farhan baqai

Farhan Baqai

Senior Research Manager
Apple
MSEE 1997, PhD 2000

“The hallmarks of my Purdue experience included exposure to highly accomplished faculty; the opportunity to take on difficult problems that are theoretically rich yet practically important; and the experience of working with Jan Allebach, who not only showed me how to conduct rigorous research but also demonstrated by example the importance of ethics and volunteering. All of these have helped shape my approach towards leading a research team and solving real world problems. We are in the age of rapid technological change — no area stays relevant for too long. A Purdue education has provided me with life lessons and necessary tools to constantly re-invent myself.”

Dr. Farhan Baqai earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1997 and a PhD in 2000. He is a Senior Research Manager at Apple Inc. Previously, Baqai held research and leadership positions at Sony US Research Center and Xerox Corporation. He has made contributions to digital camera signal processing, machine learning, computer vision, stereoscopic image processing, statistical signal processing, digital printing, and radar imaging. Baqai and his team have contributed several key technologies to Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac cameras as well as to Sony’s CyberShot digital cameras. Recently, he led the research and the cross-functional development effort for Night mode in the iPhone 11 camera, which dramatically improves mobile lowlight photography.

Baqai is a Senior Member of the IEEE. He is a Senior Area Editor (2018-date) and past Associate Editor (2010-2014) of IEEE Transactions on Image Processing and a member of IEEE Signal Processing Society's Image, Video, and Multidimensional Signal Processing (IVMSP) Technical Committee. Baqai holds more than 25 issued US patents with more than 15 patents pending.

Baqai also received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan and a M.Eng.Sc. from the University of Melbourne, Australia.