Associate Professor
Purdue University
Dr. Thomas M. Talavage received a B.S. in Computer and Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1992 and 1993, and, in 1998, a Ph.D. from the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.
In 1998, Dr. Talavage joined the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, and became a joint faculty member in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in 1999. In 2007, Dr. Talavage became Founding Co-Director of the Purdue MRI Facility, a 3 Tesla MRI facility administered by the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. For his efforts in bringing about the Purdue MRI Facility as partnership with General Electric Healthcare and InnerVision Advanced Medical Imaging, Dr. Talavage and his colleague, Dr. Charles Bouman, were awarded the 2008 Purdue University College of Engineering Engagement Award.
Dr. Talavage's research is directed at improving the quality of life for users of auditory neuroprostheses through improvement of hardware and speech signal representations, based on the outcomes of fMRI experiments as well as computational and behavioral models, representing both normal and impaired hearing conditions. For his efforts on these projects and for his career achievements, Dr. Talavage was recipient of the 2005 Purdue University College of Engineering Young Research Award.
Dr. Talavage has demonstrated a career-long dedication to mentorship and undergraduate instruction. Dr. Talavage has been honored seven times his teaching during his ten years at Purdue, including the 2005 Eta Kappa Nu C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teacher Award. In addition to his awards, Dr. Talavage has a strong commitment to student mentoring and the enrichment of the student experience through community service. In this capacity, Dr. Talavage has served as Branch Counselor to the Purdue University Student Chapter of the IEEE (1999-2007), as an Advisor to the Indiana Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi (1999-Present), and as an Advisor (2000-2001) and Head Advisor (2001-Present) of the Beta Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu. Dr. Talavage has augmented his service to Beta Chapter (Active Member 1991-1993) through a strong record of participation in Chapter activities (e.g., winner of the 2001 HKN Turkey Contest) and through direct service to the student body at Purdue. Dr. Talavage's contributions as Head Advisor to Beta Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu were recognized with the 2008 Purdue University College of Engineering Advising Award.