RICHARDSON,
Texas (August 28, 2003) – Dr. Balakrishnan Prabhakaran, assistant professor of computer science at
The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), has been granted a Career Award from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) for his work with animation databases that eventually could aid the hearing impaired
and have other potential applications.
The award, worth approximately $400,000 over the next
five years, is part of the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development program. The Career Award is the
NSF’s most prestigious honor for junior faculty members and recognizes and supports the activities
of teachers and scholars deemed most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. Recipients
are selected on the basis of creative early career development plans that effectively integrate research
and education within the context of the mission of their respective institutions.
Prabhakaran’s research goal is to develop content-based
retrieval and related techniques for animation databases. He also is working to integrate these techniques
in an animation “authoring toolkit” – a graphic user interface designed to aid in generating new
animation sequences by reusing existing models and motion sequences.
Prabhakaran’s findings could have an impact on such
areas as sign language and medical care and ultimately could lead to the development of educational
materials about animation databases and scientific visualization. Specifically, he hopes to aid in
generating sign language animations based on spoken words for persons with hearing disabilities.
Prior to joining UTD, Prabhakaran was a professor at
the National University of Singapore, the University of Maryland in College Park and at the Indian
Institute of Technology in Madras, India. He is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) and completed his doctorate in computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology.
The NSF established the CAREER program in 1995 to help
top-performing scientists and engineers early in their careers continue their commitment to research
and education. Career Awards are bestowed each year to approximately 400 junior faculty members at
universities across the country. Awards typically range in amount from $200,000 to $500,000 and in
duration from four to five years.
Begun in 1950, the NSF was created to promote and advance
progress in science and engineering research education in the United States. The NSF supports all
fields of science, mathematics and engineering and is an independent federal agency that does not
fall under any cabinet department.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart
of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor,
enrolls more than 13,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront
of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment
of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please
visit the university’s Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu.