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avideh zakhor

University of California, Berkeley, Signetron Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Indoor Reality Inc.

ORCID iD 0000-0003-4770-6353
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About

Dr. Avideh Zakhor is the founder and Chief Science Officer of Signetron Inc., a technology company based in Berkeley, CA, which she established in 1992 to execute advanced research and development projects sponsored by government agencies such as DARPA, IARPA, and ARPA-E. Since 2005, Signetron has participated in several landmark programs, including DARPA’s UrbanScape, Urgent, and VisiBuilding; IARPA’s Finder; and ARPA-E’s IDEAS, RAPMOD, and TERRA. Currently, Signetron serves as an active performer with the California Energy Commission and NYSERDA. In 2022, under Dr. Zakhor's technical leadership, Signetron won both phases of the Department of Energy (DoE) E-Robot competition for developing autonomous robots that clean and air-seal attics, securing over $1M in prize money.

An experienced serial entrepreneur, Dr. Zakhor founded Indoor Reality in 2015 to develop indoor mapping and visual documentation systems for the construction industry, which was subsequently acquired by Hilti AG in 2019. She also co-founded OPC Technology in 1996 (acquired by Mentor Graphics, Nasdaq: MENT, in 1998) and UrbanScan Inc. in 2005 (acquired by Google, Nasdaq: GOOGL, in 2007). UrbanScan created the industry's first fully automated outdoor mapping system for generating 3D exterior models of buildings in urban environments.

Dr. Zakhor has received multiple prestigious awards underscoring both her academic and professional qualifications. These honors include the SPIE Electronic Imaging Scientist of the Year (2018), election as an IEEE Fellow (2001), the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (1992), the Presidential Young Investigator (PYI) Award from President George H.W. Bush (1990), a Hertz Fellowship (1984–1988), the Henry Ford Award (1983), and selection as a General Motors Scholar (1982–1983). She has also received numerous Best Paper awards from primary journals, including IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, and IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, as well as from various flagship conferences within the IEEE Signal Processing Society.

Over the past three decades, Dr. Zakhor has compiled a prolific publication record, authoring more than 250 conference papers and 70 journal articles. This body of work includes 12 papers and one U.S. patent specifically dedicated to the fields of indoor and outdoor image localization.

Dr. Zakhor is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) at U.C. Berkeley, where she has taught since 1988 and currently holds the Qualcomm Chair in EECS. She received her bachelor’s degree from Caltech, followed by her master’s degree and PhD in EECS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Employment

  • University of California, Berkeley Emerita Professor, Recall Appointment 43%
    2024 - Present
  • Indoor Reality Inc. Founder and CTO
    2015 - 2019
  • UrbanScan Co-founder and Chief Scientist
    2005 - 2007
  • Truvideo Founder and CTO
    2000 - 2006
  • Signamask / OPC Technology Co-founder and CTO
    1996 - 1998
  • Signetron Inc. Senior Scientist
    1992 - Present
  • University of California, Berkeley Qualcomm Chair and Professor
    1988 - 2023

Education

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology PhD
    1985 - 1987
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology Master of Science
    1983 - 1985
  • California Institute of Technology Bachelor of Science
    1980 - 1983

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (287)