Joseph O'Sullivan

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• Sc.B. in Electrical Engineering at Notre Dame University
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Notre Dame University
• Doctoral Degree in Electrical Engineering at Notre Dame University

In 1998, he became director of the Electronics Signals and Systems Research Laboratory, an academic research laboratory. It pursues complementary educational and research activities and occupies the entire fourth floor of Jolley Hall.

In 2002, he was appointed associate director of the Center for Security Technologies (CST), which features nearly 40 interdisciplinary collaborators who address the fundamental scientific and engineering questions that arise in the design of advanced security systems. The goal of the center is technology development to defend against an array of threats that could impact homeland security.

Also in 2002, O'Sullivan was elected chair of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate Council for the academic year 2002-03. O'Sullivan served as council secretary from 1995-98.

The council brings together 15 representatives from the University's eight schools. It serves as liaison between the administration and the faculty on a broad range of issues touching virtually all aspects of campus life.

Within this frantic framework, O'Sullivan advises eight graduate students and teaches regularly. How does he manage to juggle such a hectic schedule?

"My interests are very broad, and they continue to get broader," O'Sullivan said. "I have wonderful collaborators and students that make work enjoyable. Nearly every year I like to learn a new area and get involved in it."

His research interests include information theory; imaging science, including biomedical imaging; object recognition; security technologies; and magnetic information systems. Much of his work is founded on mathematics, a discipline he has loved and excelled in since childhood.

O'Sullivan, along with colleague Donald L. Snyder, Ph.D., the Samuel C. Sachs Professor of Electrical Engineering, and G. James Blaine III, D.Sc., professor of radiology, as well as others in the School of Medicine, is trying to improve the accuracy of X-ray computed tomographic (CT) imaging by reducing false features, known as artifacts, in CT images. Recently, the researchers have begun working with colleagues in radiology to extend these techniques to scanners that compute both positron emission tomography (PET) images and CT images.

With colleague Ronald S. Indeck, Ph.D., the Das Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering, O'Sullivan is working on design and analysis of error-correction coding techniques for future high-density data-storage systems.