Profile

Dr. Seong Kong is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California, Los Angeles in 1991. He is the director of the Imaging and Pattern Recognition Laboratory, which conducts cutting-edge research in the areas of digital image processing, pattern recognition, and intelligent systems. His research interests include thermal infrared imaging for personal identification and surveillance, hyperspectral imaging for biomedical diagnostics and target recognition, artificial neural networks, and Terahertz signal enhancement for chemical and nuclear threat detection.

His research on hyperspectral imaging was featured in the Biophotonics International Magazine in 2004. He has received funding from several organizations including National Science Foundation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Kong has published over 70 journal articles and conference papers in his research fields. One of his paper titled “Recent Advances in Visual and Infrared Face Recognition – A Survey” was awarded The Most Cited Paper Award for the journal Computer Vision and Image Understanding in 2007 and 2008, the distinction determined on the basis of the highest number of cites received for all journal articles published during the past three years. Other honors include Honorable Mention Paper Award from American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in 2005 and Best Paper Award in IEEE International Workshop on Object Tracking and Classification Beyond the Visible Spectrum in 2004.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses of digital signal processing, digital image processing, and pattern recognition. He is a senior member of IEEE and serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. Before coming to Temple University, he was an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was with School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University and Aachen University of Technology in Germany as a visiting researcher.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, 1991
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, 1987
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, 1982

Research Interest - Website

• Image Processing
• Pattern Recognition
• Intelligent Systems

Selected Publications

• W. Jiang and S. G. Kong, “Block-based Neural Networks for Personalized ECG Signal Classification,” IEEE Trans. on Neural Networks, Vol. 18, No. 6, pp.1750-1761, November 2007. 

• W. Jiang and S. G. Kong, “A Least-Squares Learning for Block-based Neural Networks,” Dynamics of Continuous, Discrete and Impulsive Systems, Vol. 14, No. S1, pp.242-247, 2007. 

• Z. Du, M. K. Jeong, and S. G. Kong, “Band Selection of Hyperspectral Images for Automatic Detection of Poultry Skin Tumors,” IEEE Trans. Automation Science and Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp.332-339, 2007. 

• S. G. Kong, J. Heo, F. Boughorbel, Y. Zheng, B. R. Abidi, A. Koschan, M. Yi, and M. A. Abidi, “Multiscale Fusion of Visible and Thermal IR Images for Illumination-Invariant Face Recognition,” International Journal of Computer Vision, Vol. 71, No. 2, pp.215-233, February 2007. 

• P. Park, D. J. Choi, and S. G. Kong, “Output Feedback Variable Structure Control for Linear Systems with Uncertainties and Disturbances,” Automatica, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp.72-79, January 2007. 

• S. G. Kong, M. Martin, and T. Vo-Dinh, “Hyperspectral Fluorescence Imaging for Mouse Skin Tumor Detection” ETRI Journal, Vol. 28, No. 6, pp.770-776, December 2006. 

• S. G. Kong, J. Heo, B. R. Abidi, J. Paik, and M. A. Abidi, “Recent Advances in Visual and Infrared Face Recognition – A Review,” Computer Vision and Image Understanding, Vol. 97, No. 1, pp.103-135, January 2005. (CVIU Most Cited Paper Award) 

• I. Kim, Y. R. Chen, M. S. Kim, and S. G. Kong, “Detection of Skin Tumors on Chicken Carcasses using Hyperspectral Fluorescence Imaging,” Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp.1785-1792, 2004. (ASABE Paper Award)  

• S. G. Kong, Y. R. Chen, I. Kim, and M. S. Kim, “Analysis of Hyperspectral Fluorescence Images for Poultry Skin Tumor Inspection,” Applied Optics, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp.824-833, February 2004. 

• J. D. Jang and S. G. Kong, “Design of Optimal Digital IIR Filters using the Genetic Algorithm,” Journal of Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp.115-121, June 2002. 

• S. W. Moon and S. G. Kong, “Block-based Neural Networks,” IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.307-317, March 2001. 

• M. S. Kim and S. G. Kong, “Parallel-Structure Fuzzy Systems for Time Series Prediction,” Int’l Journal of Fuzzy Systems, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.331-340, March 2001.  

Projects

• Seong Kong (PI), “Biometric Template Transform Technology based on One-way Function,” $150,000, funded by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 2007 – 2010 

• Seong Kong, (PI), “Face Recognition based on Multiscale Analysis of Thermal IR Images,” $100,000, funded by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 2005 – 2008 

• Seong Kong (PI), “High-Speed Processing of Hyperspectral Image Data for Cancer Diagnostics” $63,323, funded by Oak Ridge National Lab, 2004 – 2007 

• Seong Kong (PI), “Evolving Block-based Neural Networks for Dynamic Environments,” $203,770, funded by NSF, 2003 – 2007 

• Seong Kong (Co-PI), “Advanced Diagnostics Algorithm for Cancer Detection using Hyperspectral Fluorescence Imaging,” $125,000, funded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2003 – 2005 

Present Teaching (Spring 2008)

• APPL/DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING