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  • EPFL introduces minor in imaging to meet growing demand from research

    22.03.23 - New imaging methods are being developed and adopted at a rapid pace in both research and industry. To equip EPFL graduates with the skills they’ll need, the School’s Center for Imaging is introducing a minor specifically in this area starting in the 2023–2024 school year. It’s the first program of its kind in Europe and will comprise an array of cross-disciplinary classes. Imaging systems generally work by analyzing the light and sound waves that an object either emits or propagates, in order to produce a view of the object. Today these systems have become an essential element of discovery in a number of fields, as they can collect and display information and phenomena invisible to the naked eye. While most people associate imaging with medical applications, it’s actually used in countless ways: to study exoplanets, observe proteins within cells, detect cracks inside materials, count wildlife populations, and perform optical inspections of production runs. What’s more, engineers are continually developing new imaging methods, providing researchers and businesses with novel ways of collecting and analyzing information. To make sure EPFL graduates are up to date with the latest techniques, the School’s Center for Imaging has introduced a new minor program for Master’s students, which will begin this fall. The program is designed primarily to give students specific skills in imaging, data acquisition and data analysis, but also to serve as a springboard for new classes in imaging and better structure and clarify EPFL’s existing classes. The minor will offer a valuable add-on to core studies in a given field. It’s the first such program in Europe and underscores EPFL’s pioneering role in this area. Improved coherence and visibility for imaging classes Although imaging is used in a highly diverse range of fields, the underlying principles are quite similar. All imaging systems tend to rely on sources, detectors, contrast agents, data processing programs, algorithms and propagation mechanisms. They also all collect huge amounts of data and rely increasingly on artificial intelligence to sort through them. Over 100 EPFL labs currently work with or are developing imaging systems, placing the School at the forefront of imaging technology worldwide. And that’s true for education just as much as research: EPFL already offers around 30 imaging classes for Master’s students. “The natural next step for us was to group these various classes together into a minor,” says Daniel Sage, an EPFL lecturer and advisor to the Center who’s heading up the new program. “That also gives greater coherence and visibility to the imaging know-how we have at EPFL – and makes the subject more attractive.” The minor will include a combination of theoretical instruction and hands-on practice. Laurène Donati, the Center’s Executive Director, explains: “Classes will vary in the amount of theory they cover and will span a broad range of concepts and methods, from instrumentation techniques and data processing to image analysis. And in over half of the classes, the skills taught can be applied in a range of disciplines: materials science, astrophysics, life science, civil engineering and more.” Students will be able to pick the classes that fit best with their main field of study. The point of the new minor is for EPFL graduates to be better equipped to handle the imaging challenges they’ll face later in their careers. There are a handful of prerequisites, such as a basic knowledge of algebra, linear analysis, programming and physics – all generally picked up during the Bachelor’s programs. “For students whose undergraduate programs are far removed from algorithms for image processing, we’ll offer a new class on mathematics for imaging,” says Sage. “It’ll cover the basics in a way that’s easy to grasp.” Classes in the new minor will be grouped into four cross-disciplinary categories: fundamental theory, laboratory practice, instrumentation & optics, and image processing & analysis. Students will also be required to carry out a semester project, ideally at labs spanning two different disciplines. Those who complete the program will obtain 30 ECTS credits. Almost a world first Very few other universities offer this kind of holistic program. Based on a survey the Center carried out ahead of the program’s launch, only the University of Rochester in the United States offers something similar. Other minors in imaging are focused on one specific aspect, like optics or instrumentation, or cover topics related only to image processing or medical imaging. As more proof that degree programs in imaging are sorely needed, the Center has gotten a large number of requests from PhD students who run into obstacles in acquiring or analyzing images for their research. “An overwhelming number of PhD students signed up for our Summer School program, which is now in its second year,” says Donati. “And our monthly Imaging Lunches, where we explore a specific issue, are highly popular. When you look at the job offers out there, a lot of them ask for skills in imaging, and many companies are having trouble finding people with the full range of expertise required. That’s also been confirmed in conversations with industry professionals. Our new minor covers the skills employers are looking for, whether in terms of hardware – like sensors, cameras and optical systems – or software – such as image analysis programs, computer vision and machine learning.” Cécilia Carron

EPFL news News feed from imaging

  • EPFL introduces minor in imaging to meet growing demand from research

    22.03.23 - New imaging methods are being developed and adopted at a rapid pace in both research and industry. To equip EPFL graduates with the skills they’ll need, the School’s Center for Imaging is introducing a minor specifically in this area […]

  • Lausanne museum unveils the secrets of the first color photographs

    03.03.23 - An exhibition on Gabriel Lippmann, the inventor of one of the first methods for color photography, opens today at the Photo Elysée museum in Lausanne and will run until 21 May. The exhibition provides a unique glimpse into Lippmann’s […]

  • Scientists monitor wildlife to boost preservation efforts

    02.03.23 - To mark the tenth annual UN World Wildlife Day, we compiled a sample of EPFL research projects that are using technology to protect and preserve wildlife. Everywhere you look, biodiversity is under threat. According to the World […]

  • SNSF Grant to push further the observations of protein dynamics

    20.02.23 - The Laboratory of Molecular Nanodynamics is developing a cryo-electron microscopy method to observe moving proteins. The researchers, led by Ulrich Lorenz, received recently a Consolidator Grant from the SNSF with the aim of improving […]

  • Ultrafast control of spins in a microscope

    27.01.23 - Researchers at EPFL have developed a new technique that can visualize and control the rotation of a handful of spins arranged in a vortex-like texture at the fastest speed ever achieved. The breakthrough can advance “spintronics”, a […]

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Imaging Grants.

To encourage cross-fertilization between various disciplines and closer interactions between EPFL actors in imaging, we have launched a “Call for Interdisciplinary Projects in Imaging”, a series of grants to support collaborative projects aimed at advancing imaging technology at EPFL.

Description

When it comes to generating 3D digital geometric models of historical buildings, the automation of methods is still limited. Existing research focused on sacral structures, on 3D model generation of the exterior envelope of buildings and on segmentation of interior spaces. The goal of this project is (i) to develop a data acquisition and post-processing… Continue reading 3D imaging of historical buildings


Status: Ongoing
Description

A key tool for studying the dynamics of living systems is the light microscope. Microscopes allow real-time recording of spontaneous or evoked spatio-temporal dynamics, data that can be used to develop models for how complex systems function. Today, cutting-edge microscopes can image below the diffraction limit of light (super-resolution microscopy), or over days, gently enough… Continue reading Spatiotemporal adaptive microscope control, driven by biological events


Status: Ongoing
Description

Many questions in biology, from development to neuroscience and medicine require the identification of finegrained behaviors. We will develop novel computer vision and natural language processing technology to improve behavioral analysis in biology and medicine. Specifically, we will build deep learning models that can efficiently learn joint representations from video and heterogeneous data sources (e.g.,… Continue reading Video-based action segmentation by learning world models from language


Status: Ongoing
Description

Next-generation radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) will observe the sky with unprecedented resolution, sensitivity, and survey speed. However, this precise instrument will demand reliable, precise, and high dynamic range deconvolution techniques to form images. The popular CLEAN algorithm, while efficient, often produces images of suboptimal quality. In recent years convex and… Continue reading Learned Scalable high Dynamic Range imaging in radio astronomy


Status:
Description

Scanning probe methods – and in particular, the combination of scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) – have emerged as unique tools for studying materials and mechanisms in complex, multistep chemical reactions such as CO2 reduction. However, they are notoriously slow in image acquisition, making them ill-suited for studying the dynamics of energy conversion processes. In this project, these two EPFL labs will develop advanced hardware and software components for a unique, fast SICM-SECM imaging method that can be easily deployed within the EPFL community, and beyond. Their method has great potential for the design of energy devices, as well as emerging cross-disciplinary applications such as the nanoelectrochemistry of single-cell signaling.


Status: Ongoing
Description

3D image reconstruction or depth estimation is at the core of applications in navigation as well as Earth system science. Significant advances have been made in the field of computer vision to obtain 3D information from various types of cameras. Yet, these techniques still face limitations for a number of applications. In this project, the… Continue reading A more effective 3D-imaging system for Earth System Science and Navigation


Status: Ongoing
Description

Each human cell contains around two meters of DNA tightly packaged in its nucleus. An exquisite organization is critical to ensure that the DNA can be accessed by the many important genetic processes. This organization is achieved by wrapping the DNA around millions of tiny protein spindles, forming a complex called chromatin. Chromatin governs many key cellular functions and, when malfunctions in its organization can lead to serious diseases.


Status: Ongoing
Description

In this project, scientists from two EPFL labs will combine their know-how to develop a new high-speed microscopy system that can reveal single-molecule dynamics with unprecedented detail, including in liquids. The system will also allow scientists to assess how individual molecules behave, interact and self-organize at the solid-liquid interface. More specifically, they will enhance the… Continue reading High-speed multimodal super-resolution microscopy


Status: Ongoing
Description

When it comes to characterizing mechanics at the cellular scale, the accuracy and precision of current methods are still limited. In this project, Prof. Kolinski and Prof. Persat will connect imaging to mechanical measurements by developing a set of hardware and software tools that can measure microscale 3D force fields and surface stresses.


Status: Ongoing
Description

Spatial transcriptomics – a nascent field arising from the combination of cutting-edge microscopy with gene-specific in-situ labeling – can be used to generate large gene expression profiles of messenger RNA. This gives scientists an indication of the relative expression rates of different genes in the same environment. EPFL scientists at these two labs are are… Continue reading Towards more accurate large-scale gene expression profiles


Status: Ongoing

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