Sylvia M. Dominguez, Ph. D.

Sylvia Dominguez graduated with high honors from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, and a Doctorate of Engineering in the areas of Digital Signal Processing, Integrated VLSI Circuits & Systems, and Systems & Controls. Previously, Sylvia graduated with highest honors from New Mexico State University with a M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and graduated “Magna Cum Laude”  from the University of Texas at El Paso with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. During her academic career, Sylvia was the recipient of the following prestigious honor awards: “Who Is Who In American Universities and Colleges,” “Who Is Who Among International Students In American Universities,” and “NCAA Outstanding Athletic & Scholastic Achievement Award” as a member of UTEP women tennis team. Her research experience include computer vision, signal processing, robust tracking systems, adaptive filtering, human computer interfacing, graphical modeling, integrated VLSI design, bio- controls, and hearing aid design.

Sylvia Dominguez currently works as a patent engineer for the Intellectual Property Law Firm of Tope-McKay & Associates. Sylvia’s principal focus at the Firm is in acting as a technical expert by assisting patent agents and attorneys in patent searching, patent application preparation, and patent prosecution.  Sylvia, by virtue of superior technical knowledge, particularly in the areas of electrical engineering, assists others in the firm in understanding complex cases and in developing the proper vocabulary for writing applications.  In addition, she assists in writing applications in complex cases and writes patent applications under the supervision of a patent attorney or agent when necessary.

Prior to joining Tope-McKay & Associates in 2002, Sylvia worked as a researcher at HRL Laboratories in Malibu CA for two years, where she gained extensive research experience in the area of signal processing. During her internship at HRL, Sylvia co-developed and patented a robust eye tracker for the testing and detection of impairment in the workplace or while driving, in addition she also co-developed and patented a wearable real-time pointing gesture tracking system, “Snap&Tell”, which enables a user to specify, segment, and recognize objects of interest around the user.

Sylvia has extensive teaching experience at the university level where she has taught a variety of electrical engineering courses. She was a lecturer for the UCLA Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity for seven years, where she received the UCLA CEED’s Teaching Excellence Award while teaching courses in linear circuit analysis, semiconductor electronic devices analysis & design, and digital logic design. Sylvia also worked for the UCLA Electrical Engineering Department as a teaching associate for six years, where she received the Outstanding Teaching Associate Award for the Electrical Engineering Department for five consecutive years from 1993 to 1997. Prior to lecturing for UCLA, Sylvia was a lecturer for the University of Texas at El Paso for one year, and a graduate teaching assistant and a research assistant for New Mexico State University for two years.

Sylvia has numerous publications which include two peer-reviewed scientific journals, seven conference publications, five invention disclosures, a granted US patent, and a pending US patent filed. Sylvia also serves as a reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing Journal and for the IEEE Transactions on Multimedia Journal, and is a member of several honor societies which include “Phi Kappa Phi”, “Tau Beta Pi”, “Eta Kappa Nu”, “Alpha Lambda Delta”, and “The National Dean’s List”.  In addition, Sylvia is a recipient of the prestigious “Who Is Who In America” award for the years 1986, 1989, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, “Who Is Who In the World” 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 editions, and “Who Is Who of American Women” 2008-2009 edition.

Sylvia is involved in community organization activities and is an active volunteer and foster home for the “Pet Adoption Fund” and the “Valley Cats, Inc.”  (both non-kill animal shelters). She is currently also a mentor for minority students in the school of engineering at UCLA working closely with the UCLA Center for Excellence in Engineering Development (CEED).