Digital Imaging Careers

Presented by Presented by

Morton M Sternheim

June, 2012June, 2012

The NSF ITEST ProgramInnovative Technology

Experiences for Students and Teachers

Funds STEM DIGITALWorkforce emphasisProjecting future STEM

and Information Technology (IT) needs is uncertain, but large increases are likely

STEM EmploymentSTEM employment grew over 3 x faster than the

total workforce between 1950 and 2007 (NSF, 2010)STEM employment is expected to continue to grow

faster in the next decade than the overall workforce (U.S. Department of Labor, 2009)

Growth in STEM degrees has not kept pace with the overall demand, and the gap has been filled by foreign-born scientists and engineers

STEM Employment, cont.The U.S. is expected to face

a serious shortage of skilled workers in STEM fields over the next twenty years (NAS, 2007; ACT, 2006).

Depending on one’s definition, 60 to 80% of the 30 fastest growing occupations are STEM or IT related. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010)

Optical Society of AmericaThe number of images that are sensed, stored and

displayed digitally continues to increase dramatically in virtually every imaging system from video endoscopes and digital phones to digital cameras to remote-sensing satellites and astronomical telescopes

A major important feature of digital images is that they lend themselves to various processing techniques that can be used to enhance the visual appearance, to extract important information automatically, to format for data storage and transmission and to optimize the image data for display.

Example: Digital CamerasHow many photos did

you take in a one week vacation with a film camera?

How many photos do you take in a one week vacation with a digital camera?

Example: DronesThe US military is awash in images from Predator

spy drones flying over Afghanistan and Iraq, and this problem will intensify as more drones are added and they are upgraded from one camera per drone to 10 and eventually to possibly as many as 65 (NY Times, 2010).

ReferencesNSF, 2010. Science and Engineering Indicators

2010, http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10US Department of Labor, 2009. Occupational

employment projections to 2018. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/11/art5full.pdf

NAS, 2007. Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Washington, D.C., The National Academies Press.

References, cotd.NY Times, 2010. Military Is Awash is Data from

Drones. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/11drone.html

ACT, 2006. Developing the STEM Education Pipeline. Washington, D.C., ACT

U.S. Department of Labor, 2010.Employment Projections Program. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_103.htm

Where Will Digital Imaging Be Used?Groups of ~ 4 peopleDiscuss career ideasList 5-10 ideas5 minutesReport

Where Will Digital Imaging Be Used?