Ralph Etienne-Cummings

I am currently a professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). I was the Associate Director for Education and Outreach of the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Engineering Research Centers on Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology at JHU and the former Director of Computer Engineering at JHU and the Institute of Neuromorphic Engineering (currently administered by University of Maryland, College Park).

Research interest includes mixed signal VLSI systems, computational sensors, computer vision, neuromorphic engineering, smart structures, mobile robotics, legged locomotion and neuroprosthetic devices.

I received my B. Sc. in physics, 1988, from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. I completed my M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in December 1991 and 1994, respectively. I have served as Chairman of the IEEE Circuits and Systems (CAS) Technical Committee on Sensory Systems and on Neural Systems and Application, and was re-elected as a member of CAS Board of Governors from 1/2007 – 1/2009. I was also the General Chair of the IEEE BioCAS Conference in 2008, and serves on its Steering Committee. I was also a member of Imagers, MEMS, Medical and Displays Technical Committee of the ISSCC Conference from 1999 – 2006. I also serve on numerous editorial boards and was recently appointed Deputy Editor in Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems. I am the recipient of the NSF’s Career and Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Awards. In 2006, I was named a Visiting African Fellow and a Fulbright Fellowship Grantee for his sabbatical at University of Cape Town, South Africa. I was invited to be a lecturer at the National Academies of Science Kavli Frontiers Program, held in November 2007. I won the 2010 JHU Applied Physics Lab R.W. Hart Prize for Best R&D Project in Development. I have also won publication awards, including the 2011 Best Paper Award for IEEE Transactions of Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 2003 Best Paper Award of the EURASIP Journal of Applied Signal Processing and “Best Ph.D. in a Nutshell” at the IEEE BioCAS 2008 Conference, and have been recognized for my activities in promoting the participation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In 2012, I was recognized as a “ScienceMaker”, as part of the HistoryMakers which is an African American history archive and was elected as an IEEE Fellow for contributions in “neuromorphic sensory-motor circuits and systems”.