Summary written for P&G intern

My research interest is the major topic of image registration, with focus on the Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) application.

Image registration is to find the transformation between two images so that they can be spatially aligned. It involves several sub topics and some of them can be expanded and studied as Ph.D. thesis themselves which makes image registration a very comprehensive topic.  

Papers on this topic started to emerge from two decades ago, and based on my literature review on the papers, it is an application driven topic with major applications on medical area. For example, image guided surgery and medical images information fusion. Each paper proposes different algorithms dealing with different image modalities, such as PET/MRI, CT/MRI, or different imaging objects, such as brain, skull, and vessel.  

The NDE application I am working on comes from the contract project of GE Aviation. Their inspection team uses the most sophisticated inspection technologies such as digital X-ray, phased array ultrasonic, and infrared thermography to evaluate the integrity of engine components and materials. I am cooperating with them studying the registration between 2D Infrared image and 3D CT image. It is a double-challenge problem: first, images to be registered are of different dimensions; second, infrared/CT is a brand new modalities combination that has never been studied in registration area before. Therefore, algorithms proposed before are not guaranteed to work on this new application.

Until now, work I have done can be classified into three blocks: imaging principle of infrared and CT images, literature review of previous work on image registration algorithm, and experimental test. Using information theory measure I have had some preliminary results. From there, I will improve the algorithm to meet the speed and accuracy requirement.

What did I do this past month?

My plan was staying at home (the home at Weifang, China) for 30 days, from 31th, Dec to 30th, Jan, however, due to the visa problem, I postponed the schedule and didn't come back to US till two days ago. This made my vacation 40 day, and I got to spend three big festivals with my families: New Year, Chinese New Year, and Lantern Festival, which I think are the most important three festivals in Chinese culture. :)
Dad didn't change by look, but his personality is getting weird. His mid-age crisis with Mom went on and off during my stay. I'm not on either side of them, tried a lot to help them, encouraged them to communicate with each other, but it seemed like it didn't work very well. :(
Sometimes, I think I need to go back and stay forever to protect something or somebody. Mom and Dad are getting old, and start to have health problems from time to time. I want to stay for them. All my attachment is there, and him, the one I won't be able to get over for my whole life.
I found a box that i sealed 10 years ago in a drawer upstairs in the attic. I remember it, and haven't seen it for years I thought Mom through it away or lost it when we moved. Of course, it is not sealed anymore, and of course my parents opened it, and of course, they have "the right" to read my diaries and secrets. Three diaries, some old letters and gifts he gave me, and even one of his algebra notebook when we were in the No. 10 middle school. Suddenly, all those stuff brought me back to 10 years ago. Every words in the diary records those grey days in my life, and all about HIM. We met again, kinda like the old time but definitely different. Friend? More than friend? Life time friend? Thinking about the fact that we have been known each other for 20 years, and have been close to each other for 14 years just makes everything amazing and special.  And makes me afraid of losing it. We still care and hurt each other sometimes, as always.
It was good to be away US for a while to spend some special days with my family and also help me to get over J. Yes, right. It is time to be real Zhen's stone tough and stop fantasizing and move on!!!His personality disability should be something I hate/curse/be away forever. Let me put an end on it!!! Be Zhen!
No matter if i'm going back to China or not, now look around, I'm here, in US again. Zhen, face what you need to face right away, and solve problems one by one. And the most important thing is: keep your high dignity, respect yourself. Dad used to give me three words: 正确的，正面的，积极的。