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Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for August
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CS Colloquium: Nils Thuerey (TU Munich)
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Nils Thuerey, TU Munich
Talk Title: Turbulent Flow Simulations for Special Effects
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Physics simulations are widely recognized to be crucial tools for complex special effects in feature films, and real-time simulations are often central game-play elements in modern computer games. However, we are still very far from being able to accurately simulate the complexity of nature around us, and the numerical methods that are commonly used are often difficult to fine-tune and control.
In this talk I will explain approaches to tackle these problems. The underlying idea is to increase the apparent detail in flow simulations without changing their behavior, while adhering to the physics as much as possible. This is not only faster than running a full simulation, but also gives artists the possibility to more easily control the outcome of a simulation. Additionally, similar ideas can be used to realize detailed flow simulations that run with very high frame rates, and include anisotropic effects more accurately. This makes it possible to use turbulent smoke effects in interactive environments such as games.
In general terms, the research in this area strives to realize interactive, controllable solvers for a broad range of material behaviors. The talk will be concluded by discussing the requirements of the visual effects industry, and by giving an outlook of future challenges in the field.
Biography: Nils Thuerey will take up a position as Assistant Professor at TU Munich in October. He has previously worked as research & development lead at ScanlineVFX, where he was busy with the design and implementation of large-scale physics simulators for feature films. His research focuses on physically-based animation, with a particular emphasis on detailed fluids and turbulence. Some of his algorithms are now widely used in industry, e.g., as part of animation packages such as Houdini and Blender. In 2013 he received a technical achievement award ("tech-oscar") from the AMPAS for his work on the wavelet turbulence algorithm. He did his Ph.D in 2007 at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (with honours), and until 2010 worked as a post-doctoral researcher with Ageia/Nvidia and the Computer Graphics Laboratory of ETH Zurich.
Host: Jernej Barbic'
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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CS Colloquium: Matthew E. Taylor (Washington State University)
Thu, Aug 29, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Matthew E. Taylor, Washington State University
Talk Title: Agents as Teachers and Learners
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Physical (robotic) agents and virtual (software) agents are becoming increasingly common in industry, education, and domestic environments. Recent research advances allow these agents can learn to complete tasks without human intervention. However, little is known about how humans should best teach such agents, nor how an agent could teach other agents. This unduly limits the rate at which the agents learn and reduces the potential benefits of leveraging existing human or agent knowledge. This talk discusses some recent progress in enabling one agent to teach another reinforcement learning agent, even if the they have different learning methods and/or representations.
Biography: Matthew E. Taylor graduated magna cum laude with a double major in computer science and physics from Amherst College in 2001. After working for two years as a software developer, he began his Ph.D. work at the University of Texas at Austin with an MCD fellowship from the College of Natural Sciences. He received his doctorate from the Department of Computer Sciences in the summer of 2008, supervised by Peter Stone. Matt then completed a two year postdoctoral research position at the University of Southern California with Milind Tambe and spent 2.5 years as an assistant professor at Lafayette College in the computer science department. He is currently an assistant professor at Washington State University in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award. Current research interests include intelligent agents, multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning, and transfer learning.
Host: Milind Tambe
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
