Hall of Fame of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory:
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- February 2012
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) for his “outstanding contributions in the field of ophthalmology and vision sciences with particular focus on diagnostics and artificial vision systems.” “The 107 inductees consist of some of the most talented and influential members of our field,” said Kenneth Lutchen, AIMBE president and dean of engineering at Boston University. “It is both a pleasure and an honor to welcome the Class of 2012 to our College of Fellows.” The AIMBE College of Fellows consists of 1,000 outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry and government. Fellows are nominated each year by their peers and represent the top 2 percent of their field.
- December 2011
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink was co-awarded a NASA patent on “Method to create arbitrary sidewall geometries in 3-dimensions using liga with a stochastic optimization framework.” This patent was a result of Dr. Fink's work with Francis B. Eyre at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, making a dozen patents to date in his name.
- March 2011
- The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) / Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP)-funded research effort on a “Comprehensive Visual Field Test and Diagnosis System for Acute and Routine Assessment of Vision, Visual Acuity, and Contrast Sensitivity in Military Environments” (PI: Dr. Wolfgang Fink, Caltech) once again was selected as a highlight example of outstanding CDMRP-funded research (see this link). The technical description of the project can be found (at this link).
- July 2010
- Science magazine published an article featuring Dr. Wolfgang Fink's research on using intelligent robots for planetary exploration. The main thrust of the July 30 Science article, “Making Smarter, Savvier Robots” by Sam Kean, was that "robots are pretty dumb" and must rely on scientists back on Earth to control their exploratory missions. Kean pointed out that only a few dozen scientists are developing robots with true high-level independence that enables them to avoid danger while investigating planetary features of their own choosing. The article showcased, among other things, a tiered system for autonomous robotic space exploration that Dr. Fink devised at Caltech. [Click to see article]
- March 2010
- The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) / Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP)-funded research effort on a “Comprehensive Visual Field Test and Diagnosis System for Acute and Routine Assessment of Vision, Visual Acuity, and Contrast Sensitivity in Military Environments” (PI: Dr. Wolfgang Fink, Caltech) was selected as a highlight example of outstanding CDMRP-funded research. The technical description of the project can be found (at this link)
- October 2009
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink and Caltech Visiting Scientist Mark Tarbell of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech have created a robot surrogate for blind persons for the purpose of testing implanted visual prostheses.
- July 2009
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink and Caltech Visiting Scientist Mark Tarbell of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech were named co-recipients of the R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 Award, and subsequently in November 2009 they were also named co-recipients of the R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 Editors' Choice Award (the highest of the R&D 100 Awards in 2009), both for the DOE-funded Artificial Retina Project. The prizes recognize significant new technologies that exemplify the most innovative ideas of the year.
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink and Caltech Visiting Scientist Mark Tarbell of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech are featured in the 2009 Newsletter of the Department of Energy (DOE) funded Artificial Retina project. The specific project description is on page 10 of the newsletter.
- June 2009
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech has been invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy international workshop "Opportunities in Biology at the Extreme Scale of Computing", Aug 17-19, 2009, Chicago, IL.
- May 2009
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech has attended the invitation-only U.S. Department of Energy workshop "New Frontiers in Characterizing Biological Systems", May 13-14, 2009, Bethesda, MD.
- July 2008
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Computer World in an article "CalTech: Intelligent space robots will explore universe by 2020", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Linux World in an article "CalTech: Intelligent space robots will explore universe by 2020", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in PCWorld in an article "Smart Robots Will Explore Universe by 2020", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in MSNBC in an article "Future space robots may think for themselves", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in IT VOIR in an article "Future space robots may think for themselves", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Herald Journal in an article "NASA teams up with a robot named WALL-E", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Universe Today in an article "By 2020, Droids Could Explore Space For Us", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in RSS Fabriek in an article "Intelligent space robots to dig around, throw raves on their own by 2020", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in The Daily Galaxy in an article "News from Planet Earth and Beyound", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in FOXNews in an article "How Robots Could Explore Other Worlds", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Iconocast in an article "How Robots Could Explore Other Worlds", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Newser in an article "Thinking 'Bots May Probe Planets for Us", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured by Planetary Society in an interview on "Wall-E and the Future of Robots in Space", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in USA TODAY in an article "Curious robots could search for intelligent life on distant planets", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Tech World in an article "Curious robots could search for intelligent life on distant planets", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Newstin in an article "Curious robots could search for intelligent life on distant planets", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in SILObreaker in an article "Curious robots could search for intelligent life on distant planets", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured on SPACE.COM in an article on "The Future of Space Robots" by Jeremy Hsu, discussing "Tier-Scalable Reconnaissance" and Disney/Pixar's WALL-E with respect to future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Yahoo News in an article "The Future of Space Robots", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Reel Science - Chemical & Engineering News in a review about Disney/Pixar's WALL-E by Rachel Petkewich.
- June 2008
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in the Investor's Business Daily on the topic of "NASA Gives Pixar's Wall-E A Big Mission" by Patrick Seitz. WALL-E is the center figure of the computer animated science fiction movie Wall-E produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory are featured in Yahoo News in an article "NASA Gives Pixar's WALL-E A Big Mission", discussing future space exploration.
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink and Mark A. Tarbell of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech
invited to the Wall-E World Premiere Red Carpet Event on June 21, 2008 at the Greek Theatre, Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
- April 2008
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink named Session Chair and Peer Reviewer for the 5th Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon), Santa Clara, California, 2008, Approaches and Technologies to Detect Life on Mars (S3)
- February 2008
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3D Computer-automated Threshold Amsler Grid Test (3D-CTAG), devised by Dr. Wolfgang Fink and Dr. Alfredo Sadun, featured in the February 2008 issue of the Journal
Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde in the article "Computertest verbessert frühe Detektion" by Britta Brudermanns (full reference: Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkde 2008; 225: 119).
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink together with Dr. Robert Grubbs, Nobel Laureate and Atkins Professor of Chemistry at Caltech, and Dr. Julia Kornfield, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech, to give Expert Panel Presentation at the Executive Forum at Caltech on the topic:
"To See or Not to See...
Detection, Diagnosis, and Remedies for Eye Disorders"
- April 2007
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink named Session Chair and Peer Reviewer for SPIE Defense & Security Symposium, Orlando, Florida, 2007, MICRO (MEMS) AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS II (DS17)
- March 2007
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Dr. Wolfgang Fink named Program Committee Member and Peer Reviewer for 22nd Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, Seoul, Korea, 2007, Computer Applications in Health Care track
- 24 August 2006
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink is awarded NASA Tech Brief Award on: "Spectral retrieval and degeneracy analysis by means of Evolutionary Computational Methods (ECM)"
- 14 April 2006
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink is awarded NASA Tech Brief Award on: "Parallel, Global, and Pareto Optimization of Low-Thrust Trajectories with the Primer Vector Theory"
- 26 January 2006
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink is awarded NASA Tech Brief Award on: "Stochastic Evolutionary Algorithms (Simulated Annealing) for Deployment Path Planning and Optimization for Joint-based Robotic Limbs"
- 01 July 2004
- Dr. Wolfgang Fink is awarded NASA Tech Brief Award on: "Field-Deployable Integrated Air-Ground Multi-Agent Autonomous Remote Planetary Surface Exploration"
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Contact Information
Wolfgang Fink, Ph. D.
Senior Researcher at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Visiting Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at University of Southern California (USC)
Visiting Research Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at University of Southern California (USC)
Visiting Associate in Physics at California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Mailing Address:
California Institute of Technology
Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory
15 Keith Spalding (corner of E. California Blvd & S. Wilson Ave)
Mail Code 103-33
Pasadena, CA 91125
USA
Phone: 1-626-395-4587
Fax: 1-626-395-4587
E-mail: wfink@autonomy.caltech.edu.
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