Beyond Research Papers…

Workshops & Seminar Series

The Computational Cameras Group at Caltech is committed to organizing events that bring together researchers from different fields to share ideas. Prof. Bouman has co-organized the International Conference on Computational Photography (2022), Computational Cameras and Displays Workshop at CVPR (2019 & 2020), a Keck Institute for Space Studies Workshop (2019-2021), the SPACE West Webinar Series, among others. The Computational Cameras group is particularly excited to be

• Co-organizer of the Grundfest Lecture Series. The Grundfest Lecture series highlights rising stars in computational imaging. The series is co-organized by UCLA and Caltech and is held the first Friday of every month. Inspired by the hardships junior researchers face during COVID-19, the lecture includes an “inverse-honorarium”: a monetary award for junior candidates with a non-permanent academic position (e.g. PhD student, postdoc).

Mentoring Undergraduate Students

The computational cameras group mentors undergraduate students in summer research opportunities through Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and WAVE Fellowship programs. These programs match undergraduates recruited from around the country with a faculty member and graduate student mentor, who introduce them to research tools used in cutting edge science, engineering, and technology. The WAVE program focuses on students from underrepresented minorities. For undergraduate students interested in working in our group over the summer: please see the links above for information on how to apply.

Prof. Bouman also teaches a Machine Learning Projects course at Caltech. The goal of the course is to connect undergraduates with mentors in both CS/EE and a particular domain in order to work on a 10-week project in small groups. These projects are meant to engage and inspire undergraduate students to pursue interdisciplinary research as well as give them personal connections to faculty.

The members of the computational camera’s group also participate on mentoring panels, such as the ones focused on helping undergraduates prepare and apply for graduate school.

Public Outreach

The Computational Cameras Group’s primary goal of public outreach is to introduce students to STEM and show them how exciting projects in STEM are. Being part of the team who captured the first image of a black hole, our group has been incredibly fortunate to participate in a project that sparks public interest. At these events, in addition to explaining the work scientifically, our goal is to also discuss how we’ve gotten interested in engineering, what it’s like working on collaborative projects, and challenges we’ve each encountered along the way. Events that Prof. Bouman has participated in include

• Given talks and participated in Q&A panels at over 60 different venues, with an emphasis on Q&A panels with young students, women, and underrepresented minority (URM) groups at different schools and conferences
• Given talks at public outreach events such as TEDx, the Boston Science Museum, local middle and high schools, and local observatories
• Testified in Congress to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology about the important role of young researchers in Big Science, and the need to “spark” interest in STEM at a young age.
• Wrote or contributed to outreach articles, such as ones that appeared on the front cover of IEEE Spectrum and Physics World
• Participated in outreach videos on the importance of computational imaging for the IEEE Signal Processing Society
• Appeared on educational shows such as Innovation Nation, and documentaries that appeared on BBC, Smithsonian Channel, and Netflix.

Prof. Bouman was honored to be a finalist for the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement for her efforts in public outreach. She is inspired everyday by the stories of young students from around the world that are excited by science and engineering!

Diversity and Inclusion

The Computational Cameras Group at Caltech is dedicated to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a community that values and celebrates differences among our members and we strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds.

Prof. Bouman and group member Angela Gao are also currently members of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) steering committee, with the goal of helping to evaluate and improve the environment at Caltech for a diverse student body.