Bio: Serge Belongie joined the UCSD faculty in 2000, after receiving his Ph.D. the same year in electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS) from U.C. Berkeley. He received his M.S. in EECS from U.C. Berkeley (1997), and a B.S. degree (with honor) in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (1995). While at Berkeley, Belongie's research was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Chancellor's Opportunity Predoctoral Fellowship. He is also a co-founder of Digital Persona, Inc., and the principal architect of the Digital Persona fingerprint recognition algorithm.

Research:  Building on his research in pattern recognition, Professor Belongie is currently working on content-based image and video retrieval--a new way to search and analyze the output from the growing number of digital cameras everywhere (since the volume of images and video far outstrips anyone's ability to log all the video). Content-based retrieval allows a computer to scan for and return certain images or patterns-potentially revolutionizing the way visual searches are done. Belongie sees potential use for these new systems in the war on terrorism, and is involved in UCSD campus efforts to build a long-term strategy for research to promote homeland security. Belongie is also an articulate spokesman for a new generation of academics who have worked in the commercial sector, in his case as the co-founder of Digital Persona Inc. in 1996. Born in 1974, Belongie is the youngest engineering professor at UC San Diego. With a background in electrical engineering, Belongie currently teaches undergraduate and graduate computer science classes on image processing and computer vision.