Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for May
-
Synchronization of Dreams - The Reflections of Bob Scholtz
Fri, May 02, 2014 @ 11:30 AM - 02:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Robert A. Scholtz, Fred H. Cole Professor of Engineering/USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Talk Title: Synchronization of Dreams - The Reflections of Bob Scholtz
Series: Electrical Engineering Pioneer Series
Abstract: Beginning with a bizarre adventure from the ââ¬Åbiographyââ¬Â of Secret Agent 00111, selected applications of synchronization to digital communication systems are revealed in a quasi-technical, quasi-historical fashion. Learn about the structure of comma-free codes, what characterizes a spread-spectrum system and how spreading and de-spreading systems are related to synchronization, thoughts about communication jamming, adaptation, and randomization, etc. Shakespeare, a science-fiction writer, a Holy Roman Emperor, a movie star, a bookshelf, and several USC faculty can be spotted along the way. This talk will conclude with some applications of synchronization to antenna systems (that is, if we can synchronize this presentation to the allotted time!)
Friday, May 2, 2014 - EEB 132
11:30am Introduction & Welcome
11:35am Synchronization of Dreams - The Reflections of Bob Scholtz, Fred H. Cole Professor of Engineering
12:20pm Break
12:30pm Bob Scholtz in Conversation with Urbashi Mitra
1:30pm Reception - Light Refreshments
Host: Ming Hsieh Institute, Department of Electrical Engineering
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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. -
"Real-Time Brain-Machine Interface Architectures: Algorithmic Development and Experimental Implementation"
Mon, May 12, 2014 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Maryam Shanechi, Assistant Professor/Cornell University
Talk Title: "Real-Time Brain-Machine Interface Architectures: Algorithmic Development and Experimental Implementation"
Abstract: A brain-machine-interface (BMI) is a system that interacts with the brain either to allow the brain to control an external device or to control the brain's state. In this talk, I present my work on developing both these types of BMIs, specifically motor BMIs for restoring movement in paralyzed patients and a new BMI for control of the brain state under anesthesia. Motor BMI research has largely focused on the problem of restoring the original motor function by using standard signal processing techniques. However, devising novel algorithmic solutions that are tailored to the neural system can significantly improve the performance of these BMIs. Moreover, while building high-performance BMIs with the goal of matching the original motor function is indeed valuable, a compelling goal is that of designing BMIs that can enhance original motor function. Here, I first develop a novel BMI paradigm for restoration of natural motor function that incorporates an optimal feedback-control model of the brain and directly processes the spiking activity using point process modeling. I show that this paradigm significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art. I then introduce a BMI architecture aimed at enhancing original motor function that decodes all the elements of a sequential motor plan concurrently prior to movement. I demonstrate the successful implementation of both these designs in rhesus monkeys. I also present a motor BMI for control of the native limb that decodes neural activity from an alert subject to generate arm movements in a second temporarily paralyzed subject by stimulating its spinal cord. In addition to motor BMIs, I construct a new BMI that controls the state of the brain under anesthesia. This is done by designing stochastic controllers that infer the brain's anesthetic state from non-invasive observations of neural activity and control the real-time rate of drug administration to achieve a target brain state. I show the reliable performance of this BMI in rodent experiments.
Biography: Maryam M. Shanechi is an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. Her research focuses on using the principles of information and control theories and statistical signal processing to develop effective algorithmic solutions to basic and clinical neuroscience problems. Her work combines methodology development with in vivo implementation and testing. She received the B.A.Sc. degree with honors in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto in 2004 and the S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006 and 2011, respectively. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School and in the EECS department at the University of California, Berkeley.
Host: Dr. Sandeep Gupta
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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. -
Progress towards monitoring of ambient particulate matter using satellite and aircraft remote sensing
Mon, May 12, 2014 @ 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: David J. Diner , JPL - California Institute of Technology
Talk Title: Progress towards monitoring of ambient particulate matter using satellite and aircraft remote sensing
Abstract: Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been consistently linked to adverse health effects including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, heart attacks, low birth weight, and premature death. According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, ambient (outdoor) PM causes over 3 million premature deaths in a single year. Although surface stations are currently used to monitor PM concentrations, their sparse distribution can lead to errors in establishing accurate exposure levels, and they are unable to provide the level of spatial detail needed to link different aerosol species to given health effects. By using passive remote sensing (that is, inference of particle properties by observing backscattered sunlight from a high-altitude platform), significant progress has been made in recent years to differentiate particle types using a combination of Multispectral, multiangular, and polarimetric observations. Establishment of regression relationships between column aerosol loading and the concentration of near-surface particulates measured by surface monitors makes it possible to use the coverage provided by satellite and airborne instruments to map PM with contiguous spatial coverage.
At JPL, we have been developing observational technologies to map aerosol abundance and type by remote sensing. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer instrument has been flying on NASA's Terra spacecraft since 1999, and has demonstrated the value of supplementing multispectral measurements with observations at different view angles to separate scattering by aerosols from reflection by the underlying surface, enhance the visibility of thin aerosols, distinguish spherical and nonspherical particles, and track the injection heights of discrete aerosol plumes. More recently, we have been flying the Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) instrument on NASA's high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. Interaction of sunlight with the atmosphere polarizes the light, providing an additional tool for diagnosing the size distribution and optical properties of airborne particles. In this talk I will discuss how an integrated approach in which remote sensing data, additional particle type constraints provided by chemical transport models, and in situ particle monitors has the potential to provide a cost-effective global PM monitoring system to benefit the health of future generations.
Biography: David J. Diner is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of the satellite Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) instruments. He is also Supervisor of the Aerosol and Cloud Science Group at JPL. Dr. Diner received the B.S. degree in Physics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the M.S and Ph.D. degrees in Planetary Science from Caltech. He has been involved in numerous NASA planetary and Earth remote-sensing investigations, and is the recipient of both the NASA Outstanding Leadership and Exceptional Achievement medals.
Host: Bhaskar Krishnamachari
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shane Goodoff
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. -
Integrated Systems Seminar
Tue, May 13, 2014 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Steven Bowers, California Institute of Technology
Talk Title: Holistic electromagnetics: integrated co-design of microwave, analog, digital, and photonic systems
Abstract: Continued integration of various devices on to a single semiconductor substrate as well as the scaling of those devices to ever smaller feature sizes have opened up a new design space for system level innovations that are no longer constrained by many of the restrictions of discrete system design. This talk will present holistic design methodologies for integrated power generation and radiation at mm-wave frequencies that are enabled by this continued integration of various electronic and electromagnetic (EM) structures onto the same substrate. One benefit of this integration available to mm-wave designers is the vast computational power available on chip. A fully integrated self-healing power amplifier at 28 GHz in 45nm SOI CMOS takes advantage of this processing power to heal the PA against process variation, mismatch, environmental variation and transistor failure.
Continuing with the observation that transistors and their connections to EM radiating structures on an integrated substrate are essentially incrementally free, the concept of multi-port driven (MPD) radiators is introduced, and proof of concept mm-wave radiators using 130nm SiGe BiCMOS and silicon photonics are demonstrated.
These systems showcase the benefits of utilizing a co-design between various fields, such as analog circuit design, digital circuit design and applied electromagnetics. By removing many of the boundaries between these various disciplines, new system architectures can be realized that can further push the limits of achievable performance.
Biography: Steven M. Bowers received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego and his M.S. and Ph.D. specializing in mm-wave circuits and systems from the California Institute of Technology, where he is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow. His research interests include holistic integration of high-frequency analog circuits, advanced digital circuits, novel electromagnetic structures and integrated silicon photonics to enable the next generation of mm-wave applications, specifically in adaptive and self-healing mm-wave circuits and mm-wave power generation and radiation. He received the Caltech Institute Fellowship in 2007, Analog Devices Outstanding Student Designer Award in 2009, is a member of IEEE, HKN and Tau-Beta-Pi, and was the recipient of the IEEE RFIC Symposium Best Student Paper award in 2012 and the IEEE IMS Best Student Paper award in 2013.
Host: Hossein Hashemi
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
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. -
Engineering Aspects of Gis Education
Tue, May 20, 2014 @ 10:30 AM - 11:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: John N. Hatzopoulos, University of the Aegean, Greece
Talk Title: Engineering Aspects of Gis Education
Abstract: Engineering of education refers to scientific and technological aspects of education to support philosophical bases necessary to be used on didactics, curriculum structure in an effort to develop an educated character. Gis being a field with advanced scientific and technological bases, is used to support many and diverse applications of interdisciplinary nature. Education in such diverse applications must be at first place centered on promoting human values and on such bases proceed with the effort to develop a scientist, a professional and an educated character. Therefore, engineering procedures are adopted in terms of using mathematics as a tool to analyze structures and of using specifications for education planning. This is necessary to develop and use scientifically founded human value models and based on these models to proceed on didactics using scientific and technological tools in a way to create motives for the students, thus contributing to a balanced curriculum environment. This engineering structure and methodology of Gis education will be demonstrated as applied at the University of the Aegean, Greece, Department of the Environment.
Biography: Received his MSCE (1976) and Ph.D. (1989) degrees from the University of Washington (research assistantship fellow), Department of Civil Engineering and his diploma in Rural and Surveying Engineering from the Technical University of Athens (1971), awarded the Crysovergion prize award as ranking the first among the graduates. Was employed as associate professor at the California State University, Fresno, Civil Engineering Department, Surveying and Photogrammetry Program (1980), and after four years was promoted to the rank of professor with tenure. During his career at Fresno State the Surveying Engineering program was raised to be one of the best in US and his effort was awarded by the outstanding professor's award. After nine years of service resigned from Fresno State and joined the faculty at the University of the Aegean, Department of the Environment (1989), where he is serving up today. Established the Laboratory of Remote Sensing and GIS (1995) being its director up today. His research interests involve Remote Sensing, GIS and geospatial applications mainly on environmental projects. Has been principal investigator and participant on over forty different research programs in US and Greece. Has been consultant on several Remote Sensing and GIS projects in US, Japan and Greece. Has published over 110 papers on scientific journals and conference proceedings. Has published five books three on "Topographic Mapping" and two on "Education and Philosophy". Has published Chapters in seven different collectively published volumes.
Host: Petros Ioannou
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shane Goodoff
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.
