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Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for January

  • NL SEMINAR-Visual Recognition beyond Appearances, and its Robotic Applications

    Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Information Sciences Institute

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Yezhou Yang, ASU

    Talk Title: Visual Recognition beyond Appearances, and its Robotic Applications

    Series: NL Seminar

    Abstract: The goal of Computer Vision, as coined by Marr, is to develop algorithms to answer What are Where at When from visual appearance. The speaker, among others, recognizes the importance of studying underlying entities and relations beyond visual appearance, following an Active Perception paradigm. This talk will present the speaker's efforts over the last decade, ranging from 1. reasoning beyond appearance for visual question answering, image understanding and video captioning tasks, through 2. temporal knowledge distillation with incremental knowledge transfer, till 3. their roles in a Robotic visual learning framework via a Robotic Indoor Object Search task. The talk will also feature the Active Perception Group APGs ongoing projects NSF RI, NRI and CPS, DARPA KAIROS, and Arizona IAM addressing emerging challenges of the nation in autonomous driving, AI security and healthcare domains, at the ASU School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering CIDSE.



    Biography: Yezhou Yang is an Assistant Professor at School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, Arizona State University. He is directing the ASU Active Perception Group. His primary interests lie in Cognitive Robotics, Computer Vision, and Robot Vision, especially exploring visual primitives in human action understanding from visual input, grounding them by natural language as well as high level reasoning over the primitives for intelligent robots. Before joining ASU, Dr. Yang was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Computer Vision Lab and the Perception and Robotics Lab, with the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. He is a recipient of Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship 2011, the NSF CAREER award 2018 and the Amazon AWS Machine Learning Research Award 2019. He receives his Ph.D. from University of Maryland at College Park, and B.E. from Zhejiang University, China.

    Host: Jon May and Mozhdeh Gheini

    More Info: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

    Webcast: https://youtu.be/lfb5GP-HNRE

    Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only

    WebCast Link: https://youtu.be/lfb5GP-HNRE

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petet Zamar

    Event Link: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

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  • CS Colloquium: Odest Chadwicke Jenkins (University of Michigan) - Semantic Robot Programming... and Maybe Making the World a Better Place

    Tue, Jan 19, 2021 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, University of Michigan

    Talk Title: Semantic Robot Programming... and Maybe Making the World a Better Place

    Series: Computer Science Colloquium

    Abstract: The visions of interconnected heterogeneous autonomous robots in widespread use are a coming reality that will reshape our world. Similar to "app stores" for modern computing, people at varying levels of technical background will contribute to "robot app stores" as designers and developers. However, current paradigms to program robots beyond simple cases remains inaccessible to all but the most sophisticated of developers and researchers. In order for people to fluently program autonomous robots, a robot must be able to interpret user instructions that accord with that user's model of the world. The challenge is that many aspects of such a model are difficult or impossible for the robot to sense directly. We posit a critical missing component is the grounding of semantic symbols in a manner that addresses both uncertainty in low-level robot perception and intentionality in high-level reasoning. Such a grounding will enable robots to fluidly work with human collaborators to perform tasks that require extended goal-directed autonomy.

    I will present our efforts towards accessible and general methods of robot programming from the demonstrations of human users. Our recent work has focused on Semantic Robot Programming (SRP), a declarative paradigm for robot programming by demonstration that builds on semantic mapping. In contrast to procedural methods for motion imitation in configuration space, SRP is suited to generalize user demonstrations of goal scenes in workspace, such as for manipulation in cluttered environments. SRP extends our efforts to crowdsource robot learning from demonstration at scale through messaging protocols suited to web/cloud robotics. With such scaling of robotics in mind, prospects for cultivating both equal opportunity and technological excellence will be discussed in the context of broadening and strengthening Title IX and Title VI.

    Register in advance for this webinar at:

    https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qbP7OfXwQoqG2E5QQGhWJA

    After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.


    Biography: Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Ph.D., is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Associate Director of the Robotics Institute at the University of Michigan. Prof. Jenkins earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics at Alma College (1996), M.S. in Computer Science at Georgia Tech (1998), and Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Southern California (2003). He previously served on the faculty of Brown University in Computer Science (2004-15). His research addresses problems in interactive robotics and human-robot interaction, primarily focused on mobile manipulation, robot perception, and robot learning from demonstration. His research often intersects topics in computer vision, machine learning, and computer animation. Prof. Jenkins has been recognized as a Sloan Research Fellow and is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). His work has also been supported by Young Investigator awards from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Prof. Jenkins is currently serving as Editor-in-Chief for the ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is an alumnus of the Defense Science Study Group (2018-19).


    Host: Heather Culbertson and Maja Mataric

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qbP7OfXwQoqG2E5QQGhWJA

    Location: Online Zoom Webinar

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qbP7OfXwQoqG2E5QQGhWJA

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Computer Science Department

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  • AME Seminar

    Wed, Jan 20, 2021 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Yong Chen, USC

    Talk Title: Additive Manufacturing of Bio-inspired Structures via Multi-scale, Multi-material, and Multi-functional 3D Printing

    Abstract: Many natural structures out-perform conventional synthetic counterparts due to the specially evolved multi-scale, multi-material, and multi-functional architectures. However, most current 3D printing systems are designed to fabricate parts using a single material on a single scale, mainly for structural purposes. Such complex yet beautiful designs existing in natural structures are far beyond the fabrication capability of current 3D printing systems. This talk will report some of our recent work on developing new multi-scale, multi-material, and multi-functional additive manufacturing processes to fabricate bio-inspired structures, including the lobster structure, the nacre shell structure, the Salvinia molesta leaf structure, the limpet tooth structure, etc. After a brief overview of current 3D printing technology, several additive manufacturing (AM) processes to fabricate complex reinforcement architectures and functional surfaces will be presented. Some novel designs and promising applications enabled by the 3D-printed structures will also be discussed. The talk will conclude with remarks and thoughts on future 3D printing developments and potential opportunities for mechanical engineers.

    Biography: Yong Chen is a professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and the Director of Daniel J. Epstein Institute at the University of Southern California (USC). His research focuses on additive manufacturing (3D printing) in micro- and meso-scales. He has published more than 150 publications in refereed journals and conferences and 12 issued and pending U.S. patents. He received fourteen Best Outstanding Paper Awards in major design and manufacturing conferences. Other major awards he received include the NSF CAREER Award and USCs Innovation Commercialization Awards. Dr. Chen is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has served as conference program chairs and keynote speakers in several international design and manufacturing conferences.

    Host: AME Department

    More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94182377768

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94182377768

    Location: Online event

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94182377768

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Tessa Yao

    Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94182377768

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  • NL Seminar-Historical Applications of NLP

    Thu, Jan 21, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Information Sciences Institute

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Christopher Chu , Di Di

    Talk Title: Historical Applications of NLP

    Series: NL Seminar

    Abstract: NLP has vastly improved in the last ten years. These advances can help us better understand history by deciphering old languages and text whose meaning we couldn't understand before. In this talk, I'll be presenting a couple applications of how we can use these techniques. First, we use a known-plaintext attack to decrypt a dictionary code used c.1800 for secret messages between US Army General James Wilkinson and agents of the Spanish Crown. Then, I'll present a method for deciphering Chinese writing, with potential applications to other logographic languages.



    Biography: Christopher Chu is a research engineer working on NLP at DiDi AI Labs. We're located about 500 feet away in the other Marina Tower. He has a BASc in robotics engineering, but decided that people are more interesting to talk to than robots. At DiDi Labs, we primarily work on dialog and translation, but branch out into fun projects like these.

    Host: Jon May and Mozhdeh Gheini

    More Info: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

    Webcast: https://youtu.be/gLKMthceNIQ

    Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only

    WebCast Link: https://youtu.be/gLKMthceNIQ

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petet Zamar

    Event Link: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

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  • CS Colloquium: Allison Okamura (Stanford University) - Wearable Haptic Devices for Ubiquitous Communication

    Thu, Jan 21, 2021 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Allison Okamura, Stanford University

    Talk Title: Wearable Haptic Devices for Ubiquitous Communication

    Series: Computer Science Colloquium

    Abstract: Haptic devices allow touch-based information transfer between humans and intelligent systems, enabling communication in a salient but private manner that frees other sensory channels. For such devices to become ubiquitous, their physical and computational aspects must be intuitive and unobtrusive. The amount of information that can be transmitted through touch is limited in large part by the location, distribution, and sensitivity of human mechanoreceptors. Not surprisingly, many haptic devices are designed to be held or worn at the highly sensitive fingertips, yet stimulation using a device attached to the fingertips precludes natural use of the hands. Thus, we explore the design of a wide array of haptic feedback mechanisms, ranging from devices that can be actively touched by the fingertips to multi-modal haptic actuation mounted on the arm. We demonstrate how these devices are effective in virtual reality, human-machine communication, and human-human communication.

    Register in advance for this webinar at:

    https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u9NWPx3ZS2GK70dtN6-1ZA

    After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.


    Biography: Allison M. Okamura received the BS degree from the University of California at Berkeley and the MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University, all in mechanical engineering. She is currently Professor in the mechanical engineering department at Stanford University, with a courtesy appointment in computer science. She is an IEEE Fellow and Editor-in-Chief of the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. Her awards include the 2020 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Technical Achievement Award, 2019 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Distinguished Service Award, and 2016 Duca Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Her academic interests include haptics, teleoperation, virtual environments and simulators, medical robotics, neuromechanics and rehabilitation, and soft robotics. She is passionate about engineering education and diversifying STEM. Outside academia, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, running, and playing ice hockey. For more information about her research, please see the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Laboratory website: http://charm.stanford.edu.


    Host: Heather Culbertson and Maja Mataric

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u9NWPx3ZS2GK70dtN6-1ZA

    Location: Online Zoom Webinar

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u9NWPx3ZS2GK70dtN6-1ZA

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Computer Science Department

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  • Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar

    Tue, Jan 26, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Mahmut Ekenel, Ph.D., P.E., Senior Staff Engineer at ICC Evaluation Service, Brea, CA

    Talk Title: Building Codes in the U.S.A. and Evaluation of Alternative Construction Materials

    Abstract: In the United States, where the power to regulate construction is vested in local authorities, a system of model building codes is adopted. The International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC) are the two model codes that were developed to establish the minimum requirements to safeguard the public health and safety through provisions that include structural strength. This presentation briefly explains how building codes are developed and enforced in the U.S.A., and major differences between the model building codes. This presentation also explains what happens if there is an alternative construction material or construction method that is not recognized by the building codes by presenting several case studies.




    Biography:
    Mahmut Ekenel, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow ACI, is a Senior Staff Engineer at ICC Evaluation Service, Brea, CA. He received his M.S. from Southern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. from Missouri S&T University, where he also worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher. His research interests include fiber-reinforced polymer and fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix strengthening of structures, fiber-reinforced concrete, concrete additives, and anchorage to concrete. He is a registered Civil Engineer in the States of California and Ohio.



    Host: Dr. Bora Gencturk

    Location: Zoom Meeting https://usc.zoom.us/j/97228056404 Meeting ID: 972 2805 6404 Passcode: 864779

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Evangeline Reyes

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  • ISE 651 - Epstein Seminar

    Tue, Jan 26, 2021 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Nick Meisel, Assistant Professor of Engineering Design, Penn State; Director, Made by Design Lab

    Talk Title: Made by Design: Rethinking Design in the Age of Additive Manufacturing

    Host: Prof. Yong Chen

    More Information: January 26, 2021.pdf

    Location: Online/Zoom

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Grace Owh

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  • CS Distinguished Lecture: Dan Roth (University of Pennsylvania) - It's Time for Reasoning

    Tue, Jan 26, 2021 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dan Roth, University of Pennsylvania

    Talk Title: It's Time for Reasoning

    Series: Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series

    Abstract: The fundamental issue underlying natural language understanding is that of semantics -“ there is a need to move toward understanding natural language at an appropriate level of abstraction in order to support natural language understanding and communication with computers.
    Machine Learning has become ubiquitous in our attempt to induce semantic representations of natural language and support decisions that depend on it; however, while we have made significant progress over the last few years, it has focused on classification tasks for which we have large amounts of annotated data. Supporting high level decisions that depend on natural language understanding is still beyond our capabilities, partly since most of these tasks are very sparse and generating supervision signals for it does not scale.
    I will discuss some of the challenges underlying reasoning -“ making natural language understanding decisions that depend on multiple, interdependent, models, and exemplify it using the domain of Reasoning about Time, as it is expressed in natural language.

    Register in advance for this webinar at:

    https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DbjnVhUcQG-HIHt6eLQCYQ

    After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.


    Biography: Dan Roth is the Eduardo D. Glandt Distinguished Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, and a Fellow of the AAAS, the ACM, AAAI, and the ACL.
    In 2017 Roth was awarded the John McCarthy Award, the highest award the AI community gives to mid-career AI researchers. Roth was recognized "for major conceptual and theoretical advances in the modeling of natural language understanding, machine learning, and reasoning."
    Roth has published broadly in machine learning, natural language processing, knowledge representation and reasoning, and learning theory, and has developed advanced machine learning based tools for natural language applications that are being used widely. Until February 2017 Roth was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR).
    Roth has been involved in several startups; most recently he was a co-founder and chief scientist of NexLP, a startup that leverages the latest advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Cognitive Analytics, and Machine Learning in the legal and compliance domains. NexLP was sold to Reveal in 2020.
    Prof. Roth received his B.A Summa cum laude in Mathematics from the Technion, Israel, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University in 1995.


    Host: Xiang Ren

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DbjnVhUcQG-HIHt6eLQCYQ

    Location: Online Zoom Webinar

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DbjnVhUcQG-HIHt6eLQCYQ

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Computer Science Department

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  • Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things and Ming Hsieh Institute Seminar

    Wed, Jan 27, 2021 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Petar Popovski , Wireless Connectivity Beyond 5G: A Take on Spectrum, Time, Space, and Blockchains

    Talk Title: Wireless Connectivity Beyond 5G: A Take on Spectrum, Time, Space, and Blockchains

    Series: Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things

    Abstract: Perhaps the main innovation in 5G wireless systems has been the platform approach to connectivity: using a single system that can flexibly support connections with very diverse requirements, such as massive Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, enhanced broadband and connections with high reliability and low latency. This talk will provide a perspective on the evolution of the connectivity space, with an emphasis on the IoT. Specific aspects that will be covered are interaction among different traffic types and spectrum usage. The talk will also discuss the evolution of timing requirements as well as the emergence of new technologies for spatial processing of wireless signals. Finally, the talk will provide perspective on the long-term traffic changes in IoT connectivity, as the systems move towards autonomous distributed transactions among humans and machines.

    Biography: Petar Popovski is a Professor Aalborg University, where he heads the section on Connectivity. He received his Dipl.-Ing and M. Sc. degrees in communication engineering from the University of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje and the Ph.D. degree from Aalborg University in 2005. He is a Fellow of the IEEE. He received an ERC Consolidator Grant (2015), the Danish Elite Researcher award (2016), IEEE Fred W. Ellersick prize (2016), IEEE Stephen O. Rice prize (2018), Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE Technical Committee on Smart Grid Communications (2019) and the Danish Telecommunication Prize (2020). He is currently a Member at Large at the Board of Governors in IEEE Communication Society. His research interests are in the area of wireless communication and communication theory. He authored the book "Wireless Connectivity: An Intuitive and Fundamental Guide", published by Wiley in 2020.

    Host: Pierluigi Nuzzo, nuzzo@usc.edu

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Xrv5K1RnQZ6H037AWPbajA

    Location: Online

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Xrv5K1RnQZ6H037AWPbajA

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Talyia White

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  • AME Seminar

    Wed, Jan 27, 2021 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Patricia Weisensee, Washington University in St. Louis

    Talk Title: Let Droplets Drop the Temperature: Fluids-Based Thermal Management

    Abstract: The coupling of fluid dynamics and heat transfer dominates many environmental and industrial processes, including the natural water cycle (evaporation from lakes and oceans, condensation in clouds), electronics thermal management, power generation, and materials manufacturing and processing. In this talk I will highlight two such phenomena: Condensation and evaporation, and advanced thermal management solutions using room-temperature liquid metals. I will focus on droplets, which are omnipresent in our daily lives, and provide the ability to actively manipulate the flow of matter and heat.

    The major focus of my lab lies on understanding phase change phenomena, with a special emphasis on vapor-liquid (condensation) and liquid-vapor (evaporation or boiling) heat transfer. In this talk, I will show that water condensation on so-called lubricant-infused surfaces (LIS) can have up to 10-fold increased water collection efficiency due to an extremely high droplet mobility compared to bare metal surfaces. Lubricant wetting ridges surrounding droplets introduce an attractive capillary force, leading to self-propelled and gravity-independent droplet motion, which efficiently clears the surface for frequent re-nucleation. On the other hand, wettability-patterning a surface and thus restricting the mobility of droplets can be advantageous during evaporation. I will show that the alteration of convection within the droplets and localized evaporation-enhancement at the contact lines can effectively increase the overall heat transfer rates. In the last part of this talk I will introduce an ongoing project in collaboration with NASA, where my research group is developing a passive and compact thermal heat switch. I will present some preliminary results and highlight the challenges associated with using gallium-based liquid metals.

    Biography: Patricia Weisensee is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). She earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. She received a Diplom-Ingenieur in Mechanical Engineering from TU Munich in 2013 and also holds a M.S. in Materials Sciences from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2011). For her Diplom thesis on condensing steam bubbles in sub-cooled flow, Dr. Weisensee received the Siemens Energy Award 2014. She is an alumna of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes), Germanys largest, oldest, and most prestigious scholarship foundation.

    At WashU, Dr. Weisensee leads the Thermal Fluids Research Group, which focuses on understanding the interplay of fluid dynamics and heat transfer of droplets and other multi-phase systems. Practical applications of interest are phase change heat transfer for thermal management, thermal storage, and water harvesting, metallic additive manufacturing, and droplet interactions with natural systems. To fundamentally study these thermal-fluidic interactions, her group combines multiple experimental techniques, such as high-speed optical and infrared (IR) imaging, interferometry, confocal fluorescence microscopy, and conventional heat transfer measurements. Dr. Weisensee is a very recent recipient of the NSF CAREER award and currently also holds a 3-year NSF research award to study nucleation and condensation of water on lubricant-infused surfaces (LIS). She was awarded the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator grant to study the pore-scale interactions between fluid flow and heat transfer for oil-water emulsion flow through porous media, and received the prestigious NASA Early Career Faculty Award to develop a passive and compact thermal heat switch to be used on satellites and robots during lunar missions. Recently, Dr. Weisensee also received the 2020 ASME ICNMM Outstanding Early Investigator Award and 2020 Emerson Excellence in Teaching award.

    Host: AME Department

    More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97141292209

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97141292209

    Location: Online event

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97141292209

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Tessa Yao

    Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97141292209

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  • NL Seminar-Computational Models of Language Change from Diachronic Text

    Thu, Jan 28, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Information Sciences Institute

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Sandeep Soni, Georgia Tech

    Talk Title: Computational Models of Language Change from Diachronic Text

    Series: NL Seminar

    Abstract: Natural languages undergo change over time. Modeling language change can help uncover latent social factors that modulate change in particular, to answer key social science questions such as who talks to whom, who leads, and who follows. In this talk, I'll present our work over the years that uses timestamped also called diachronic text to link social influence or leadership with language change, combining methods from computational linguistics, machine learning, and network science. First, I show that network influence exerted through strong ties leads to higher adoption of non-standard terms on Twitter's communication network. Next, I propose a method to identify documents at the forefront of semantic change and further show that such documents are more influential in terms of the citations they get across two domains a collection of legal documents and a set of scientific abstracts. Finally, I introduce a method to induce a semantic leadership network between 19th century abolitionist newspapers that helps emphasize quantitatively the important role played by Black and women editors in the abolitionist movement. The combination of these studies demonstrate the variety of domains in which the study of language change is relevant and how computational modeling can help determine the latent influence and leadership relations between sources of interest.


    Biography: Sandeep Soni is a PhD candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are in computational social science and digital humanities with an emphasis on using text as data and computational linguistics methods. His PhD thesis is focussed on developing methods to use language change as a way to systematically infer latent influence relationships from language data. He is currently on the job market looking for postdoc and permanent positions.


    Host: Jon May and Mozhdeh Gheini

    More Info: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

    Webcast: https://youtu.be/4OKrh5uWEr4

    Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only

    WebCast Link: https://youtu.be/4OKrh5uWEr4

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petet Zamar

    Event Link: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

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