Vertical integration of biometrics across the curriculum: Case study of speaker, face and iris recognition

Vertical integration is a powerful curricular tool that allows students to better appreciate the interconnections among the concepts acquired and learned in different courses. It can be used to bring a modern topic at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum with little additional resources. This paper gives a brief survey of various vertical integration efforts and describes one effort at integrating biometrics throughout the curriculum. The focus is on three senior level projects (speaker, face and iris recognition) that not only rely on vertical integration but also reinforce design, software skills and knowledge of STEM concepts. The freshman through junior levels are also described. The assessment results show that students acquire specific learning outcomes and perceive the value of vertical integration.