IEEE recognizes Stephanie Schuckers’ biometrics contributions with Fellowship

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has bestowed upon Clarkson University Professor Stephanie Schuckers the IEEE Fellow distinction.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering professor received the status due to her contributions to biometric recognition systems, including over 40 journal publications and over 60 other academic publications.

“The IEEE Fellow is one of the most prestigious honors of the IEEE and is bestowed upon a very limited number of senior members who have contributed importantly to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology, bringing significant value to our society,” comments IEEE President and CEO K.J. Ray Liu.

“The number of IEEE Fellows elevated in a year is no more than one-tenth of one percent of the total IEEE voting membership.”

Schuckers’ research focuses on developing technologies that process and interpret signals from the human body. Her findings contributed substantially to the performance and security of a variety of biometric systems, including those performing fingerprint, face, and iris recognition.

More specifically, the professor developed one of the first liveness detection software tools for fingerprint biometrics. Since it was software-based, the system needs only the fingerprint image to work.

“Liveness detection reduces the risk of spoofing by requiring a liveness signature, in addition to matched biometric information,” Schuckers wrote in a 2014 paper.

“Methods can be divided into hardware and software categories. Hardware methods include measurements like pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram, or odor, while software-based measurements use additional processing of the biometric information itself to isolate liveness signatures like perspiration.”

Schuckers is also the founder of NexID Biometrics, which was acquired by Precise Biometrics in 2017. She is currently the director of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) and Clarkson’s Paynter-Kringman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science.

The biometrics expert and new IEEE Fellow gave a presentation on ‘Bias in biometric recognition: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the Authenticate 2022 event in October 2022.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  biometrics research  |  CITeR  |  Clarkson University  |  IEEE  |  Stephanie Schuckers