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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for January 21, 2015
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Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, & Engineering TalkWed, Jan 21, 2015
Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission
Receptions & Special Events
This half day program is designed for prospective freshmen and family members. Meet USC includes an information session on the University and the Admission process, a student led walking tour of campus, and a meeting with us in the Viterbi School. During the engineering session we will discuss the curriculum, research opportunities, hands-on projects, entrepreneurial support programs, and other aspects of the engineering school. Meet USC is designed to answer all of your questions about USC, the application process, and financial aid.
Reservations are required for Meet USC. This program occurs twice, once at 8:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m. Please make sure to check availability and register online for the session you wish to attend. Also, remember to list an Engineering major as your "intended major" on the webform!Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - USC Admission Office
Audiences: Prospective Undergrads and Families
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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2015 Cornelius Pings Lecture
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 11:15 AM - 12:50 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Mary F. Wheeler, Director, Center for Subsurface Modeling at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, UT Austin
Talk Title: Fluid-lled Fracture Propagation Using Phase Field
Series: Cornelius Pings Lecture
Abstract: In this presentation, we discuss current research on fluid-filled fracture propagation using a phase-field diffusive zone algorithm and coupling to a reservoir simulator. Phase field modeling has been used for the past decade in modeling fractures in an elastic medium. Recently in collaboration with Andro Mikelic and Thomas Wick we extended this method to pressurized fractures in a poroelastic medium. This thermodynamically consistent approach captures several characteristic features of crack propagation such as joining, branching and non-planar propagation in heterogeneous porous media as well as fracture width evolution and fracture-length propagation. Here we also describe a technique for coupling phase-field to a fractured poroelastic reservoir simulator. We present two and three-dimensional numerical tests to benchmark, compare and demonstrate the predictive capabilities of the fracture propagation model as well as the proposed coupling scheme.
Biography: Mary Fanett Wheeler was born in 1938 in Cuero, Texas, near San Antonio. She had always been interested in mathematics and took a course in it 'just for fun'. She ended up with enough courses to graduate in mathematics as well." Mary Wheeler earned a double major in social sciences and mathematics in 1960 at the University of Texas. She received an M.A. from the University of Texas in 1963, and her Ph.D. (1971) from Rice University (when her daughter was 3 years old.) Her Ph.D. thesis was on "A Priori L2 Error Estimates for Galerkin Approximations to Parabolic Partial Differential Equations". She began teaching at Rice University in 1971, rising through the ranks until in 1988 she was appointed as Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics (first woman to hold such a position at Rice.)
Since 1995 she has held the Ernest and Virginia Cockrell Chair in Engineering in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Texas in Austin. She works on numerical solutions of partial differential equations, parallel computation, and modeling flow in porous media. She has written over 200 research papers and technical reports, and authored 7 books.
More Information: USC Pings Lecture-Wheeler.pdf
Location: Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library (DML) - DML 240
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ryan Choi
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Computer Science Faculty Meeting
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Workshops & Infosessions
Event details will be emailed to invited attendees.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 526
Audiences: Invited Faculty Only
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Communications, Networks & Systems (CommNetS) Seminar
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Joel Zylberberg, University of Washington
Talk Title: Signal and Noise in the Nervous System
Series: CommNetS
Abstract: The nervous system is a surprisingly noisy place. For example, if one presents the exact same stimulus to an animal many times, and records the activities of their sensory neurons, the responses of those neurons show high levels of trial-to-trial variability. Similar levels of variability are observed elsewhere in the nervous system. At the same time, we have the experience of having robust thoughts and perceptions. So how do our brains generate this robustness from systems of inherently unreliable components? In my talk, I will discuss my work on the retina, the visual cortex, and the hippocampus, each of which reveals strategies that the nervous system appears to use in solving this problem. Along the way, I'll highlight the implications of these results for other neuronal systems, and for the creation of biomimetic technologies. Importantly, I will assume no specialized knowledge on the part of the listener.
Biography: During my undergraduate studies in Physics at Simon Fraser University (Canada), I published papers in inorganic chemistry, nuclear physics, and physics education, before receiving the B.Sc. degree in 2008. Supported by a Fulbright Science and Technology PhD fellowship, I then moved to UC Berkeley to pursue my PhD in Physics. I spent the first 2 years of my graduate training studying cosmology, before transitioning into neuroscience. My early work in neuroscience won me a student research fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supported my final (4th) year of doctoral studies. I received my PhD from UC Berkeley in 2012, and then took up my current position as Acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington. In my research, I combine tools from information theory, physics, and computer science, to reveal the circuitry underlying the robust perception and memory functions of the nervous system.
Host: Dr. Paul Bogdan and the Ming Hsieh Institute
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Annie Yu
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PhD Seminar
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Timu Gallien , Chancellorâs Fellow and postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Talk Title: Urban Coastal Flood Prediction: Implications of modeling methodology, infrastructure and coastal management
Abstract: Globally, coastal flooding represents a significant humanitarian and socioeconomic hazard for urbanized communities. Accurate flood mapping is critical to quantifying evolving flood risk. However, flood maps are not rigorously validated to determine sensitivities and uncertainties relative to modeling methodology and infrastructure resolution. A two-dimensional Godunov type hydrodynamic model that solves a local Riemann problem to accommodate weir-like overflow is successfully applied to simulate tidal flooding. The shallow water model is then augmented with temporally variable empirical and numerical overtopping estimates to investigate wave overtopping flooding. Simulation results are compared to two unique validation datasets. Three critical issues in coastal flood prediction emerge; the effects of methodology (i.e. equilibrium vs. hydrodynamic), characterizing wave overtopping volumes and finally, resolving flood control infrastructure and mitigation measures. Hydrodynamic modeling methodologies integrating flood control infrastructure and overtopping processes significantly outperform traditional static flood mapping methods. Results show skilled flood predictions require substantially higher flood defense elevation accuracies, ~2 cm, than is currently associated with LiDAR topographic data (~15 cm). Finally, flood mitigation measures (e.g., elevating sea walls, storm drainage, beach management) have significant, and at times, unintended implications for backshore flooding.
Biography: Dr. Timu Gallien is a Chancellorâs Fellow and postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of California, Irvine and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University. Dr. Gallienâs research focuses on quantifying evolving coastal flood risk from sea level rise, storm events, and urbanization. She uses a combination of high resolution fluid-mechanics based models to comprehensively resolve both key flooding processes (e.g., tide, waves, embayment amplification, drainage) and urban flood defense structures (e.g., sea walls, anthropogenic berming). Dr. Gallien conducts extensive nearshore field observations to advance coastal process knowledge and quantitatively evaluate model performance.
Host: Katie Russo
Location: Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Memorial Hall (of Philosophy) (MHP) - 106
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kaela Berry
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Astani Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. Seminar
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Timu Gallien , Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Talk Title: Urban Coastal Flood Prediction: Implications of modeling methodology, infrastructure and coastal management
Abstract: Globally, coastal flooding represents a significant humanitarian and socioeconomic hazard for urbanized communities. Accurate flood mapping is critical to quantifying evolving flood risk. However, flood maps are not rigorously validated to determine sensitivities and uncertainties relative to modeling methodology and infrastructure resolution. A two-dimensional Godunov type hydrodynamic model that solves a local Riemann problem to accommodate weir-like overflow is successfully applied to simulate tidal flooding. The shallow water model is then augmented with temporally variable empirical and numerical overtopping estimates to investigate wave overtopping flooding. Simulation results are compared to two unique validation datasets. Three critical issues in coastal flood prediction emerge; the effects of methodology (i.e. equilibrium vs. hydrodynamic), characterizing wave overtopping volumes and finally, resolving flood control infrastructure and mitigation measures. Hydrodynamic modeling methodologies integrating flood control infrastructure and overtopping processes significantly outperform traditional static flood mapping methods. Results show skilled flood predictions require substantially higher flood defense elevation accuracies, ~2 cm, than is currently associated with LiDAR topographic data (~15 cm). Finally, flood mitigation measures (e.g., elevating sea walls, storm drainage, beach management) have significant, and at times, unintended implications for backshore flooding.
Biography: Dr. Timu Gallien is a Chancellorâs Fellow and postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of California, Irvine and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University. Dr. Gallienâs research focuses on quantifying evolving coastal flood risk from sea level rise, storm events, and urbanization. She uses a combination of high resolution fluid-mechanics based models to comprehensively resolve both key flooding processes (e.g., tide, waves, embayment amplification, drainage) and urban flood defense structures (e.g., sea walls, anthropogenic berming). Dr. Gallien conducts extensive nearshore field observations to advance coastal process knowledge and quantitatively evaluate model performance.
Location: Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Memorial Hall (of Philosophy) (MHP) - 106
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ulrike K. Müller, Associate Professor, Department of Biology at California State University Fresno, Fresno, CA
Talk Title: From 0 to 10 mph in 100 Microseconds - The Fluid Mechanics of Feeding Strikes in a Carnivorous Plant
Series: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series
Abstract: Fish capture prey by suction feeding-they quickly expand their mouth cavity to entrain prey in a suction flow. Current suction feeding models can explain fish, but not the small aquatic carnivorous plant bladderwort, who captures zooplankton in mechanically triggered underwater traps. With a mouth less than 0.5 mm wide, these traps are among the smallest known that work by suction-a mechanism that would not be effective in the creeping-flow regime. To understand what makes suction feeding possible on this small scale, we compare analytical flow models with experimentally observed flows, recorded at frames rates of up to 50 000 Hz. We found maximum flow speeds of 5 m/s (similar to those in adult fish) and extreme accelerations of up to 40 000 m/s2. Complete within 0.5 milliseconds, the bladderwort feeding strike outpaces the development of a boundary layer, creating a fast and efficient inward jet.
Biography: Ulrike Müller is an Associate Professor in Biology at California State University Fresno. She earned a PhD in Marine Biology from Gröningen University, Netherlands. She has conducted research in the labs of R McN Alexander (Leeds University, UK), W Nachtigall (Saarbrücken University, Germany), CP Ellington (Cambridge University, UK), JL van Leeuwen (Wageningen University, Netherlands) and Hao Liu (Chiba University, Japan) and has published work in Nature and Science. Her research interests center around bio fluid dynamics and range from swimming to suction feeding, studying fish, insects, and carnivorous plants. She is an associate editor at the Proceedings B of the Royal Society.
Host: Eva Kanso
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Valerie Childress
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Communications, Networks & Systems (CommNetS) Seminar
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Richard J. La, University of Maryland
Talk Title: Convergence of a class of simple learning rules to pure-strategy Nash equilibria
Series: CommNetS
Abstract: Recently, there has been a growing interest in applying a game theoretic framework to various distributed engineering systems, including communication networks and distributed control systems.
Oftentimes, Nash equilibria are taken as an approximation to the expected operating point of these systems. In this talk, we examine the convergence of a class of simple learning rules to pure-strategy Nash equilibria (PSNEs). First, we demonstrate that if all agents adopt a learning rule from this class, when there exists at least one PSNE, they converge to a PSNE almost surely even in the presence of heterogeneous or time-varying feedback or observation delays under mild conditions on the games, which we call generalized weakly acyclic games (GWAGs). Second, we show that GWAGs are the only games for which the learning rules are guaranteed to converge to a PSNE. In other words, for a non-GWAG, there is an initial condition, starting with which the learning rules do not converge to a PSNE. Finally, we consider the case where the agents do not correctly determine their payoffs and make errors in their decisions. We illustrate that, if the probability of making a mistake diminishes to zero arbitrarily slow, the probability that the strategy profile of the agents belongs to the set of PSNEs tends to one over time.
This is a joint work with Siddharth Pal.
Biography: Richard J. La received his B.S.E.E. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1994 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1997 and 2000, respectively. From 2000 to 2001 he was with the Mathematics of Communication Networks group at Motorola Inc,. Since 2001 he has been on the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, where he is currently an Associate Professor.
Host: Prof. Rahul Jain and the Ming Hsieh Institute
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Annie Yu
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Writing Effective Resumes
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Does your resume highlight the skills that will land an interview? Learn how to create a resume that will serve as the marketing tool that will get your foot inside industry’s door!
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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PDP Information Session
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 05:15 PM - 06:15 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
Interested in earning your MS from Viterbi? How about starting a MS degree during your senior year? The Viterbi Graduate Admission team is hosting a Progressive Degree information session next week!
What are the details?
When: Wednesday, Jan 21 @ 5:15pm
Where: Ronald Tutor Hall (RTH) 211
Who should attend?
All undergraduate students thinking about pursuing a MS degree through USC.
What is the Progressive Degree Program?
The Progressive Degree Program (PDP) gives continuing USC undergraduates another path to earning a Master’s degree from USC. The main advantages to a Progressive Degree are:
1) Start graduate-level classes during your senior year
2) Reduce the units required for a Master’s Degree
Where can you learn more?
More Progressive Degree information may be found by attending our information session and visiting http://viterbi.usc.edu/pdp! Questions? Email the Viterbi Graduate Admission team at: viterbi.pdp@usc.edu
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Viterbi PDP
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Android Dev workshop
Wed, Jan 21, 2015 @ 08:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Workshops & Infosessions
SS12 coming up and you feel like you don't know enough? Want to learn cool new frameworks to build applications?
Come to the workshop this Wednesday!
In preparation for the upcoming Hackathon SS12 this weekend, ACM will be hosting a special Android Development workshop this Wednesday to teach newcomers how to make a web application. The event is completely free for everyone.
Come ready to learn!
There is limited space so the event will be first come first serve.Location: Annenberg School For Communication (ASC) - Blackstone Launchpad
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Association for Computing Machinery
