Measuring Shape

Brent Neal is a scientist and industrial researcher with Milliken & Company, where he currently leads the central materials characterization and analytical chemistry facility. In this role, he leads efforts in technology and product development through deep understanding of materials performance. He has three patents issued or pending based on his work in polymer-matrix composites. Prior to his tenure at Milliken & Company, he consulted and developed bespoke software for quantitative image analysis. He received his Ph.D. in solid state physics from Louisiana State University in 2002. Over the course of his career, he has measured and analyzed images from many different fields and his experience in materials characterization and measurement has been applied everywhere from the lab bench to manufacturing plants.In his 50-year career as scientist and educator, John Russ has used image processing and analysis as a principal tool for understanding and characterizing the structure and function of materials. Much of Russ' research work has been concerned with the microstructure and surface topography of metals and ceramics. He has received funding for his research from government agencies and from industry. Teaching the principles and methods involved to several thousand students—in addition to consulting for many industrial clients—has further broadened Dr. Russ’ experience and the scope of applications for image processing and analysis. He continues to write and consult for a variety of companies (and to provide expert testimony in criminal and civil cases). He also still teaches image processing and analysis workshops worldwide and reviews publications and funding proposals.

" ... the reader is immediately engaged by this book more than any other I have read on the subject, most of which either scan the subject more superficially, or require considerable statistical or mathematical facility."— Sky Alibhai, WildTrack, Monchique, Portugal"As an introduction, it is lively and clearly written…Generates reader interest. … The purpose is to invite and attract the reader to the subject. This is done very well. … Well illustrated…Upgrades methods in older books, e.g., 3-D measurement discussion…This book is a compelling mandate to replace perception-based morphotype constructs in any systematic analysis of morphology."— Irwin Rovner, Binary Analytical, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA"John Russ is the master of explaining how image processing gets applied to real-world situations. With Brent Neal, he’s done it again in Measuring Shape, this time explaining an expanded toolbox of techniques that includes useful, state-of-the-art methods that can be applied to the broad problem of understanding, characterizing, and measuring shape. He has a gift of finding the kernel of a particular algorithm, explaining it in simple terms, then giving concrete examples that are easily understood. His perspective comes from solving real-world problems and separating out what works in practice from what is just an abstract curiosity." —Tom Malzbender, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, California, USA"Extremely readable and engaging, easy to understand… Very complete coverage of methods, with rich examples… Comprehensive references to original publications… most books on digital imaging barely mention a few aspects of the subject [of shape], with few examples. This book provides a very accessible guide to the various approaches that are used, with an engaging style and many examples drawn from a broad spectrum of real objects. While the book includes many mathematical calculations and procedures, it does so without bogging the reader down or hiding the important meaning. It is actually fun to read."—Louis Ross, University of Missouri (retired), Overland Park, Kansas, USA

• The Meaning(s) of Shape. The Role(s) of Computers. Two-Dimensional Measurements (Part 1). Two-Dimensional Measurements (Part 2). Three-Dimensional Shapes. Classification, Comparison, and Correlation.