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Distinguished Seminar Series

The Distinguished Seminar Series of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering presents the work of internationally recognized researchers.  The seminar series is intended to provide an open platform for the faculty and students to have a dialog with leading researchers in various fields of ECE, and to build a dynamic and vibrant culture of research and academic exchange in the ECE department.  All seminars are free and open to the public.

 

Dr. Delores Etter: My Path to Biometrics

Dr. Ken Butler: AI In Test



Dr. Delores Etter

headshot image of Delores Etter

  • Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Southern Methodist University
  • Fellow of the IEEE, ASEE, and AAAS

My Path to Biometrics

 

DATE & TIME
Oct. 31, 2025 | 3:30-5pm

 

LOCATION

140 Engineering South

 

Abstract:

With the power and capabilities of computers today, signal processing is used
throughout the engineering and scientific disciplines to analyze data. In this
seminar, Dr. Delores M. Etter, Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX, will share her
research in signal processing through applications in adaptive system modeling,
to seismic signal processing, to applications in speech processing, and then to iris
recognition. Her research at SMU culminated in a multi-year large scale biometric
dataset collection that was designed to improve the accuracy and robustness of
iris recognition algorithms with a study of stability of the iris over time. Most iris
recognition systems are based on matching patterns in the iris - the donut-shaped
colored part of the eye - and uses an IR (infrared) camera that takes a picture of
the eyeball. This collection captured images of each eye across a spectrum that
ranges from 400 to 1600 nm. The LED’s used in this experiment were certified
as eye safe by multiple radiation experts as well as Institutional Review Boards
at both SMU and the government sponsor. Images were collected from a subject
16 times over four years. Over 160 iris images were collected per session. The
final dataset contained more than 1 million laboratory quality iris images. This
presentation, designed to be accessible to a general audience, will cover: realworld
applications of biometrics, technical challenges of biometrics, ethical
challenges of biometrics.


This presentation, designed to be accessible to a general audience, will cover:
This presentation will cover realworld applications of biometrics, technical
challenges of biometrics, ethical challenges of biometrics.

 

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Delores M. Etter retired as Professor Emeritus from Southern Methodist
University (SMU) in Dallas Texas, where she held the Texas Instruments Endowed
Professorship in Engineering Education. Most of Dr. Etter’s career was in
academics, with a Visiting Professorship at Stanford University in the Information
Systems Laboratory, and tenured faculty positions at the University of New
Mexico, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the U.S. Naval Academy, and SMU.
In addition she accepted two senior executive positions in the Department of
Defense. Both positions were in the Pentagon. One was a three-year position as
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Science and Technology and the other
was a two-year position as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research,
Development, and Acquisition. Dr. Etter also wrote a number of textbooks in
engineering computing and software development. She is a Fellow of the IEEE,
ASEE, and AAAS. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Etter will be inducted in OSU’s CEAT Hall of Fame and receive the Lohmann
Medal in 2025.



Dr. Ken Butler

headshot image of Ken Butler

  • Semiconductor industry consultant with WattsButler LLC.
  • Fellow of the IEEE, a Golden Core member of the IEEE Computer Society, and a
    Senior Member of the ACM

AI In Test

 

DATE & TIME
Oct. 10, 2025 | 3:30-5pm

 

LOCATION

140 Engineering South

 

Abstract:

With the proliferation of AI technologies in all aspects of our lives, and the move from monolithic to heterogeneous integration of semiconductor devices that is being driven by AI and other technologies, semiconductor test is witnessing challenges unlike any we’ve seen in its history. Today’s most advanced IC products contain billions of components, and they must be tested to ensure they are defect-free and that they comply with the specifications and lifetime requirements of the end equipment into which they will be integrated. In this talk, we will trace the history of
semiconductor test, from its early days of simple spec compliance, to test automation, and now to autonomous test. We will look at how AI methods are being incorporated into test processes to speed up development times, increase the effectiveness of each test insertion, and reduce costs across the semiconductor product life cycle.


This presentation, designed to be accessible to a general audience, will cover:
The history of semiconductor test, from its early days of simple spec compliance to
test automation, and now to autonomous test.

 

Speaker Bio:

Ken Butler is a semiconductor industry consultant with WattsButler LLC. Prior to that, he was involved in the startup of Advantest Cloud Solutions (ACS) within Advantest America Inc., offering products for real-time semiconductor test data collection and analysis, and for 36 years with Texas Instruments working in semiconductor design for testability (DFT) and test generation, reliability, analog product and test engineering, and data analytics. Ken has a BS from Oklahoma State University and an MS and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, all in electrical engineering. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Golden Core member of the IEEE Computer Society, and a
Senior Member of the ACM. Ken also co-leads the IEEE Electronic Packaging Society (EPS) Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap chapter on test technology.


Previous ECE Seminars

Dr. Joseph Campbell - Shaping the Future: Generative AI Applications at MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Dr. Craig Stunkel - High-performance systems and networks for an increasingly AI world
Dr. Jim Lansford - The Role of Standards in Communications - How the Sausage Gets Made

Dr. Matthew Perry - Advanced Hardware Technologies of the Microsoft Azure Platform and their Impact on AI and Edge Computing

Dr. Mohammed Ismail - A Self-Powered loT SoC Platform For wearable Health Care

Dr. Dezhen Song - Sensor Fusion and Its Applications in Autonomous Vehicles, Augmented Reality and Robotic Grasping

Dr. J.R. Cruz - Present and Future Challenges of Data Storage Channels

Dr. Scott T. Acton - Engineers Help Unravel the Mysteries of the Brain 

Dr. Mark D. Hill - Technology, Computer Architecture and Memory

Dr. Robert G. Olsen - Next Generation Engineering Education

Dr. Hong Liu - Phase Sensitive X-ray Imaging for Cancer Diagnosis

Dr. Byul Hur - RF Test and Measurement Circuits and Systems with Agriculture, Environmental and Biomedical Sensor Applications

Dr. Andrew Arms - Sensing:  Interrogating Physical Systems

Dr. Jignesh Solanki - Multi Agent System Applications in Smart Grids

Dr. Sarika Khushalani Solanki - Distribution System Modeling, Analysis and Optimization

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