David M. Skapura is the coauthor, with James A Freeman, of Neural
Networks: Algorithms, Applications, and Programming Techniques. He is currently employed by Brightware Corporation
(a spin-off of Inference Corporation), where he works as an applications consultant, developing customized knowledge-based
systems and applications. He is also the founder and president of Scient Computing, a small Houston consulting
firm specializing in neural-networking applications and research. Previously at Loral Space Information Systems,
Skapura investigated the applicability of neural networks to NASA's advanced automation requirements. He is an
adjunct professor at the University of Houston at Clear Lake.
Summary
Organized by application areas, rather than by specific network architectures or learning algorithms, Builiding
Neural Networks shows why certain networks are more suitable than others for solving specific kinds of
problems. Skapura also reviews principles of neural information processing and furnishes an operations summary
of the most popular neural-network processing models. Finally, the book provides information on the practical aspects
of application design, and contains six topic-oriented chapters on specific applications of neural-network systems.
These applications include networks that perform:
Pattern matching, storage, and recall
Business and financial systems
Data extraction from images
Mechanical process control systems
New neural networks that combine pattern matching with fuzzy logic
The book includes application-oriented excercises that further help you see how a neural network solves a problem,
and that reinforce your understanding of modeling techniques.
The Backpropagation Network.
The Counterpropagation Network.
Adaptive Resonance Theory.
The Multidirectional Associative Memory.
The Hopfield Memory.
Network-Learning Summary.
Suggested Readings.
Bibliography.
III. APPLICATION DESIGN.
Developing a Data Representation.
Pattern Representation Methods.
Exemplar Analysis.
Training and Performance Evaluation.
A Practical Example.
Application-Design Summary.
Suggested Readings.
Bibliography.