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NEW ASSISTANT PROFESSOR JEFFREY HO IS WELCOMED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- New technology in face recognition and tracking could impact how money is obtained from an
ATM as well as the tracking of terrorists. Jeffrey Ho, assistant professor, is conducting research to develop
algorithms and techniques to be utilized in artificial intelligence. His interests include face recognition, face
tracking, machine learning and image clustering.
Ho joined the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering in August. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics
and a MS in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A native of Taiwan, Ho’s goal is
to complete serious and significant research within the next five years.
Ho described his work as “allowing computers to comprehend and appreciate the wonderful visual world we live in.”
He was quick to demonstrate and explain what his research entailed. In face tracking, the goal is to develop an
algorithm that can enables the computer to first locate a target, and then, be able to follow it. However that
algorithm must be robust enough to control for a number of different environments, light and shadows, for example.
Whereas, in image clustering, there may be 20 different people in a collection of images, and the computer needs to
recognize one particular person. This involves teaching the computer through algorithms and various equations to
detect underlying patterns in the data – from facial features to hair color to size and shape and more.
In his first semester at UF, Ho is teaching an upper-level undergraduate course: Artificial Intelligence and
Heuristic. He admits that it is very challenging to teach advanced students, and artificial intelligence is a
particularly difficult subject because of its heavy mathematical framework and people’s preconceptions about
simulating human intelligence.
Ho’s research also focuses on medical imaging. He is currently working on an algorithm to compare two different
shapes in the brain. The hippocampus is the portion of the cerebral hemisphere in the basal medial part of the
temporal lobe of the brain. This part of the brain is important for learning and memory, for converting short
term memory to more permanent memory and for recalling spatial relationships in the world. Medical researchers
predict that the shape of the hippocampus in individuals suffering from schizophrenia is different from that of
those without the disease. It is estimated that approximately one percent of the population develops schizophrenia
during their lifetime, and more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Ho’s research
developing an algorithm to compare different shapes in the brain has the potential to impact medical research on
schizophrenia.
Ho is diligent in his research and optimistic about the possibilities. His previous success includes a post-doctoral
research fellowship supported by the National Science Foundation with the Beckham Institute at the University of
Illinois, as well as contributions as a member of the technical team for the ASIMO humanoid robot program at
Honda Corporation of America.
The Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering is proud to welcome Jeffrey Ho to the
University of Florida!
Writer: Mandelyn Hutcherson, 352-392-4700 ext. 5011, HutchersonM@mail.vetmed.ufl.edu
Source: Jeffrey Ho, 352-392-1529, jho@cise.ufl.edu
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