Ben Sugerman Email & Phone Number

Towson, Md, Us

Towson, Md, Us

Falls Church, Va, Us

Falls Church, Va, Us

Among my many successful products in my first two years at Northrop Grumman, I have produced:• A single-shot object detector that sets the state of the art for accuracy versus parameter size in optical, IR, and multiple wavebands.• A real-time particle tracker that outperforms Kalman-filter based trackers for maneuverable objects and cluttered data. Current applications include passive ranging and object tracking through cloud cover. • A real-time image registration software for warped scenes• Software to mimic the effects of atmospheric turbulence in imaging for training of machine and deep-learning classification and ATR in the presence of strong atmospheric turbulent warping.I have also completed the UC Irvine certificate in Project Management.

Falls Church, Va, Us

See current role as Staff AI Engineer

Northridge, Ca, Us

I am part of the Image Processing and Computer Vision team, specializing in using my astronomical-imaging and research skills to manage projects and solve numerous defense-related problems in computer vision and image processing.Current projects include:*Design and implementation of a deep convolutional network to measure atmospheric visibility in automated multi-spectral imaging (exceeds 98% accuracy as defined by the National Weather Service).*Advanced super-resolution in imaging that outperforms every "state-of-the-art" method I have tested. *Real-time tracking (and track-before detect) of highly-maneuverable dim targets.*3-D reconstruction of objects from 2-D images (structure from motion) including obscured environments. *Geometric scene registration in clutter.*High-accuracy geometric and position measurements using novel applications of principal-component analysis (PCA).I am currently pursuing a number of SBIR contracts within these topics.

Baltimore, Md, Us

Courses taught: Introductory and Intermediate Astronomy, Astrophysics, Introductory Physics, Modern Physics, Electrodynamics, Nuclear Physics, General Relativity, and a freshman seminar on ethics. Mentoring, instruction, and supervision of 12 student collaborative-research projects. 3 years as department chair. Experience in hiring, promotion, termination, performance review, professional development, team building, and budget management. Major-committee service: assessment (two years as chair); promotion and tenure; and course evaluation.Research topics have included searching for optical and mid-infrared light echoes around supernovae, tracking young supernovae for the production or destruction of dust, and studying the circumstellar environments of a variety of late-evolutionary-stage stars. Designed and wrote the QuickSAND radiative-transfer code, an automated machine-learning based approximation to computationally-expensive Monte-Carlo radiative transfer simulations, producing nearly the same results but many millions of times faster. Made the first direct measurements of the geometry and composition of the material around and between the stars in five nearby galaxies, by analyzing light echoes from eight supernovae.Rediscovered the star V605 Aql, hidden for almost 100 years after a series of outbursts between 1921–1923, and used nearly-imperceptible changes in its environment to directly measure its distance and size. Analyzed time-variable changes in the light from a newly-forming star to show that it has a cloud of material similar in size and composition to the cloud of comets surrounding our own sun. Converted 1.3 million lines of xml code for two online homework systems into a relational database, merged these into a single system compatible with old and new textbooks, and linked each question to customized learning goals. Wrote 4 successful Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope observing proposals, awarded $165,500 in grant funding.

Baltimore, Md, Us

Co-founded the international SEEDS collaboration, to study the evolution in emission from dust in supernovae. Led the American branch of the collaboration (ongoing).Provided the first observational solution to the longstanding question of what made all the dust found in the early universe, by showing that just the right amount of dust is produced in supernovae from massive stars.Wrote 3 successful Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope observing proposals, awarded $254k in grant funding.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Astronomy

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Phyiscs

Baccalaureate Français C, Bac C