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USC Living History Project – Dr. Alexander A. Sawchuk

In this installment of the USC Living History Project, Retired Faculty Association President Jerry Walker sat down with Dr. Sawchuk over Zoom to discuss his time at USC. Their conversation is available on our YouTube channel and is attached below:

Professor Alexander “Sandy” Sawchuk is a Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Viterbi School of Engineering. Since joining the University of Southern California in 1971, Professor Sawchuk has taught courses in these and related fields and has supervised the Ph.D. research of more than 40 students. From 2005 to 2012 he was the Chair of the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Systems. In addition, he has served in the past as the Director of the Signal and Image Processing Institute for more than 10 years, and as the Deputy Director of the Integrated Media Systems Center. 

Professor Sawchuk is known for his world-renowned research in optoelectronic devices and systems for parallel optical computing, interconnection, and network and data storage applications. He has also researched the topics of image processing, immersive media technology, stereo and panoramic video and displays, wireless health, multimodal sensing, and machine learning. In addition, he is also the holder of two U.S. patents and an author/co-author of over 175 technical publications including several books and book chapters. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 

Professor Sawchuk has received numerous awards for his seminal teaching and mentoring contributions. The awards include: the Outstanding Teaching Award from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering (1995), the USC Mellon Academic Mentoring Support Program Certificate of Recognition (2005), the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching (2007), and the USC Faculty Mentoring Faculty Award (2016).

Professor Sawchuk’s research in the field of optics as well as his teaching has been significant to both his students and the computer engineering community. His research and dissemination of knowledge have innovated and advanced the field of optics.