Ralph Etienne-Cummings received his B. Sc. in physics, 1988, from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. He completed his M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in December 1991 and 1994, respectively. Currently, Dr. Etienne-Cummings is a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and computer science at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). He is the former Director of Computer Engineering at JHU and the Institute of Neuromorphic Engineering (currently administered by University of Maryland, College Park). He is also the Associate Director for Education and Outreach of the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Engineering Research Centers on Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology at JHU. He has served as Chairman of the IEEE Circuits and Systems (CAS) Technical Committee on Sensory Systems and on Neural Systems and Application, and was re-elected as a member of CAS Board of Governors from 1/2007  1/2009. He was also the General Chair of the IEEE BioCAS 2008 Conference. He was also a member of Imagers, MEMS, Medical and Displays Technical Committee of the ISSCC Conference from 1999  2006. He is the recipient of the NSFs Career and Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Awards. In 2006, he was named a Visiting African Fellow and a Fulbright Fellowship Grantee for his sabbatical at University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was invited to be a lecturer at the National Academies of Science Kavli Frontiers Program, held in November 2007. He has also won publication awards, including the 2003 Best Paper Award of the EURASIP Journal of Applied Signal Processing and "Best Ph.D. in a Nutshell" at the IEEE BioCAS 2008 Conference, and has been recognized for his activities in promoting the participation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematic. His research interest includes mixed signal VLSI systems, computational sensors, computer vision, neuromorphic engineering, smart structures, mobile robotics, legged locomotion and neuroprosthetic devices. He has published ~175 technical articles, 1 book, 7 book chapters and holds 3 patents on his work in these subjects.