Isak Gath

Biography

Professor Isak Gath was born in Israel in 1937. He joined the Technion-IIT in 1975, and was appointed a Full Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 1991. During 1981 he was a Research Fellow at the Monakow Laboratory, University of Zurich, Switzerland. During 1989-1990 he was Professor of Applied Mathematics (held a Chair 'ChaireMunicipale' ) at the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, the University of Grenoble, and from September 1995-February 1996 he was invited professor at the same department. From September 1999-February 2000 he was a Visiting Professor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA. From Feb. 2005-Sept. 2005 Professor (Invited), Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Professor Gath is the coordinator of the Biological Signal Processing Laboratory Professor Isak Gath was born in Israel in 1937. He joined the Technion-IIT in 1975, and was appointed a Full Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 1991. During 1981 he was a Research Fellow at the Monakow Laboratory, University of Zurich, Switzerland. During 1989-1990 he was Professor of Applied Mathematics (held a Chair 'ChaireMunicipale' ) at the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, the University of Grenoble, and from September 1995-February 1996 he was invited professor at the same department. From September 1999-February 2000 he was a Visiting Professor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA. From Feb. 2005-Sept. 2005 Professor (Invited), Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Professor Gath is the coordinator of the Biological Signal Processing Laboratory

Research Interest

One focus of our research program is on speech processing, with a special stress on the biological aspects of speech. We are interested in the mechanism by which human listeners achieve speaker recognition. An analysis/synthesis model of the speech production system has been implemented, in order to study the effects of various speech parameters on the rate of speaker recognition (using psycho-acoustic experiments). We are also studying the effects of mental stress on speech. An experimental paradigm was developed, where speech could be recorded under stress and under control conditions. The results of this experiment could be applied to a speech-based lie detector. A third project involves the study of speech imitation for voice-based security systems, with the aim of improving imposter detection rates Another field of interest is fuzzy clustering, its theoretical considerations, and its applications. We have developed and are continuing to develop fuzzy clustering algorithms for the detection and characterization of the geometry of convex and non-convex, well-separated or overlapping substructures in the data. This research has relevance for image processing (segmentation, edge detection, 3-D reconstruction from medical imaging etc), for signal processing (estimation of the glottal wave in speech processing, EEG analysis etc ) and for machine vision. Application of these clustering and fuzzy clustering techniques may eventually be extended to other areas in engineering.