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Leslie M. Collins earned the BSEE degree from the University of Kentucky, and the MSEE, and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. From 1986 through 1990 she was a Senior Engineer at Westinghouse Research and Development Center in Pittsburgh, PA. She joined Duke in 1995 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2002 and to Professor in 2007. She is currently chairing the ECE Department. Her research interests include physics-based statistical signal processing, subsurface sensing, auditory prostheses and pattern recognition. She is a member of the Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, and Eta Kappa Nu honor societies. Dr. Collins has been a member of the team formed to transition MURI-developed algorithms and hardware to the Army HSTAMIDS and GSTAMIDS landmine detection systems. She has been the principal investigator on research projects from ARO, NVESD, SERDP, ESTCP, NSF, and NIH. Dr. Collins was the PI on the DoD UXO Cleanup Project of the Year in 2000.
| Office Location: | 128 Hudson Hall |
| Office Phone: | +1 919 660 5260, +1 919 660 5212 |
| Email Address: |  
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| Web Page: | http://www.ee.duke.edu/research/collins |
Teaching (Fall 2008):
Current projects: • Development of novel advanced data processing techniques for fielded and prototype UXO and landmine sensors., • Multi-modal sensor fusion for subsurface sensing., • Sensor management for efficient sensor deployment to decrease time to decision., • Optimization of phenomenological electromagnetic induction model inversions for UXO detection., • Statistical modeling of ground-penetrating radar signatures for landmine detection., • Non-destructive fill material identification using gamma-ray spectroscopy., • Object classification through ultrasonic measurements and model fitting., • Classification of ultrasonic measurements of chemical signatures., • Interactive computational auditory scene analysis for acoustic event detection and classification., • EEG signal analysis to facilitate communication via brain-computer interface (BCI)., • Improvement of speech recognition and music perception for cochlear implant users through psychophysics and algorithm development.
This laboratory’s research is in the area of physics-based statistical signal processing algorithms, and we are actively engaged in two general application areas: (1) Investigating human auditory perception and developing remediation strategies for the hearing impaired; (2) developing sensor-based algorithms for the detection of hazardous buried objects, such as unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines. Our research methodology is distinguished in two fundamental ways. First, we place an emphasis on incorporating the physics or phenomenology that governs the specific application directly into the signal processing framework, and we consider both experimental and theoretical issues. Second, we maintain an interactive collaboration with the end-user community that provides necessary feedback to the development process and validates the real-world utility of our research efforts. Our work in these application areas has improved quality of life and safety of life as a result of the development of novel signal processing algorithms.
