WildML@UNI

Welcome to our group at the Department of Computer Science, University of Northern Iowa.


We explore research related to machine learning for wildlife conservation. We develop deep learning techniques for tasks such as biacoustics and camera traps.

News

Selected publications

Full list on Google Scholar.

Lab members

Current lab members

Portrait of student

Victor

Undergraduate Researcher

Quantisation & Deep Neural Networks

Alumni

These are alumni that I have supervised (or co-supervised) while at different instiutions.


Postdoctoral Fellows

  • Dr. Lorène Jeantet
    Dr. Lorène Jeantet (2024-2026) — Research: Deep Learning and ecological applications

MS Graduates

  • Rahul Patel
    Matthew Van den Berg (MSc 2025) — Thesis: "Pose Estimation for the Endangered African Penguin"
    Current: AI for Good Engineer; FruitPunch AI
  • Milanto F. Rasolofohery
    Milanto F. Rasolofohery (MSc 2025) — Thesis: "Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Animal Populations with Compressed Sensing"
    Current: Teaching assistant; African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
  • Charles Herbst
    Charles Herbst (MEng 2024) — Thesis: "Investigating Generative Data Augmentation for Bioacoustics Classification"
  • Tomas Gueifao
    Tomas Gueifao (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Automatic detection of beaked whale echolocation clicks via convolutional neural networks"
    Current: Junior Developer; ABP Consultancy
  • Dean Blackburn
    Dean Blackburn (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Convolutional neural network filter selection using genetic algorithms"
  • Miandrisoa Voara Rakotovaomino
    Miandrisoa Voara Rakotovaomino (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Exploring deep learning model architectures for automatic identification of green turtle behavior from accelerometers"
    Current: AI Risk Researcher; There's Always One
  • Kukhanya Zondo
    Kukhanya Zondo (Structured MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Transfer Learning on Accelerometery data for Endangered Sea Turtle Conservation"
    Current: Lecturer; National University of Science and Technology
  • Roanne Biljoen
    Roanne Biljoen (MEng 2024) — Thesis: "Developing a penguin posture estimator to study penguin behavior"
    Current: Mid-Level Software Engineer; Digiata
  • Denzel Spencer Ngwenya
    Denzel Spencer Ngwenya (Structured MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Learning to Listen: Unsupervised Audio Classification"
    Current: Operational Risk Manager; CABS Zimbabwe
  • Abraham Chakawa
    Abraham Chakawa (Structured MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Enhancing bioacoustic classifiers via meta-data"
    Current: PhD Candidate; University of London
  • Dumisani Namakhwa
    Dumisani Namakhwa (Structured MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Compressed Sensing for Bioacoustic Monitoring"
    Current: Lecturer; Malawi University of Science and Technology
  • Aime Nshimiyimana
    Aime Nshimiyimana (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Investigating data augmentation techniques for small bioacoustic datasets"
  • Boris Mikwa
    Boris Mikwa (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Pre-training neural networks on Xeno-Canto and eBird for bioacoustic classification models"
  • Alex Mirugwe
    Alex Mirugwe (MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Investigating automated bird counting from webcams using machine learning"
  • Tshepo Bafana Maila
    Tshepo Bafana Maila (Structured MSc 2024) — Thesis: "Augmenting Bioacoustic Datasets using Generative Adversarial Networks"
    Current: Data Scientist; Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METS) Program

Visiting Researchers

  • Steffen Knoblauch (Heidelberg University) — 2025
  • Karina Kniel (Heidelberg University) — 2025
  • Maria Stickel (Heidelberg University) — 2024
  • Yichao Liu (Heidelberg University) — 2024
  • Shree Mohan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) — 2024
  • Ufuk Çakır (Heidelberg University) — 2023
  • Frank Fundel (Ulm University) — 2022

Undergraduate Alumni

  • Laura Jackson
    Laura Jackson (BEng 2024)
    Current: Manufacturing Engineer; Bühler Group
  • Matthew Garret
    Matthew Garret (BEng 2023)
    Current: Data Engineer & Analyst, Investec
  • Dean Turleyn
    Dean Turley (BEng 2023)
    Current: Engineering Project Manager; MTA Industries Ltd.

Contact & location

Contact information

Dr. Emmanuel Dufourq

Department of Computer Science, Center for Energy & Environmental Education, Cedar Falls, Iowa

emmanuel@cs.uni.edu

Interested in collaborating? Send a brief inquiry with your CV.

I am interested in research related to machine learning, optimisation, and mathematics, applied to biological areas (mainly wildlife monitoring, but open to other areas too).