Past Winner
2014 NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships

Dr. Zhou Wang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Waterloo

What makes a digital image look good?

Humans can tell if a digital image or video is of high quality simply by looking at it. Can a computer do the same?

Increasingly, the answer is “yes,” thanks to researchers like Dr. Zhou Wang, recipient of a 2014 Steacie Memorial Fellowship. The University of Waterloo associate professor is a global leader in developing computational models that can accurately and consistently predict how an individual will view the quality of images and videos.

Over the past decade he developed the Structural SIMilarity (SSIM) index, now the standard for objectively measuring image quality. Major companies such as Cisco, Motorola, Ericsson AT&T and NBC rely on the SSIM method to deliver products and services with the best possible perceptual quality to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

Dr. Wang was recently elected an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow for his “contributions to perceptual image processing and quality assessment.” He is currently leading a research team that is developing next-generation theories and methodologies in measuring and improving the quality of visual experience in a wide variety of network visual communication and immersive applications, which include video-on-demand, video broadcasting, videoconferencing, high-definition television (HDTV), three-dimensional television (3DTV), internet television, and wireless video services.