John Costella’s research

Algorithms

Genome assembly algorithms: coming soon (2025–).

The magic kernel: the world’s gold standard image resizing algorithm (2006–2024).

Bear: a new machine learning algorithm (undergoing renovations) (2008–).

The magic edge detection algorithm: superior to the standard Sobel, Scharr, Prewitt, and Roberts-cross algorithms (2011–2021).

UnBlock: a world-beating algorithm to remove JPEG and MPEG artifacts (2005–2021).

Cancer survival curves: an algorithm superior to the standard Kaplan–Meier method (2010).

UnBlur: an algorithm for deblurring images in position space (1999–2021).

Genome SETI: algorithmic search for extraterrestrial intelligence in our own genome (2017–2025).

JPEG-Clear: image mipmapping algorithm (2006–2021).

Published papers in theoretical physics

John P. Costella, Bruce H. J. McKellar, Andrew A. Rawlinson, and Gerard J. Stephenson, Jr., “The Thomas rotation,” American Journal of Physics 69 (2001) 837. (Preprint)

John P. Costella, Bruce H. J. McKellar, and Andrew A. Rawlinson, “Classical antiparticles,” American Journal of Physics 65 (1997) 835. (Preprint)

John P. Costella and Bruce H. J. McKellar, “The Foldy–Wouthuysen transformation,” American Journal of Physics 63 (1995) 1119. (Preprint) (Comment)

John P. Costella and Bruce H. J. McKellar, “Electromagnetic deflection of spinning particles,” International Journal of Modern Physics A 9 (1994) 461. (Preprint)

PhD dissertation

Single-particle electrodynamics, The University of Melbourne, Australia (June 30, 1994).

Patent

Adam D. I. Kramer, Itamar Rosenn, Thomas M. Lento, and John P. Costella, “Data Logging Framework,” U.S. Patent 10,078,654 B2 (granted September 18, 2018) (Google Patents) (USPTO)

Unpublished papers

Searching for extraterrestial intelligence in our own genome (September 8, 2025)

Solving the mystery of Magic Kernel Sharp (February 26, 2021)

A superior edge detection gradient operator (February 26, 2011)

A “top-down” approach for volume data (January 18, 2011)

A simple alternative to Kaplan–Meier for survival curves (September 21, 2010)

The UnBlock algorithm (January 16, 2006)

A new lattice gauge action without scaling artifacts (October 3, 2004)

The aliasing problem in lattice field theory (April 25, 2004)

A strange property of lattices with an even number of sites (April 8, 2004)

A new proposal for the fermion doubling problem. II. Improving the operators for finite lattices (July 24, 2002)

A new proposal for the fermion doubling problem (July 19, 2002)

A beginner’s guide to the human field of view (November 20, 1995)

[p,q] does not equal i h-bar (May 22, 1995)

Analytical proof that gA goes to zero in the ultra-relativistic limit for the harmonic oscillator relativistic constituent quark model (February 6, 1994)

Motion extrapolation at the pixel level (January 14, 1993)

Galilean antialiasing for virtual reality displays (October 25, 1992)

Relativistic corrections to the neutron electric dipole moment in valence quark models (July 12, 1992)

The properties of Fermat moduli (March 3, 1992)