Wolfgang Fink

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and inaugural Edward & Maria Keonjian Endowed Chair
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Vision Science
Associate Professor of Systems and Industrial Engineering
Associate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Wolfgang Fink
520.621.8734
wfink@arizona.edu

Associate professor Wolfgang Fink is the inaugural Edward and Maria Keonjian Endowed Chair with joint appointments in the departments of biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, systems and industrial engineering, aerospace and mechanical engineering, and ophthalmology and vision science at the University of Arizona. 

From 2001 to 2016 he served as a visiting associate in physics at the California Institute of Technology and held concurrent appointments as a visiting research associate professor of ophthalmology and neurological surgery at the University of Southern California from 2005 to 2014. He was a senior researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2001 to 2009.

Fink is the founder and director of the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory at Caltech and the University of Arizona, as well as the founder and director of the University of Arizona Center for Informatics and Telehealth in Medicine.

His research comprises human and brain-machine interfaces, smart service systems, autonomous systems, biomedical engineering for health care, and computer-optimized design. He is an AIMBE fellow, a PHMS fellow, an SPIE fellow, a UA College of Engineering da Vinci fellow, a UA ACABI fellow, and a senior member of IEEE. He has more than 260 publications and 25 US and foreign patents to date.

Degrees

  • PhD Theoretical Physics (Summa Cum Laude), University of Tübingen, 1997
  • MS Physics and Physical Chemistry, University of Göttingen, 1993
  • BS Physics, University of Göttingen, 1990

Teaching Interests

Numeric modeling of physics, biological systems and computational techniques.

Research Interests

Artificial vision and vision prostheses, autonomous robotic space exploration, biomedical sensor and system development, cognitive and reasoning systems, and computer-optimized design.

Textbooks/Most Significant Publications

Selected Publications

Chapters

  • Tuller, M., Kulkarni, R., & Fink, W. (2013). Segmentation of x-ray CT data of porous materials: a review of global and locally adaptive algorithms. In Soil--Water--Root Processes: Advances in Tomography and Imaging (pp 157--182).

Journals/Publications

  • Fairen, A. G., Dohm, J. M., Rodriguez, J. P., Uceda, E. R., Kargel, J., Soare, R., Cleaves, H. J., Oehler, D., Schulze-Makuch, D., Essefi, E., Banks, M. E., Kamatsu, G., Fink, W., Robbins, S., Yan, J., Miyamoto, H., Maruyama, S., & Baker, V. R. (2016). The Argyre Region as a Prime Target for in situ Astrobiological Exploration of Mars. Astrobiology, 16, 143-158. doi:online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2015.1396
  • Fink, W., Roveda, J. M., Kincade, A. M., White, J. L., Wangusi, T. W., & TF, M. F. (2016). Self-Powering and Geo-Tagging Method for Pipeline Inspection Gauges to Enable Continuous High-Quality Data- Recording. Journal of Pipeline Engineering, 47-55.
  • Kovalevskaya, M., Milyutkina, S., Fink, W., Belyi, Y., & Tereshchenko, A. (2016). 3D-CTAG Testing of Functional and Structural Changes of the Macula. Adv Ophthalmol Vis Syst, 4(2), 103-111. doi:10.15406/aovs.2016.04.00103
  • Schmid, E. W., & Fink, W. (2016). Operational Design Considerations for Retinal Prostheses. IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine, 31-44.
  • Dohm, J. M., Hare, T. M., Robbins, S. J., Williams, J. P., Soare, R. J., Maarry, M. R., Conway, S. J., Buczkowski, D. L., Kargel, J. S., Banks, M. E., Fairen, A. G., Schulze-Makuch, D., Kamatsu, G., Miyamoto, H., Anderson, R. C., Davila, A. F., Mahaney, W. C., Fink, W., Cleaves, H. J., , Yan, J., et al. (2015). Geological and hydrological histories of the Argyre province, Mars. Icarus, 253, 66-98. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.02.017
  • Fink, W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2014). Artificial vision support system (AVS2) for improved prosthetic vision. Journal of medical engineering \& technology, 38(8), 385--395.
  • Michalska, A. M., You, C. X., Nicolini, A. M., Ippolito, V. J., & Fink, W. (2014). Accessible Webpage Design for the Visually Impaired--A Case Study. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 30(12), 995-1002. doi:10.1080/10447318.2014.925771
  • Schmid, E. W., Fink, W., & Wilke, R. (2014). Operational challenges of retinal prostheses. Medical Engineering & Physics, 36(12), 1644--1655.
  • Fink, W., Sun, H. J., Mahaney, W. C., Kuhlman, K. R., & Schulze-Makuch, D. (2013). Planetary Imaging in Powers of Ten: A Multiscale, Multipurpose Astrobiological Imager. Astrobiology, 13(11), 1005--1010.
  • Tozer, K. R., Fink, W., Sadun, A. A., & Sebag, J. (2013). Prospective Three-Dimensional Analysis of Structure and Function in Vitreomacular Adhesion Cured By Pharmacologic Vitreolysis. Retinal Cases and Brief Reports, 7(1), 57--61.
  • Furfaro, R., Fink, W., & Kargel, J. S. (2012). Autonomous real-time landing site selection for Venus and Titan using Evolutionary Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. Applied Soft Computing, 12(12), 3825--3839.
  • Kulkarni, R., Tuller, M., Fink, W., & Wildenschild, D. (2012). Three-dimensional multiphase segmentation of X-Ray CT data of porous materials using a Bayesian Markov random field framework. Vadose Zone Journal, 11(1), 0--0.
  • Schmid, E. W., & Fink, W. (2012). Operational Design Considerations for Retinal Prostheses. arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.5348.
  • Schulze-Makuch, D., Head, J. N., Houtkooper, J. M., Knoblauch, M., Furfaro, R., Fink, W., Fair\'en, A. G., Vali, H., Kelly Sears, S., Daly, M., & others, . (2012). The Biological Oxidant and Life Detection (BOLD) mission: A proposal for a mission to Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 67(1), 57--69.

Proceedings Publications

  • Fink, W. (2017, Spring). PHM from a Practitioner’s Perspective – A Potpourri of Capabilities. In IEEE Aerospace Conference.
  • Fink, W., Tarbell, M. A., & Brooks, A. J. (2017, May). Tier-Scalable Reconnaissance: the Future in Autonomous C4ISR Systems has arrived. In SPIE Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications IX, 14.
  • Kumbhare, N., Rao, A., Gniady, C., Fink, W., & Rozenblit, J. W. (2017, March). Waypoint-to-waypoint Energy-efficient Path Planning for Multi-copters. In 2017 IEEE Aerospace Conference.
  • Adams, C., Cerwin, J., & Fink, W. (2016, April). Ceeable Visual Field Analyzer (CVFA) for the Portable, Comprehensive, and Tele-­medical Assessment of Visual Performance in Warfighters, Veterans, and Civilian. In SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing.
  • Fink, W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2016, April). Smart Ophthalmics: The future in Tele-­Ophthalmology has arrived. In SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing.
  • Popov, A., Fink, W., & Hess, A. (2016, April). Prognostics and health management (PHM) for astronauts: A collaboration project on the International Space Station. In SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing.
  • Popov, A., Fink, W., McGregor, C., & Hess, A. (2016, March). PHM for Astronauts: Elaborating and Refining the Concept. In 2016 IEEE Aerospace Conference.
  • Roveda, J. M., & Fink, W. (2016, May). System perspectives for mobile platform design in m-Health. In SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing.
  • Roveda, J. M., Fink, W., Chen, K., & Wu, W. (2016, March). Psychological Health Monitoring for Pilots and Astronauts by Tracking Sleep-Stress-Emotion Changes. In 2016 IEEE Aerospace Conference.
  • Chen, K., Fink, W., Lane, R., Allen, J., Vanuk, J., & Roveda, J. M. (2015, June). Wearable Sensor Based Stress Management Using Integrated Respiratory and ECG Waveforms. In International Conference on Body Sensor Network, Cambridge, MA.
  • Dohm, J. M., Miyamoto, H., Fairén, A. G., Baker, V. R., Spagnuolo, M., Anderson, R. C., G. Komatsu, G., Fink, W., Mahaney, W. C., Schulz-Makuch, D., Hare, T. M., El Maarry, M. R., Williams, J. P., Viviano-Beck, C. E., Karunatillake, S., Niihara, T., & Maruyama, S. (2015, June). Mars Changing Environment, Habitability, And Prime Targets. In Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) 2015.
  • Fink, W., Baker, V. R., Flammia, M., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, March). Rover Traverse-­‐Optimizing Planner For Multi-­‐Objective Deployment Scenarios. In 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 1-9.
  • Fink, W., Baker, V. R., Hamilton, C. W., Schulze-Makuch, D., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, March). Autonomous Exploration of Planetary Lava Tubes Using a Multi-Rover Framework. In IEEE Aerospace 2015.
  • Fink, W., Hilmers, D. C., & Tarbell, M. A. (2014). Portable system to monitor astronaut ocular health and the development of the VIIP Syndrome. In Aerospace Conference, 2014 IEEE, 1--9.
  • Fink, W., Popov, A., & Hess, A. (2014). Planning a pilot project on the ISS for crew health management \& maintenance beyond LEO. In Aerospace Conference, 2014 IEEE, 1--9.

Poster Presentations

  • Fink, W., & Roveda, J. M. (2016, Aug. 14). Spatio-Temporal Model for Infectious Disease Prediction Considering Human Mobility. Military Health System Research Symposium.
  • Fink, W., Garcia, K., & Tarbell, M. (2016, August). Smartphone-based Ophthalmic Examination Devices for Field-deployable Visual Performance Assessment of Warfighters, Veterans, and Civilians. 2016 Military Health System Research Symposium, Department of Defense.
  • Fink, W., Garcia, K., & Tarbell, M. A. (2016, May). Smartphone-­‐based Head-­‐mounted Binocular High-­‐Speed Pupillometer. ARVO 2016 Conference. Seattle, Washington: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
  • Milyutkina, S., Fink, W., Kovalevskaya, M., Belyi, Y., & Tereshchenko, A. (2016, May). Comparison of 3D Computer-automated Threshold Amsler Grid Testing and Microperimetry in Wet AMD Patients. ARVO 2016 Conference. Seattle, Washington: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
  • Roveda, J. M., & Fink, W. (2016, Aug 14). Modular Low Power Wearable Sensor Design for Continuous Physiological Monitoring Throughout the Continuum of Combat Care. 2016 Military Health System Research Symposium.
  • Fink, W., & Roveda, J. M. (2015, n/a). Environmental Impact of Infectious Disease Propagation. 2015 Defense Energy Innovation Summit.
  • Fink, W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, May). Smart Ophthalmics: A Smart Service Platform for Tele-­‐Ophthalmology. 2015 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. Denver, Colorado: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
  • Fink, W., Adams, C., & Cerwin, J. (2015, Summer). Portable, Comprehensive, Tele-medical Assessment of Visual Performance over Time in Warfighters, Pilots, Veterans, and Civilians. Military Health Symposium. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: Department of Defense.
  • Fink, W., Baker, V. R., Flammia, M., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, March). Avoiding Planetary Rover Damage by Multi-­‐Objective Rover Traverse Optimization. 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Houston, Texas.
  • Fink, W., Baker, V. R., Schulze-Makuch, D., Hamilton, C. W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, March). Multi-Rover Framework To Autonomously Explore Planetary Lava Tubes. 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
  • Roveda, J. M., & Fink, W. (2015, August). Stress Management Using Wearable Sensors Using Integrated Data Information. 2015 Defense Energy Innovation Summit.
  • Nguyen, J., Yee, K., Wa, C., Fink, W., Sadun, A. A., & Sebag, J. (2014, October). 3D-Threshold Amsler Grid Quantification of Distortions in Macular Pucker & Vitreo-Macular Traction. AAO 2014 Conference.
  • Lin, K., Fink, W., Kamjoo, S., Davis, M., & Chang, T. (2013, May). 3-D Computer-Automated Threshold Amsler Grid to Quantify Retinal Deficits Before and After Standard Treatment of Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration. ARVO 2013 Conference.
  • Fink, W., You, C. X., & Tarbell, M. A. (2012, May). Web-accessible Visual Field Test and Analysis System for Multi-Center Studies and Touchpad Device Access. ARVO 2012 Conference.

Presentations

  • Fink, W. (2016, April). Novel electric stimulation paradigm for artificial vision implants. NeuroTech San Francisco 2016 Conference. NeuroTech San Francisco 2016 Conference, San Francisco.
  • Fink, W., & Roveda, J. M. (2016, August). Real-time Dynamic Data Driven System for Stress Management. InfoSymbiotics/DDDAS Conference. Hartford, CT: DDDAS Conference.
  • Fink, W., Garcia, K., & Tarbell, M. (2016, August). Portable Head-mounted High-Speed Binocular Pupillometer for Near Real-time Non-invasive and Objective Assessment of Brain Injuries. 2016 Military Health System Research SymposiumDepartment of Defense.
  • Fink, W., Popov, A., & Hess, A. (2016, October). PHM for Astronauts – A New Application Special Panel on “PHM for Human Assets”. PHM Society Conference 2016.
  • Chen, K., Fink, W., Lane, R., Allen, J., Vanuk, J., & Roveda, J. M. (2015, April). Identify Invariant Patterns in ECG and Respiratory Waveforms (Invited Talk). Biomedical Engineering Conference 2015 by Omics International group, Philadelphia PA.
  • Fink, W. (2015, March). 3D Visual Field Test as a Prime Example of Tele-Ophthalmology on Earth and in Space. 12th World Congress of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics 2015.
  • Fink, W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, December). Autonomous C4ISR Systems for Extreme Environments. 2015 Defense Energy Innovation Summit. Austin, Texas.
  • Fink, W., & Tarbell, M. A. (2015, December). Smart Ophthalmics: An Innovation Platform for Smart Mobile-­ and Tele-­Health. 2015 Defense Energy Innovation Summit. Austin, Texas.
  • Fink, W., Cerwin, J., & Adams, C. (2015, December). Ceeable Visual Field Analyzer (CVFA). 2015 Defense Energy Innovation Summit. Austin, Texas.
  • Schulze-Makunch, D., Anderson, D., Daly, M., Davila, A. F., Deamer, D., Dohm, J., Fairen, A. G., Fink, W., Furfaro, R., Hawkins, A. R., Head, J. N., Houtkooper, J. M., Irwin, l. N., Knoblauch, M., Lim, D. S., Mendez, A., Schmidt, H., Sears, S. K., Sun, H. J., & Vali, H. (2015, Fall). The Biological Oxidant and Life Detection (BOLD) Mission: A Proposal for a Low-­‐ Cost In-­‐Situ Mission to Mars. EANA15. Noordwijk, Netherlands: European Astrobiology Network Association, EANA15, Noordwijk, Netherland.
  • Schulze-Makunch, D., Anderson, D., Daly, M., Davila, A. F., Deamer, D., Dohm, J., Fairen, A. G., Fink, W., Furfaro, R., Hawkins, A. R., Head, J. N., Houtkooper, J. M., Irwin, l. N., Knoblauch, M., Lim, D. S., Mendez, A., Schmidt, H., Sears, S. K., Sun, H. J., & Vali, H. (2015, Summer). The Biological Oxidant and Life Detection (BOLD) Mission: A Proposal for a Low-­‐ Cost In-­‐Situ Mission to Mars. 11th Low-Cost Planetary Missions Conference (LCPM 11). Berlin, Germany: The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) LCPM-11.
  • Fink, W., & Schmid, E. (2013, Spring). Electric Field Shaping Via Separatrices For Focused Electric Retinal Stimulation Via Retinal Implants. Investigative Ophtalmology and Visual Science.
  • Schulze-Makuch, D., Fink, W., Head, J. N., Houtkooper, J. M., Knoblauch, M., Furfaro, R., Fairen, A. G., Vali, H., Sears, S. K., Daly, M., Deamer, D., Schmidt, H., Hawkins, A. R., Sun, H. J., Lim, D. S., Dohm, J., Irwin, L. N., Davila, A. F., Mendez, A., & Andersen, D. (2012, June). The Biological Oxidant And Life Detection (BOLD) Mission: A Proposal For A Mission To Mars. NASA Workshop at Lunar and Planetary Institute on “Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration”.

Awards

  • Fellow
    • Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation, Spring 2020
  • Featured in the article "Endowing Ability in Computers and Classes" by the UA Alumni Association on March 29, 2016, about three endowed chairs at the University of Arizona, one of them being Dr. Fink.
    • UA Alumni Association, Spring 2016
  • Recipient of University Excellence in STEM Diversity Award: “This award honors a member of the University of Arizona community (e.g., faculty, staff, researcher) who has gone above and beyond in encouraging interest and diversity in STEM fields.”
    • University Excellence in STEM Diversity Award, Spring 2016
  • DaVinci Fellow for “innovative, productive and highly recognized engineering research” at the College of Engineering, University of Arizona
    • College of Engineering, UA, Spring 2015
  • Elevated to IEEE Senior Member grade.
    • IEEE Senior Member, Spring 2015
  • Featured in Discover Magazine, December, 2014: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Carren Jao
    • Discover Magazine, Fall 2014
  • Featured in Arizona Daily Wildcat, December 3, 2014: “A new look at 'eye phones'”
    • Arizona Daily Wildcat, Fall 2014
  • Featured on ARIZONAengineer_online on December 7, 2014: “Wolfgang Fink Named da Vinci Fellow for 2015” by Jill Goetz
    • ARIZONAengineer_online, Fall 2014
  • Featured on the BME Department website in December 2014: "Wolfgang Fink Named da Vinci Fellow for 2015"
    • BME Department, UA, Fall 2014
  • Featured on the ECE Department website in November 2014: "UA Engineering Turns Smartphones into Eye-Screening Tools"
    • ECE Department, UA, Fall 2014
  • Featured on UA News, November 26, 2014: “UA Engineering Turns Smartphones into Eye-Screening Tools" by Jill Goetz
    • UA News, Fall 2014
  • Featured in Arizona Sonora News Service, September 24, 2014: “Giving Sight Back To The Blind” by Casey Woollard
    • Arizona Sonora News Service, Fall 2014
  • Featured on the ECE Department website in August 2014: "UA National Society of Black Engineers Wins Robotics Contest"
    • ECE Department, UA, Fall 2014
  • Featured on ARIZONAengineer_online on July 9, 2014: “UA National Society of Black Engineers Wins Robotics Contest”
    • ARIZONAengineer_online, Summer I 2014
  • 1st place at NSBE Undergraduate Technical Research Competition at the NSBE 40th Annual Convention in Nashville, TN
    • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Spring 2014
  • Featured on KUAT AZ Public Media TV AZ Illustrated Science on May 09, 2014: “Driver-Less Cars About a Decade Away, UA Engineer Says”
    • KUAT AZ Public Media TVAZ Illustrated Science, Spring 2014
  • Featured in Arizona Daily Wildcat, February 26, 2014: “Say 'cheese,' Mars!”
    • Arizona Daily Wildcat, Spring 2014
  • Featured on UA News and subsequently on the University of Arizona front webpage, February 7, 2014: “A New Tool in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: A Tricked-Out Point-and-Shoot" by Daniel Stolte
    • UA NewsUniversity of Arizona front webpage, Spring 2014
  • Featured on KOLD TV interview, November 15, 2013: “Tucson scientist has new vision for people who have lost their sight”
    • KOLD TV, Fall 2013
  • Featured on UA News and subsequently on the University of Arizona front webpage, November 4, 2013: “Breakthrough in Retinal Implants Expected to Restore Sight to the Blind” by Pete Brown
    • UA NewsUniversity of Arizona front webpage, Fall 2013
  • Featured on KUAT AZ Public Media TV AZ Illustrated Science on October 22, 2013: “Vision Testing Makes Its Way to Space”
    • KUAT AZ Public Media TV AZ Illustrated Science, Fall 2013
  • Journal Cover of Journal Astrobiology for article: Fink W, Sun HJ, Mahaney WC, Kuhlman KR, Schulze-Makuch D (2013) Planetary Imaging In Powers Of Ten: A Multi-scale, Multi-purpose Astrobiological Imager; Astrobiology, Volume 13, Number 11, pp. 1005-1010
    • Journal Astrobiology, Fall 2013
  • Featured on KUAT AZ Public Media TV AZ Illustrated Science on December 10, 2013: “Retinal Implants Get New Tech That Could Improve Clarity”
    • KUAT AZ Public Media TV AZ Illustrated Science, Fall 2013
  • Featured on CBS 5 Phoenix TV interview, November 25, 2013: “UofA retinal implant stimulation strategies helping to restore sight”
    • CBS 5 Phoenix TV, Fall 2013
  • Featured in Arizona Daily Wildcat, November 24, 2013: “Image filter research aims to improve quality of retinal implants”
    • Arizona Daily Wildcat, Fall 2013
  • Featured on Tennessee’s WYPL-FM 89.3 radio interview, November 22, 2013: “Eye On Vision”
    • Tennessee’s WYPL-FM 89.3 radio, Fall 2013
  • Awarded Joint Appointment in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (since November 2012)
    • Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, UA, Fall 2012
  • AIMBE Fellow “for outstanding contributions in the field of ophthalmology and vision sciences with particular focus on diagnostics and artificial vision systems.”
    • American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Spring 2012
  • Highly successful media release on the robotic lake lander: ece.engineering.arizona.edu/news-events/ua-engineer-launches-rob..., followed by the posting of a YouTube movie: youtube.com/watch?v=zF7o7yuSdVM. The Discovery Channel Canada subsequently ran a TV feature on the robotic lake lander as well.
    • UA College of EngineeringDiscovery Channel Canada, Spring 2012
  • Featured in UA Wildcat frontpage on March 29, 2012: “Machine to examine Titan’s methane lakes” by Kyle Mittan
    • UA Wildcat, Spring 2012
  • Featured in Arizona Daily Star, March 20, 2012: “Tucson tech: UA ‘lander’ could 1 day test waters” by David Wichner
    • Arizona Daily Star, Spring 2012
  • Featured on UA Corporations & Businesses website (Office of Corporate and Business Relations) on March 3, 2012: “UA Engineering Professor Connects His Work in Medicine and Space”
    • UA Corporations & Businesses website (Office of Corporate and Business Relations), Spring 2012
  • Featured on ARIZONAengineer_online on January 9, 2012: “UA Professor Honored for Research That Includes Restoring Sight to the Blind”
    • ARIZONAengineer_online, Spring 2012
  • Featured on KOLD News 13 “Planetary Robotics” with Paige Hansen on February 23, 2012: youtube.com/watch?v=hZN8CMEyi_Q&list=PL70D9C32F786F5F6B&index...
    • KOLD News 13, Spring 2012