Douglas J. Kurrant, PhD, P.Eng.
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
FOR UNCERTAIN AND CHALLENGING PROBLEMS
DOUGLAS J. KURRANT, PhD, P.Eng.
I am a detail-oriented and results-driven professional engineer with a PhD in Electrical Engineering. I have a broad background with a variety of skills including machine learning, data analysis, signal processing, computer vision, and image processing. I have provided practical solutions to complex and challenging problems in research and development (medical devices), heavy industry, and AgTech sectors.
I am presently developing IoT technologies and integrating machine learning (ML) with computer vision and signal/image processing algorithms. I am passionate about finding solutions to challenging problems and turning data into insights and knowledge using analytical skills and ML technologies.
ABOUT
I am Douglas Kurrant, I have a strong background in mathematics, physics, and engineering. This broad set of skills allows me to comprehend the complex mathematics and physics required to analyze challenging problems and to formulate creative solutions to solve these problem.
WHY WORK WITH ME?
I have been developing medical technologies used for breast cancer tracking and diagnostics tools for several years. This requires a passion for exploring solutions that are uncertain and unknown that solve challenging problems that have the potential to significantly impact people’s lives.
CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY
As a researcher, exploring solutions to complex problems over many years requires grit, resilience, persistence, dedication, and a willingness to commit to very hard work.
I am good at
LEADERSHIP AND TEAM PLAYER SKILLS
I am a team player who has led investigations with a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists with diverse skills across multiple labs.
This requires the ability to coordinate and collaborate with team members to ensure that common goals are achieved. Achieving common goals as a team is a critical core value.
I am proactive with an entrepreneurial problem solving attitude and capacity to interact with other members of the research team.
I have mentored PhD and Master students and have sponsored, mentored, and advised mechanical engineering undergraduate students involved in faculty wide Capstone design projects
SOLID COMMUNICATOR
Have the ability to put highly theoretical and complicated concepts into practical perspective.
Equally as comfortable presenting a scientific paper at an international conference or explaining control system tuning procedures to Gas Plant management and operations personnel.
Published several peer reviewed articles in international Journals. Have presented my work at many international conferences.
MACHINE LEARNING SKILLS
MACHINE LEARNING TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
I have developed innovative and novel medical image segmentation techniques and biomedical signal processing algorithms from scratch.
The image segmentation methods use machine learning techniques that are reinforced with hypothesis testing and statistical inference.
I have also adapted open architectures (VGG16, ResNet, UNet and Mask-RCNN) with OpenCV for medical image segmentation, and computer vision classification tasks. Implementation of these techniques requires the use of deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, Keras) and related libraries (sklearn, Pandas, and OpenCV).
I have develop structured data classifiers : Kernal SVM, Gradient boosted Trees (XGBoost) to detect/classify anomalies. Experience with cloud and distributed computing
MACHINE LEARNING PRACTICAL SKILLS
I have worked on practical aspects of ML by creating an interactive pipeline used for collecting and labeling training/test data.
I have developed a machine learning pipeline for training, testing, validation, and executing algorithms. I use cloud computing to facilitate hyper-parameter tuning and to evaluate model performance in terms of generalization, bias, and variance errors.
VALUES AND INTERESTS
TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS
The driving force behind my aspiration to become an engineer.
LOVE OF MUSIC
Play the western concert Bohoem flute and the Japanese shakuhachi flute.
RESPECT OTHERS BELIEFS
I live in a multicultural, multi-faith society, so Canadians as a whole, follow a diverse range of religious, spiritual, and political beliefs. I am respectful of those who hold beliefs that are different from my own. I accept that we are entitled to our own religious, spiritual, and political beliefs.
PASSION FOR LEARNING
Continuously strive to enhance and expand my knowledge base through reading, seminar, research, and on-line course work as a regular influx of ideas and perspective allows for innovative problem solving.
LOVE THE OUTDOORS
Jog, sail (lasers and 420s), windsurf, hike, and mountain scramble.
Acquired an interest in farming from my father, as the family farm was dear to his heart.
RESPECT THOSE THAT ARE LESS FORTUNATE
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
WORK ETHIC
I am dedicated and conscientious.
I provide solutions for challenges, but always welcome new ideas.
I always do my best no matter what, ignoring the naysayers, and staying positive in the face of rejection, no matter how stressful the situation is.
I am very careful and vigilant and I have the desire to do a task well.
I take the obligations of others very seriously.