to the practice of computer vision and image analysis, which starts by presenting a global model to help gain an understanding of the overall process, followed by a breakdown and explanation of each individual topic. Topics are presented as they become necessary for understanding the practical imaging model under study, which provides the reader with the motivation to learn about and use the tools and methods being explored.”
His work on digital image enhancement, restoration and compression also provides a fresh and masterful approach of teaching on the subjects. “The book includes chapters on imaging systems and software, the human visual system, image transforms, image filtering, image enhancement, image restoration and image compression,” Umbaugh detailed. “Numerous examples, including over 700 color images are used to illustrate the concepts discussed. Readers can explore their own application development with any programming language.”
In 1998, Umbaugh wrote the first edition of digital image processing and analysis (DIPA) in one textbook. “For the 4th edition, due to the growth of the field and major changes happening in the publishing industry,” he explained, “we decided to divide the book into two separate textbooks. Now, each of the two major applications areas – imaging for computer analysis and imaging for human consumption – will have their own textbook. Additionally, ebook+ versions have been created which are designed to engage the reader, increase comprehension and retention of the material and ultimately lead to greater student success.”
“Over the previous 30 years – all of my students, both undergraduates and graduate – have contributed by providing their feedback in the courses for which I use the books,” Umbaugh acknowledged. “Additionally, more than 80 SIUE graduate students have contributed to the software developed and integrated with the textbooks.”
Umbaugh also supervises SIUE’s Computer Vision and Image Processing Lab, a state-of-the-art facility that offers seasoned and new users the opportunity to experiment with computer imaging in an easy-to-use graphical user interface-based environment.
Prior to his academic career, Umbaugh worked as a computer design engineer and project manager in the avionics and telephony industries. He has been a computer imaging consultant since 1986 and has provided consulting services for the aerospace, medical and manufacturing industries, with projects ranging from automatic identification of defects in microdisplay chips to analysis of thermographic images for clinical diagnosis of brain disease. The professor has also performed research and development for projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Photo:
Dr. Scott E. Umbaugh, SIUE Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
