Michael "Mikey" Hellrich
Hailing from Granite City, IL, I am a 3rd generation Missouri S&T student. (my father, 2 of my uncles, and my grandfather all received their bachelors degrees from Missouri S&T) I am in my second year of graduate studies after receiving my bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Missouri S&T in May of 2002. I have worked for the Missouri S&T Helpdesk, been a Systems Administrator for the Computer Science department, and am now doing research for Rock Mechanics and Computer Science, funded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
During my first semester of graduate studies, I heard there was a research position funded by the FBI from Dr. Mike Hilgers. I am now working jointly with Geological Engineering professor and Rock Mechanics Center investigator Dr. Norbert Maerz and Dr. Hilgers to fulfill the requirements of the FBI contract. I have already visited the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, and spoken with FBI research officials, and hold high hopes that our method for surface matching will be able to be used heavily in investigations after its completion.
My research deals with matching fractured surfaces using digital image processing. Our goal is to be able to catalog pieces from any type of disjointed surface, and be able to piece it back together without having to use any manual fitting of the pieces by hand. We are using a method called shadow profilometry which casts a shadow along the surface of the sample, from which the roughness of the surface can be obtained. Moving the sample under this shadow, multiple images can be taken, allowing the surface to be represented digitally. Then a statistical analysis will be done of the surfaces that will give a probability that the surfaces match, or do not match. This information will be used to piece back together an object with very small fragments that cannot be done by hand.
Mostly involved with C++ development, I am also interested in Perl programming, both in scripting and for the web to generate web pages on the fly. Other than programming, I am also interested in database and systems design and administration, in which I have experience in, working here at Missouri S&T.