We know that engineers make many things in our daily lives, from computers to power grids. But there's another, lesser-known side of engineering -- Digital Humanities -- that uses computers and technology to further the study of art, literature and history. Elisa Barney illustrates how technology can uncover new information from historical documents from WWI postcards to medieval manuscripts to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

As a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University, Elisa has worked to apply image processing and machine learning (a more accurate word for that overused term “Artificial Intelligence”) to many problems in many fields. She loves working with students in and outside the classroom, and is very involved with the electrical engineering and computer science professional society, IEEE (which bears the tagline “Advancing Technology for Humanity”).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx