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Events for May 06, 2013
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Cognitive Motivations for Non-negative Matrix Factorizations
Mon, May 06, 2013 @ 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Professor Hugo Van hamme, Dept. of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Talk Title: Cognitive Motivations for Non-negative Matrix Factorizations
Abstract: Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and related latent variable methods such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation have been applied in many fields of engineering such as speech, text, and image processing to discover relations with great success. Its core capability is to decompose wholes (scenes) into parts represented in the matrix factors. In their 1999 Nature paper, Lee and Seung point out some resemblances between non-negative matrix factorization and the brain. For one, like neural firing rates, NMF assumes non-negative quantities, which lead to sparse representations. In this talk, additional similarities will be discussed:
- NMF can be viewed as a neural network with an intrinsic lateral inhibition mechanism,
- the matrix factors can be obtained using operations that can be implemented in neurons,
- NMF can learn with, without, or with weak cross-modal supervision,
- learning can be made incremental,
- NMF can explain time perception with integrate-and-fire neurons.
Latent variable methods should hence not be seen purely as statistical inference problems, but can be motivated from a cognitive perspective.
Biography: Prof. Hugo Van hamme received the masters degree in electomechanical engineering from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium in 1987, the masters degree in controls systems from Imperial College, U.K. in 1988 and the Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1992. In 1993, he joined Lernout & Hauspie n.v. and held positions of senior researcher, team leader, director, and senior director of research. In 2001, he joined ScanSoft as senior director of research and engineering for automotive and embedded products. In 2002, he was appointed professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering of KU Leuven where he teaches courses in speech processing and algebra. His current research interests are robust automatic speech recognition, vocabulary learning, technology for speech therapy, and audio analysis. He is the author of over 150 publications.
Host: Dr. Maarten Van Segbroeck and Professor Shrikanth Narayanan
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 320
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mary Francis
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Body Engineering Los Angeles GK-12 Program Showcase
Mon, May 06, 2013 @ 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Receptions & Special Events
The USC Body Engineering Los Angeles GK-12 Program's PhD Fellowship students will be showcasing the lessons and activities they taught in local middle schools throughout the academic year. The event is free and open to all.
For information about the program: http://bela.usc.edu
To RSVP: www.usc.edu/esvp
Enter Code: BELAMore Information: Showcase_Flyer_2013.pdf
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - Patio
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Alycen Hall
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
