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Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for November
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CENG Seminar
Fri, Nov 02, 2012 @ 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Diana Marculescu , Carnegie Mellon University
Talk Title: âAchieving Sustainable Computing Through Energy- and Reliability-Aware System Designâ
Abstract: Electronic system design has benefited from decades of reliable and predictable functionality, but this trend may likely slow down in future technology nodes. Higher power densities and increased thermal requirements have become first class design constraints, while manufacturing process-driven variability increases, therefore affecting overall performance and power costs. Furthermore, emerging devices are affected by decreased reliability which, in turn, may be exacerbated by higher operating temperatures. To support a path toward sustainable computing, a holistic approach toward addressing energy awareness, reliability, and variability at all the levels in the system is required.
This talk will discuss our work on modeling the effects of process variation at system level and compare and contrast various design styles with respect to their tolerance to process variations and support for increased performance under iso-power conditions. Our results detail how these effects can affect performance, power and thermal profile of systems implemented using classic 2D or advanced 3D integration, how process variations affect the robustness of power management algorithms, and how resource management can be employed to deliver performance increase in multi-core systems. Finally, we unravel the joint effects of decreased reliability and increased variability on system robustness and find unexpected applications of the proposed methodology to non-silicon systems.
Biography: Diana Marculescu is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her Dipl. Ing. degree in Computer Science from "Politehnica" University of Bucharest, Romania in 1991 and her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from University of Southern California in 1998. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Faculty Career Award (2000-2004), an ACM-SIGDA Technical Leadership Award (2003), the Carnegie Institute of Technology George Tallman Ladd Research Award (2004), an ACM-SIGDA Distinguished Service Award (2010), and Best Paper Awards from IEEE Asia South-Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASPDAC 2005), IEEE International Conference on Computer Design (ICCD 2008), International Symposium on Quality of Electronic Design (ISQED 2009), and IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems (2011). Diana Marculescu was an IEEE-Circuits and Systems Society Distinguished Lecturer (2004-2005), the Chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Design Automation (2005-2009) and is an ACM Distinguished Scientist and a Senior Member of IEEE. Her research interests include energy-, reliability-, and variability-aware computing and CAD for non-silicon applications.
Host: CENG
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
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 Series
Fri, Nov 02, 2012 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Edgar Sánchez-Sinencio, Texas A&M University
Talk Title: Multi-Order Harmonic Generation for Linear Oscillators and Wideband Frequency Synthesis
Abstract: It is presented the evolution of highly linear oscillators based first on Band-pass filter and multi-level comparators. Then by employing harmonic suppression or selective harmonic enhancement to yield besides linear oscillators, also wide frequency range and/or high frequency oscillators with frequency higher than its fundamental.
Secondly it is presented architectural solutions for the realization of wideband frequency synthesizers. First, we present a new architecture which uses two-step multi-order harmonic generation of a low frequency phase-locked signal to generate wideband mm-wave frequencies. Measurements of a prototype fabricated in 90nm CMOS technology show that using a phase-locked input signal of 1-1.43GHz, the system can provide an output which covers the frequency range of 5 â 32 GHz. This represents a tuning bandwidth of 27 GHz with a tuning range of 146%. The measured phase noise at 1 MHz offset is -116 dBc/Hz and -99 dBc/Hz at 5 GHz and 32 GHz, respectively.
Biography: Prof. Edgar Sánchez-Sinencio was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He received the degree in communications and electronic engineering (Professional degree) from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, Mexico City, the M.S.E.E. degree from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, in 1966, 1970, and 1973, respectively.
He has graduated 51 M.Sc. and 39 Ph.D. students. He is a co-author of six books on different topics, such as RF circuits, low-voltage low-power analog circuits, and neural networks. He is currently the TI J. Kilby Chair Professor and Director of the Analog and Mixed-Signal Center at Texas A&M University. His current interests are in the area of power management, ultra-low power analog circuits, data converters and medical electronics circuit design.
He is a former Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II and a former IEEE CAS Vice PresidentâPublications. In November 1995 he was awarded a Honoris Causa Doctorate by the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics, Mexico. This degree was the first honorary degree awarded for microelectronic circuit-design contributions. He is a co-recipient of the 1995 Guillemin-Cauer Award for his work on cellular networks. He received the Texas Senate Proclamation # 373 for Outstanding Accomplishments in 1996. He was also the co-recipient of the 1997 Darlington Award for his work on high-frequency filters. He received the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Golden Jubilee Medal in 1999. He is the recipient of the prestigious IEEE Circuits and Systems Society 2008 Technical Achievement Award. He was the IEEE Circuits and Systems Societyâs Representative to the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society during 2000â2002. He was a member of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society Fellow Award Committee from 2002 to 2004. He is currently (2012-2013) a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Circuit and Systems Society
Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi, Prof. Mahta Moghaddam, Prof. Mike Chen
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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. -
Yield improvement and test cost reduction for TSV based 3D stacked ICs
Mon, Nov 05, 2012 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Said Hamdioui, Delft University of Technology
Talk Title: Yield improvement and test cost reduction for TSV based 3D stacked ICs
Abstract: The industry is preparing itself for three-dimensional stacked ICs (3D-SICs), vertically interconnected by means of Through-Silicon Viaâs (TSVs). 3D-SIC is an emerging technology that promises huge advantages such as heterogeneous integration with higher performance and lower power dissipation at a smaller footprint. However, for 3D integration to become a viable product approach, many challenges have to be solved including design, manufacturing and test. The talk will provide first an overview about the opportunities and challenges of 3D-SICs. Thereafter, some major challenges such as yield improvement, test cost reduction and reliability will be addressed in more details. Compound yield is a major concern for Wafer-to-Wafer 3D stacking (used for e.g. dies with similar size such as memories), especially for higher number stacked dies. 3D-SIC test needs complex test flow trade-offs due to e.g. huge different test moments (e.g., pre-bond test, mid-bond test, final test). Finally, Reliability is another concerns that may be caused due to wafer thinning, TSV processing, thermal and mechanical stress, etc.
Biography: Hamdioui (http://www.ce.ewi.tudelft.nl/hamdioui/) received the MSEE and PhD degrees (both with honors) from the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft), Delft, The Netherlands. He is currently co-leading dependable-nano computing research activities within the Computer Engineering Laboratory of TUDelft. Prior to joining TUDelft, Hamdioui worked for Intel Corporation (CA, USA), Philips Semiconductors R&D (France) and for Philips/ NXP Semiconductors (Nijmegen, The Netherlands). His research interests include dependable nano-computing and VLSI Design & Test (defect/fault tolerance, reliability, hardware security, Design-for-Testability, Built-In-Self-Test, 3D stacked IC test, memory test, defect oriented test, etc.).
Host: Prof. Sandeep Gupta
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 349
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Annie Yu
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. -
Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Tue, Nov 06, 2012 @ 01:45 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Philip Zhe Sun, Harvard University & Massachusetts General Hospital
Talk Title: "Quantitative Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) MRI for Tissue pH Imagingâ
Abstract: Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging is an emerging MRI contrast that is sensitive to dilute CEST agents and micro-environment properties such as pH and temperature. CEST MRI contrast, however, is complex. The experimentally obtainable CEST effect varies with labile proton concentration, exchange rate, T1 and T2. It also strongly depends on the experimental conditions such as RF irradiation power, duration, scheme and magnetic field strength. Recent development of quantitative CEST (qCEST) MRI has enabled improved characterization of the underlying CEST system. Specifically, we have developed empirical solution to quantify CEST MRI, and have optimized/translated endogenous amide proton CEST MRI to image tissue acidosis. We recently demonstrated absolute cerebral tissue pH mapping, which captures heterogeneous ischemic acidosis during acute stroke and the dynamic pH response to normobaric oxygen (NBO) treatment. In summary, CEST MRI is a versatile imaging technique that, once fully developed, will tremendously augment the conventional MRI exams for improved characterization of molecular/cellular changes in a host of diseases including stroke, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Biography: Phillip Zhe Sun, Ph.D.*Dr. Sun received his Bachelor of Science degree in technical physics from Peking University in 1998 and his Ph.D. in Radiological Sciences from Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), Harvard and MIT in 2003. His Ph.D. research was in the field of MR diffusion and microscopy, under the mentorship of Professor David Cory. Upon his graduation, he went on to Johns Hopkins University, working with Professor Peter van Zijl, as a Postdoctoral Fellow and then a Research Associate. Dr. Sun joined Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH and Harvard Medical School as an Assistant Professor in 2007. His research focuses on development of novel MRI techniques for assessing neurological diseases including acute stroke, multiple sclerosis and tumor. Specifically, Dr. Sun has been studying tissue acidosis using quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI. He is also interested in numerous techniques including tissue glucose and oxygen metabolism, myelin quantification, diffusion/kurtosis, blood oxygen level dependent and magnetization transfer MRI. Dr. Sun has authored/co-authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and fifty conference proceedings/abstracts.
Host: Prof. Krishna Nayak
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
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 Series
Fri, Nov 09, 2012 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Curtis Ling, Maxlin
Talk Title: Founding to IPO: A Perspective on Technology Entrepreneurship and Fabless Design
Abstract: In the ultracompetitive world of technology startups, what makes the difference between success and failure? What are some of the key factors to creating a profitable, scalable company in the fabless semiconductor space and taking it beyond an IPO? Though this talk cannot provide definitive answers to these complex questions, I will give you a close look at how one fabless company, MaxLinear, started from scratch in 2003, defined and developed its first successful products, became profitable and went IPO six years later with 1.5 rounds of venture funding, and has since continued to innovate and grow in a challenging business environment. We will cover topics such as
· Precursors leading to starting a technology company
· The crucial interaction between engineering and marketing in defining products
· Technical challenges in integrating broadband communication receivers, and
· Business challenges of scaling a company beyond a tight-knit founding team.
Biography: Dr. Curtis Ling, is Co-founder of MaxLinear, Inc. and has been its Chief Technical Officer since April 2006 and serves as its Director. Dr. Ling has 18 years of experience in research and product development in the fields of RFIC Design and wireless systems. Prior to MaxLinear, he served as a Principal Engineer at Silicon Wave (now RF Micro Devices, San Diego), where he was responsible for RFIC design of Cable Tuner and Bluetooth SoC products. From 1993 to 1999, Dr. Ling served as a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he established a research program and laboratories in wireless communications and consumer electronics. He has co-authored several publications in technical journals and conferences. He received a BSEE from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi, Prof. Mahta Moghaddam, Prof. Mike Chen
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/events/event-details/?event_id=898694
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/events/event-details/?event_id=898694
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. -
Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Tue, Nov 13, 2012 @ 01:45 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Michael Insana, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: "On The Design And Evaluation Of Sonographic Systems For Cancer Diagnosisâ
Abstract: The best-possible performance of any imaging system can be measured using ideal-observer analysis. Comparing ideal performance with that of human observers, it is possible to predict the efficiency of a system for achieving its clinical design goals. Rigorous and objective assessments of imaging quality are now well developed for x-ray and -ray imaging modalities but not for sonography. This seminar summarizes recent work from our group in sonographic instrument design and performance assessment for the task of breast lesion diagnosis.
First, we define task information using Kullback-Leibler divergence by combining ideas from information theory and acoustic scattering with medical practice. We then define the test statistic of the ideal observer of breast lesions and relate its performance metrics to fundamental engineering properties that describe system noise, image contrast and spatial resolution. We show how unique aspects of acoustic contrast generation present unique challenges to defining the ideal observer and relating its performance to engineering properties. The efficiency of human observers at discriminating lesion features was found to be less than 10% and highly dependent on specifics of the visual task. The greatest loss of task information occurs during the demodulation step of image formation. However adaptive filtering of the echo signals before and after beamforming was found to significantly increase diagnostic information transfer through the demodulator and thus improves the diagnostic performance of sonography for lesion feature discrimination.
Biography: Michael F. Insana is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Bioengineering at Illinois. He also has appointments in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, where he leads the Bio-Imaging Science and Technology group. His current research interests are to develop new ultrasonic methods for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of breast cancer. He is also interested in eigenanalysis for sensing cancer-related transitions in cell networks as a basis for developing molecular imaging methods. Mike is a fellow of the IEEE, Acoustical Society of America, the Institute of Physics, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has been Associate Editor for the IEEE Transaction on Medical Imaging since 1997 and currently chairs that journalâs Steering Committee.
Host: Prof. Krishna Nayak
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
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. -
Improving Features and Models for Automatic Emotion Prediction in Acted Speech
Wed, Nov 14, 2012 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ani Nenkova, University of Pennsylvania
Talk Title: Improving Features and Models for Automatic Emotion Prediction in Acted Speech
Abstract: In this talk I will present our recent work on emotion prediction in acted speech, as well as validation on spontaneous speech.
We introduce a class of spectral features computed over three phoneme type classes of interestâstressed vowels, unstressed vowels and consonants in the utterance. Classification accuracies are consistently higher for our features compared to prosodic or utterance-level spectral features. Combination of our phoneme class features with prosodic features leads to even further improvement. Further analyses reveal that spectral features computed from consonant regions of the utterance contain more information about emotion than either stressed or unstressed vowel features. We also explore how emotion recognition accuracy depends on utterance length. We show that, while there is no significant dependence for utterance-level prosodic features, accuracy of emotion recognition using class-level spectral features increases with the utterance length.
We also introduce a novel emotion recognition approach which integrates ranking models. The approach is speaker independent, yet it is designed to exploit information from utterances from the same speaker in the test set before making predictions. It achieves much higher precision in identifying emotional utterances than a conventional SVM classifier. Furthermore we test several possibilities for combining conventional classification and predictions based on ranking. All combinations improve overall prediction accuracy.
This is joint work with Houwei Cao, Dmitri Bitouk and Ragini Verma
Biography: Ani Nenkova is an Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her main areas of research are automatic summarization, discourse, and text quality. She obtained her PhD degree in Computer Science from Columbia University in 2006. She also spent a year and a half as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University before joining Penn in Fall 2007.
Host: Chi-Chun Lee, Angeliki Metallinou, Prof. 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. -
Toward Understanding Characteristics of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) for Vehicular Networks
Thu, Nov 15, 2012 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Fan Bai, General Motors Corporation
Talk Title: Toward Understanding Characteristics of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) for Vehicular Networks
Abstract: IEEE 802.11p-based Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) is considered a promising wireless technology for enhancing transportation safety and improving highway e ciency. We have studied the effects of the mobile vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) channel on the current IEEE 802.11p standard to investigate how readily they can be applied to vehicular networks. In particular, measured parameters for the V2V channel at 5.9 GHz in suburban, highway, and rural environments are studied in the context of critical parameters for OFDM as implemented in the 802.11p waveform. Actual performance of scaled OFDM waveforms with bandwidths of 20 MHz (bandwidth of IEEE 802.11a), 10 MHz (bandwidth of the draft IEEE 802.11p), and 5 MHz (halved bandwidth of IEEE 802.11p) are described and interpreted in light of the channel parameters. At 20 MHz the guard interval is not long enough, while at 5 MHz errors increase from lack of channel stationarity over the packet duration. For these choices of the 802.11p OFDM waveform, 10 MHz appears to be the best choice. On the other hand, we also find that the performance of DSRC standard might degrade in a challenging V2V channel, partly because the IEEE 802.11p DSRC standard is not fully customized for outdoor, highly mobile channels. We develop a set of equalization schemes that are able to closely track the V2V channel dynamics and thus improve performance at the physical layer. Through a set of empirical experiments, we showed that the performance (in terms of Packet Error Rate) could be significantly improved from 39% (using a simple Least Square Estimator) to 17% (using a sophisticated Spectral Temporal Averaging Estimator).
Biography: Dr. Fan Bai (General Motors Global R&D) is a Senior Researcher in the Electrical & Control Integration Lab., Research & Development, General Motors Corporation, since Sep., 2005. Before joining General Motors research lab, he received the B.S. degree in automation engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 1999, and the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering, from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 2005. His current research is focused on the discovery of fundamental principles and the analysis and design of protocols/systems for next-generation Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET), for safety, telematics and infotainment applications. Dr. Bai has published about 50 book chapters, conference and journal papers, including Mobicom, INFOCOM, MobiHoc, SECON, ICC, Globecom, WCNC, JSAC, IEEE Transaction on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Wireless Communication Magazine, IEEE Communication Magazine and Elsevier AdHoc Networks Journal. He received Charles L. McCuen Special Achievement Award from General Motors Corporation âin recognition of extraordinary accomplishment in area of vehicle-to-vehicle communications for drive assistance & safety.â He serves as Technical Program Co-Chairs for IEEE WiVec 2007, IEEE MoVeNet 2008, ACM VANET 2011 and ACM VANET 2012. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transaction on Vehicular Technology and IEEE Transaction on Mobile Computing, and he also serves as guest editors for IEEE Wireless Communication Magazine, IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine and Elsevier AdHoc Networks Journal. He is also serving as a Ph.D. supervisory committee member at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Illinois â Urban Champaign.
Host: Andreas Molisch, x04670, molisch@usc.edu
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
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. -
Algorithms For Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning
Thu, Nov 15, 2012 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Anand Sarwate, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago
Talk Title: Algorithms For Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning
Abstract: The large-scale gathering and storage of personal data is raising new questions about the regulation of privacy. On the technology side, there has been a flurry of recent work on new models for privacy risk and protection. One such model is differential privacy, which quantifies the risk to an individual's data being included in a database. Differentially private algorithms introduce noise into their computations to limit this risk, allowing the output to be released publicly. I will describe new algorithms for differentially private machine learning tasks such as learning a classifier and principle components analysis (PCA). I will describe how guaranteeing privacy affects the performance of these algorithms, the results on real data sets, and some exciting future directions.
Parts of this work are with Kamalika Chaudhuri, Claire Monteleoni, Kaushik Sinha, Staal Vinterbo, and Aziz Boxwala.
Biography: Anand Sarwate is a Research Assistant Professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, a philanthropically endowed academic institute located on the University of Chicago campus. Prior to that he was a postdoc in the Information Theory and Applications Center (ITA) at UC San Diego. He received his PhD from UC Berkeley in 2008, and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from MIT in 2002. He is broadly interested in statistical algorithms applied to problems in distributed systems, signal processing, communications, and privacy and security.
Host: Urbashi Mitra, x04667, ubli@usc.edu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
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. -
Munushian Visiting Seminar Series
Thu, Nov 15, 2012 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Connie J. Chang-Hasnain, University of California, Berkeley
Talk Title: Flat Photonics Using High Contrast Metastructures
Abstract: A new class of planar optics has emerged using near-wavelength period gratings with a large refractive index contrast. This seemingly simple structure lends itself to extraordinary properties, which can be designed top-down based for integrated optics on a silicon substrate. In particular, the near-wavelength gratings with large index contrast wiht its surrounding materials are referred as high-contrast gratings (HCG). The extraordinary features include an ultra broadband (Δλ/λ>30%) high reflectivity (>99%) reflector for surface-normal incident light. Another feature is a high quality-factor resonance (Q>107) with surface-normal emission. We incorporated HCG as a replacement of conventional distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) over a wide wavelength range from 850-nm to 1550-nm. We also demonstrated high-Q cavity with surface-normal input/output beam using a single HCG layer. This resonator is formed without a Fabry-Perot cavity!
By varying HCG dimensions, the reflection phase can be changed, which can be used to control the VCSEL wavelength. Most interestingly, a curved wave front can be obtained by locally changing each grating dimension. This leads to planar, single-layer lens and focusing reflectors with high focusing power, or arbitrary transmitted wavefront generator which can be used to split or route light.
The HCG can be designed to provide reflection and resonances for incident light at an oblique angle as well. A hollow-core waveguide can be made with two parallel HCGs with light guided in-between. The phase of reflection coefficient can be designed such that slow light can be obtained in a hollow-core waveguide. Finally, light propagation can be switched efficiently from surface-normal direction to an in-plane index-guided waveguide and vice versa.
In this talk, I will review the physical insights of the extraordinary properties and show that HCG can be easily designed using simple guidelines for chip-scale optics.
Biography: Connie Chang-Hasnain is the John R. Whinnery Chair Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department and Chair of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSE) Graduate Group at the University of California, Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. from the same university in 1987. Prior to joining the Berkeley faculty, Dr. Chang-Hasnain was a member of the technical staff at Bellcore (1987â1992) and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University (1992â1996). She is an Honorary Member of A.F. Ioffe Institute, a Chang Jiang Scholar Endowed Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, a Visiting Professor of Peking University and National Chiao Tung University.
Professor Chang-Hasnainâs research interests range from semiconductor optoelectronic devices to materials and physics, with current foci on nano-photonic materials and devices for chip-scale integrated optics. She has been honored with the IEEE David Sarnoff Award (2011), the OSA Nick Holonyak Jr. Award (2007), the IEEE LEOS William Streifer Award for Scientific Achievement (2003), and the Microoptics Award from Japan Society of Applied Physics (2009). Additionally, she has been awarded with a National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship by the Department of Defense (2008), a Humboldt Research Award (2009), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2009). She was a member of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, the IEEE LEOS Board of Governors, OSA Board of Directors, and the Board on Assessment of NIST Programs, National Research Council. She has been the Editor-in-Chief Journal of Lightwave Technology since 2007.
Host: EE-Electrophysics
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
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 Series
Fri, Nov 16, 2012 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Art Morris, WiSpry
Talk Title: Programmable RF Solutions for Handsets
Abstract: Emerging air interface standards are accelerating the multiplication of modes and bands that must be supported in mobile devices. While RF transceivers have leveraged Mooreâs Law to achieve rapid scaling in capability for wireless communications, the RF front-end has seen limited integration due to the diverse technologies required to meet the stringent performance requirements and poor scaling due to physical power and wavelength limitations. Programmable/tunable RF front-ends that could break this barrier have been considered for many years but the required technologies to provide sufficient performance at low cost were not available. We present a tunable RF technology platform and early products based on that platform along with early design/prototyping efforts toward the realization of fully programmable RF front-ends.
Biography: Dr. Art Morris is a technologist who has focused on physical electronics and fields over the past 30 years. His contributions span a wide range of technologies from traveling wave tubes to HBTs and an array of products for markets from power transmission to broadband communication systems. Art has been CTO at wiSpry since its founding in 2002 leading the development of programmable RF products for high-volume markets utilizing integrated MEMS and CMOS. Dr. Morris is a Senior Member of the IEEE and an adjunct professor at NCSU.
Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi, Prof. Mahta Moghaddam, Prof. Mike Chen
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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. -
Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 @ 01:45 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Nicole Sieberlich, Case Western Reserve University
Talk Title: "Novel Non-Cartesian Parallel Imaging Techniques for Rapid MRIâ
Abstract: Magnetic Resonance Imaging is an increasingly powerful tool for medical imaging, but it still suffers from long data acquisition times, especially for rapid dynamic imaging. My group seeks to shorten MRI scan times by combining two powerful acceleration techniques, namely parallel imaging and non-Cartesian imaging. The resulting method, through-time non-Cartesian GRAPPA, can be used to achieve acceleration factors of greater than R=10 for dynamic imaging. This technique is able to accelerate MR acquisitions for many applications; cardiac and abdominal images will be shown to demonstrate the power of through-time non-Cartesian GRAPPA.
Biography: Nicole Seiberlich is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. The primary focus of her research is fast MRI, with special emphasis on cardiac imaging using parallel imaging combined with non-Cartesian trajectories. Dr. Seiberlich graduated from Yale University with a BS in Chemistry in 2001, and after working as a financial services consultant in New York and Germany for several years, received her PhD from the Department of Experimental Physics of the University of Wuerzburg in 2008.
Host: Prof. Krishna Nayak
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
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. -
Classification of Speech Under Cognitive Load
Tue, Nov 27, 2012 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Julien Epps, The University of New South Wales, Sydney,School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications
Talk Title: Classification of Speech Under Cognitive Load
Abstract: The estimation of a userâs cognitive load has traditionally involved manual and/or post-hoc approaches such as subjective self-rating, performance measures and reaction time. Recently there has been a movement to automate cognitive load estimation, towards indicators that are sensitive to real time fluctuations in mental load during tasks. Speech is a natural signal to consider, being relatively free of the intrusiveness, inconvenience or privacy concerns associated with other signals such as video, EEG or GSR. Little is known about the effects of cognitive load on speech, however. In this presentation, results from recent investigations into vocal source-related and vocal tract-related parameters will be discussed, and promising system configurations for cognitive load classification will be presented. Finally, a brief overview of related current work on mental state recognition from speech and other methods for cognitive load estimation will be given.
Biography: Julien Epps is a Senior Lecturer with The University of New South Wales School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications. He has a joint position as a Senior Researcher with National ICT Australia (a government research lab), as part of a longer-term project investigating real time, non-intrusive cognitive load measurement using behavioural and physiological signals. In recent years he has worked mainly on the recognition of emotion, depression and cognitive load from speech and on speaker recognition. For example, as part of a funded project based at UNSW, he is investigating methods for dealing with speaker and phonetic variability in the emotion recognition problem.
Host: Prof. Shrikanth Narayanan
Location: 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. -
Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Tue, Nov 27, 2012 @ 01:45 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Rohan Dharmakumar, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Talk Title: "Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent MRI for Ischemic Heart Disease: Current State-of-the-Art"
Abstract: Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world. It is estimated that nearly 7 million people are living with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the United States and about half a million people die from it each year. The most common form of CAD leads to narrowing of the coronary arteries (stenosis) resulting in reduced blood flow and oxygen supplied to the heart muscle. Accurate early detection of flow deficits may permit interventional revascularization procedures (pharmacological intervention, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, and/or bypass surgery) to re-establish flow to the hypo-perfused regions. The absence of revascularization increases the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Accurate non-invasive methods for detecting coronary artery disease are necessary to determine which patients should undergo revascularization therapy. The gold standard for detecting coronary artery stenosis is x-ray angiography with iodinated contrast agent which is expensive, invasive, and does not provide information regarding the functional status of the myocardium, which is perhaps more important than morphological information in treating the disease.
In order to identify CAD on the basis of functional status of the myocardium, significant research efforts have been devoted to the development of noninvasive methods, but the establishment of such methods remains challenging. Current approaches include computed positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). PET is a promising method for detecting regional myocardial blood flow differences. However, PET studies are limited by low spatial resolution, limited availability, and administration of ionizing radiation. SPECT imaging is the technique most widely used for detecting both metabolic activity and perfusion. However, like PET, SPECT techniques are also limited by low spatial resolution and/or potentially harmful ionizing radiation.
First-pass MRI with gadolinium conjugates has been used for assessing perfusion changes due to coronary artery disease. First-pass methods rely on the detection of changes in myocardial perfusion reserve due to coronary artery disease and thus typically require the use of pharmacological stress agents, such as adenosine or dipyridamole. Unfortunately, since these agents impart physical discomfort in patients, the infusion time of the agent is limited to only six minutes. This method is evaluated most commonly using rapid imaging techniques with multi-slice capabilities. While this approach can identify regions of perfusion deficits, the method is limited by inadequate myocardial coverage and sub-optimal temporal and spatial resolution because of the need to capture the first passage of the contrast media at relatively high temporal resolution (1 frame/heartbeat). These limitations can decrease the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.
An alternate method for identifying perfusion deficits relies on endogenous contrast mechanism mediated by red blood cells. It is known that magnetic susceptibility of red blood cells is determined by the oxygen saturation (%O2) of the hemoglobin. Differential %O2 of hemoglobin molecules affects the local magnetic field variations in the intra- and the extra-vascular spaces. The changes in field inhomogeneities, due to changes in %O2, are realized as MR signal changes. This is known as blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) MRI and has enabled the detection of regional activation patterns in the brain. The potential benefits of BOLD MRI for detecting global or regional myocardial ischemia due to coronary artery disease were demonstrated over two decades ago. In this talk, I will chronicle the development of myocardial BOLD MRI for characterization of ischemic heart disease over the past decades.
Biography: Dr. Rohan Dharmakumar obtained his BSc in Theoretical Physiology and Physics, MSc in Mathematics and PhD in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. Subsequently he went onto complete a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiac MRI and was appointed as Assistant Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Depts of Biomedical Sciences, Imaging, and Heart Institute and the Associate Director of Biomedical Imaging Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. At Cedars he heads a lab focused on translational cardiac imaging with the specific goal of extending our current understanding of ischemic heart disease using MRI. His research efforts are continually funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH and American Heart Association.
Host: Prof. Krishna Nayak
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
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. -
CSI's 30th Anniversary Conference and CelebrationThu, Nov 29, 2012
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Keynotes, speakers and panels, Academia and Industry
Talk Title: CSIâs 30th Anniversary Conference and Celebration
Abstract: The Communication Sciences Institute (CSI) of the University of Southern California has played a distinguished role in the development of modern communications systems over the past 30 years. With 2 members of National Academy of Sciences, 6 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 4 Shannon lecturers, and numerous alumni that made their mark in the wireless industry, CSI has contributed to one of the most exciting and vibrant areas of engineering.
The 30th anniversary will be celebrated by a high-quality conference/meeting with distinguished speakers from industry and academia led by two keynotes: famous scientist and entrepreneur, Andrew Viterbi; and alumnus and candidate for IEEE President, J. Roberto B. de Marca. The technical program will be accompanied by a social program that will give alumni and friends the opportunity to connect and exchange memories and ideas about the future. We expect to have 150 participants from all over the US and the world.
In order to attend this event, you must register.
Host: CSI Faculty
More Info: http://csi.usc.edu/csi30
Location: Charlotte S. & Davre R. Davidson Continuing Education Conference Center (DCC) -
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
Event Link: http://csi.usc.edu/csi30
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. -
CSI's 30th Anniversary Conference and Celebration
Fri, Nov 30, 2012
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Keynotes, speakers and panels, Academia and Industry
Talk Title: CSIâs 30th Anniversary Conference and Celebration
Abstract: The Communication Sciences Institute (CSI) of the University of Southern California has played a distinguished role in the development of modern communications systems over the past 30 years. With 2 members of National Academy of Sciences, 6 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 4 Shannon lecturers, and numerous alumni that made their mark in the wireless industry, CSI has contributed to one of the most exciting and vibrant areas of engineering.
The 30th anniversary will be celebrated by a high-quality conference/meeting with distinguished speakers from industry and academia led by two keynotes: famous scientist and entrepreneur, Andrew Viterbi; and alumnus and candidate for IEEE President, J. Roberto B. de Marca. The technical program will be accompanied by a social program that will give alumni and friends the opportunity to connect and exchange memories and ideas about the future. We expect to have 150 participants from all over the US and the world.
In order to attend this event, you must register.
Host: CSI Faculty
More Info: http://csi.usc.edu/csi30
Location: Charlotte S. & Davre R. Davidson Continuing Education Conference Center (DCC) -
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
Event Link: http://csi.usc.edu/csi30
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 Series
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Shouleh Nikzad, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Talk Title: High Performance Imagers, Detectors, and Devices for Applications in Cosmology, Planetary Studies, & Moreâ¦.
Abstract: New discoveries about our universe historically have accompanied advances in observational technology. Galileoâs telescope and the discoveries enabled by that technology are a prime example of such accompaniment and dependence. Pushing the boundaries in space exploration requires new technologies to enable fundamental discoveries in cosmology, astrophysics, and life detection. An essential component of these missions will be detectors with exceptional stability, sensitivity, and resolution.
Semiconductor detectors offer a rich spectral range, tailorable spectral response, high resolution, and sensitivity; however, these capabilities are not often available in a single material or class of materials. For example, while silicon imagers have reached amazing performance levels in terms of format, pixel size, and signal to noise, they are typically blind to ultraviolet light.
Using non-equilibrium processes such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), we can manipulate materials at nanometer scale, form unusual and quantum structures, and alter bandstructure. In this talk, I will discuss our work on use of MBE and atomic layer deposition (ALD) to develop high quantum efficiency ultraviolet, visible, and near IR silicon detector arrays, form high stability III-nitride photocathodes, and fabricate quantum dots for the end purpose of understanding stars, galaxies, planets, and our universe. We strive for understanding, both in the realm of semiconductors and in aiding cosmology, astrophysics, and planetary sciences. I will also briefly discuss applications to medical and other fields.
Biography: Shouleh Nikzad is A Senior Research Scientist, a Principal Member of Staff and a Technical Group Supervisor for the Advanced UV/Visible/Near IR Detector Arrays, Advanced Imaging Systems, and Nansociences Group at JPL. She received her BS in Electrical Engineering from USC and her MS in EE and PhD in Applied Physics from Caltech. Her current research interests include high performance UV/Visible/NIR imaging arrays using silicon and III-nitride materials, low-energy particle detector arrays, high stability photocathodes, quantum dot-based devices, novel detector concepts, and advanced UV/Optical instrument technologies. In her tenure at JPL, she has initiated, developed, and managed successful detector and device programs. Along with her research group at JPL, Dr. Nikzad has pioneered non-equilibrium crystal growth techniques to manipulate and modify the bandstructure of devices to produce high sensitivity, high resolution, low noise, UV/Optical/NIR imagers. She holds more than 10 US patents and has over 50 publications. She has presented her work as invited talks and in book chapters and has received awards for her work including the Lew Allen Award for Excellence, the Space Act Award, and the TAP Honor Award.
Dr. Nikzad has held joint visiting faculty appointments at Caltech Applied Physics Department and at the USC Keck School of Medicine. She is currently a Visiting Scientist with the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Visiting Faculty Associate at Caltechâs Division of Physics, Math, and Astronomy. She serves on various boards including Board Of Director of the SBMT (Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics) Society/ Foundation and the editorial board of the special issue of the NeuroImage. She co lead a 2012 study funded by the Keck Institute for Space Studies for innovations to enable the next generation ultraviolet instruments. This year, Dr. Nikzad was honored by her election as a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).
Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi, Prof. Mahta Moghaddam, Prof. Mike Chen
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
Location: EEB 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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.
