Faculty Directory
Scott Acton headshot
SA

Scott T. Acton

Professor
434-982-2003
Unit: School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Office location and address
Rice Hall, 311
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Education
B.S. ​Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1988
M.S. ​Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1990
Ph.D. ​Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1993
Biography

Professor Acton’s laboratory at UVA is called VIVA - Virginia Image and Video Analysis. They specialize in biological image analysis problems. The research emphases of VIVA include tracking, segmentation, representation, retrieval, classification and enhancement. Professor Acton has over 250 publications in the image analysis area.

Recent sponsored awards as provided by ResearchUVA:
AS-CHEM Non-Invasive Single-Cell Morphometry and Tracking in Living Bacterial Biofilms
Source: U.S. NIH Institute of General Medical Science
August 25, 2020 – June 30, 2025
Research Interest c. i. (2): A Deep Reinforcement Learning based Long-term Tracker for Salient Event Detection
Source: U.S. DOD - Army - Aro
June 01, 2020 – May 31, 2023
NSF IPA Agreement
Source: U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
September 03, 2019 – September 02, 2021
Innovative Technologies
Source: Old Dominion University Research Foundation
April 06, 2017 – October 10, 2020
EN-EE A Sparse Coding Approach to Spatiotemporal Saliency Detection in Image and Video Databases
Source: U.S. DOD - Army - Aro
June 08, 2015 – June 07, 2019
Contributions for Memberships in the Broadband Wireless Access & Applications Center (BWAC)
Source: Industry - Various
January 01, 2006 – December 31, 2017
EN-EE InSAR Remote Sensing for Performance Monitoring of Transportation Infrastructure at the Network Level
Source: U.S. Department Of Transportation
January 15, 2014 – July 31, 2016
ABI Innovation: Towards the Neurome - Automated Image Analysis for Neuroinformatics
Source: U.S. NSF - Directorate For Biological Sciences
May 01, 2011 – April 30, 2016
Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research
Source: Commonwealth Cancer Foundation for Research
June 01, 2002 – December 31, 2015
EN-EE Activity Detection & Retrieval for Image & Video Data With Limited Training
Source: U.S. DOD - Army - Aro
August 15, 2014 – May 14, 2015
EN-EE Prototype for Meta-Algorithmic, Content-Aware Image Analysis
Source: U.S. DOD - Air Force - Afosr
June 22, 2012 – September 30, 2014
EN-EE Historical Study of Displacements at the Approaches to the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel
Source: Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation & Re
November 18, 2013 – May 31, 2014
Image Analysis Software for Battlefield Ultrasound
Source: PocketSonics, Inc
January 14, 2013 – July 31, 2013
Sinkhole Detection and Bridge/Landslide Monitoring for Transportation Infrastructure
Source: U.S. Department Of Transportation
July 01, 2011 – June 30, 2013
Recent courses as listed in the Student Information System (SIS) Course Catalog:
ECE 1501: Special Topics in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Credits: 1
Student-led special topic courses which vary by semester.
ECE 2066: Science of Information
Credits: 3
An introduction to the fundamental scientific principles governing information science and engineering. Topics include: definition of information; entropy; information representation in analog and digital forms; information transmission; spectrum and bandwidth; information transformation including data compression, filtering, encryption, and error correction; information storage and display; and large-scale information systems. Technologies for implementing information functions.
ECE 4501: Special Topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Credits: 1–4
A fourth-level undergraduate course covering a topic not normally covered in the course offerings. The topic usually reflects new developments in the electrical and computer engineering field. Offering is based on student and faculty interests.
ECE 4750: Digital Signal Processing
Credits: 3
An introduction to digital signal processing. Topics include discrete-time signals and systems, application of z-transforms, the discrete-time Fourier transform, sampling, digital filter design, the discrete Fourier transform, the fast Fourier transform, quantization effects and nonlinear filters. Prerequisite: ECE 3750
ECE 4907: Electrical Engineering Projects
Credits: 1–3
Under faculty supervision, students plan a project of at least one semester's duration, conduct the analysis or design and test, and report on the results. If this work is to be the basis for an undergraduate thesis, the course should be taken no later than the seventh semester. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
ECE 4908: Electrical Engineering Projects
Credits: 1–3
Under faculty supervision, students plan a project of at least one semester's duration, conduct the analysis or design and test, and report on the results. If this work is to be the basis for an undergraduate thesis, the course should be taken no later than the seventh semester. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
ECE 6750: Digital Signal Processing
Credits: 3
A first graduate course in digital signal processing. Topics include discrete-time signals and systems, application of z-transforms, the discrete-time Fourier transform, sampling, digital filter design, the discrete Fourier transform, the fast Fourier transform, quantization effects and nonlinear filters. Additional topics can include signal compression and multi-resolution processing.
ECE 6782: Digital Image Processing
Credits: 3
Analyzes the basic concepts of image formation and image analysis: imaging geometries, sampling, filtering, edge detection, Hough transforms, region extraction and representation, extracting and modeling three-dimension objects. Students will be assigned analytical and programming assignments to explore these concepts. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
BME 8995: M.E. Supervised Project Research (M.E. STUDENTS ONLY)
Credits: 1–6
FOR M.E. STUDENTS ONLY. A research project in biomedical engineering conducted in consultation with a faculty advisor. Includes the design, execution, and analysis of experimental laboratory work and computational or theoretical computer analysis of a problem. Fulfills the project requirement for the Biomedical Engineering Masters of Engineering degree. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission Required.
ECE 8999: Thesis
Credits: 1–12
Formal record of student commitment to master's thesis research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. May be repeated as necessary.
BME 8999: Master's Research
Credits: 1–12
Master's Research
ECE 9999: Dissertation
Credits: 1–12
Formal record of student commitment to doctoral research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. May be repeated as necessary.