An elective course in biometrics and privacy

In the aftermath of 9-11, the area of biometrics has taken on increased importance. There is a need for more graduates who are familiar with the principles of biometric technology, and with the social and ethical issues raised by use of this technology. This paper describes a course that covers the fundamentals of the major biometric technologies, as well as privacy and security concerns. Experience from teaching a first section of this course is discussed. Modules from this course could also be used in a more general social impact of computing course, or could be used in a pattern recognition or artificial intelligence course to introduce social and ethical issues.