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Events for February 01, 2013

  • Repeating EventMeet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, & Engineering Talk

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013

    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. 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 visit https://esdweb.esd.usc.edu/unresrsvp/MeetUSC.aspx to check availability and make an appointment. Be sure to list an Engineering major as your "intended major" on the webform!

    Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - USC Admission Office

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

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    Contact: Viterbi Admission

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  • Distributed MIMO: Theory, Architecture and Implementation

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: François Quitin, University of California, Santa Barbara

    Talk Title: Distributed MIMO: Theory, Architecture and Implementation

    Abstract: MIMO systems have received tremendous attention from the research community in the last decade. By increasing the number of antennas at the transmitter and/or receiver, it is possible to increase communication range, link quality, reduce interference etc. The idea of Distributed MIMO (D-MIMO) is to exploit the potential benefits of MIMO with SISO terminals: different single-antenna terminals can be combined to create a “virtual” antenna array. In this talk, two particular sub-problems of D-MIMO will be investigated: distributed transmit (D-Tx) beamforming and distributed receive (D-Rx) beamforming.

    The biggest challenges of D-MIMO systems are the different levels of synchronization that must be achieved among the different terminals to operate a virtual array, and the scalability to larger network sizes. Three types of synchronization are required: frequency, phase and timing. The frequency offset results from the fact that each node has its own local oscillator (LO), and small LO offsets between nodes may result in large LO frequency offsets. The phase synchronization is needed because the path lengths between the different nodes are unknown. The timing offset is due to the fact that each node has its own clock, and common time references are needed to align the clocks of all the nodes. Solutions for these problems must always take scalability into account: for larger networks, it is important not to drown the network with control messages.

    For both the D-Tx and D-Rx beamforming, we will present architectures that are able to tackle the synchronization issues while maintaining scalability to larger networks. Synchronization is achieved with feedback-based strategies that are able to synchronize the nodes of the virtual array; even with low-quality local oscillators typically used for software-defined radios. The proposed architectures are investigated theoretically, and closed-form expressions for the limits of our architecture are deduced. Finally, for both D-Tx and D-Rx beamforming, the proposed architecture is implemented on our software-defined radio testbed. Our experiments show with appropriate design, the potential benefits of D-MIMO can be achieved with low-cost radios.


    Biography: François Quitin received his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) in 2011. He is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He received the Alcatel-Bell Lucent 2012 award, the WoWMoM 2012 best demo award and the EuCAP 2009 best propagation poster award.

    His research interests focus on the interplay between propagation channel and RF hardware for advanced wireless systems, like distributed MIMO, UAV-based communication networks and 60 GHz wireless systems.


    Host: Andreas Molisch, x04670, molisch@usc.edu

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos

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  • W.V.T. Rusch Honors Colloquium; Space Shuttle Engineering from a Korean Perspective

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM

    USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Jay Chung, President & CEO of Tayco Engineering

    Talk Title: Space Shuttle Engineering from a Korean Perspective

    Host: W.V.T. Rusch Honors Program

    Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Christine Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs

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  • Refractive Index Engineering by Fast Ion Implantations: A Generic Method for Constructing Multi-components Electrooptical Circuits

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Aharon J. Agranat, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

    Talk Title: Refractive Index Engineering by Fast Ion Implantations: A Generic Method for Constructing Multi-components Electrooptical Circuits

    Abstract: Refractive index engineering (RIEng) by ion implantations in electrooptical substrates is a generic methodology for constructing multi-component integrated circuits of electrooptic and nanophotonic devices with sub-wavelength features operating in the visible - near IR wavelengths. RIEng exploits the fact that ions that are incident at high energies on a substrate of oxygen Perovskites form within the depth of the substrate a well confined layer of Frenkel defects which cause the layer to be partially amorphized. The refractive index in this layer differs significantly from that of the crystalline substrate. It was also found that the waveguiding structures are thermally stable after being subjected to an annealing process, and exhibit a propagation loss of 0.1 dB/cm.



    The essence of the method is to perform spatially selective implantations for sculpting complex 3D pre-designed patterns with reduced refractive index within the volume of the substrate. Sculpting 3D structures is enabled by combining three techniques that form a complete toolbox for constructing the circuits: (i) Lateral patterning: defining the lateral distribution of the amorphization by performing the implantation through a “stopping mask” which causes the amorphized region to replicate the contour of the topography of the mask; (ii) Longitudinal patterning: determining the depth of the amorphized region by controlling the energy of the implanted ions; and (iii) Selective etching: selective etching of the amorphized material that were created by the implantation process. In addition to these, the 3D structures can be made to be electrically conductive and photoconductive by using high fluence of protons as the implanted species. RI Eng was also combined with laser ablation to form structures with high contrast of the difference in the refractive index between the core and the cladding.



    A number of devices that were constructed in a substrate of potassium lithium tantalate niobate will be described, including an optical wire, a channel waveguide array, a protons grating, and a waveguide constructed by a combination of laser ablation and implantation of alpha particles.

    Biography: Professor Ronny Agranat is the director of the Brojde center for innovative engineering and computer science, and the incumbent of the Nahman Jaller chair of Applied Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Agranat holds a B.Sc degree in physics and mathematics (1977), an M.Sc degree in Applied Physics (1980), and a PhD degree in physics (1986) all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His Ph.D thesis was on the subject of the dielectric mechanism of the photorefractive effect which he discovered. From 1986 to 1997 he was a senior research fellow and a visiting senior research associate at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he worked on the development of microelectronic artificial neural networks based on charge transfer devices which he invented, and the growth and investigation of paraelectric photorefractive crystals. In 1991 he joined the faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and founded the optoelectronic computing laboratory. The laboratory mission is to conceive and develop optoelectronic devices and systems that will expand the capabilities of the computing and communication technologies that are the physical basis of the cyberspace. One of the main themes pursued by Agranat is to exploit the special features of the quadratic electrooptic effect at the paraelectric phase for the purpose of constructing various optoelectronic device, in particular for wavelength selective switching applications. To that end Agranat invented and developed a new electrooptic crystal: potassium lithium tantalate niobate (KLTN). Agranat is the inventor of Electroholography which is a generic optical switching method based on governing the reconstruction process of volume holograms by the applications of electric fields. Electroholography was invented for the purpose of interconnecting electronic processors by holographic devices. In particular it has been identified as the leading concept for dynamic wavelength selective routing in WDM optical fiber communication networks. For the invention of Electroholography and the KLTN crystal Agranat was awarded the Discover Innovation Award (awarded by the Discover magazine and the Christopher Columbus Society) for the leading invention in the area of communication for the year 2001. Agranat is a member of the Hebrew University Interdisciplinary Center of Neuro-Computing, and a fellow of the Optical Society of America. Agranat was also a cofounder and director of Trellis–Photonics that was founded for exploiting Electroholography in telecommunication applications. Agranat is the author of many scientific papers, and holds 24 patents in the areas of microelectronics, optoelectronics and materials science.

    Host: Alan Willner, x04664, willner@usc.edu

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 539

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos

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  • Repeating EventIntegrated Systems Seminar Series

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. John Wood, Maxim Integrated Products

    Talk Title: Behavioural Modeling & Linearization of RF Power Amplifiers

    Abstract: In cellular wireless communications systems, the RF power amplifier (PA) in the transmitter must be as efficient as possible, to minimize energy costs, to prolong battery life, and for ‘green’ considerations. Modern spectrally-efficient, digitally-modulated signals such as LTE and UMTS present a challenge for efficient RF PA design, and the power amplifier architectures that are adopted to achieve this goal are generally very nonlinear, and so some form of linearization technique is necessary.

    The increasing use of linearization techniques, and especially the emergence of high speed digital processing as an enabling technology to implement digital pre-distortion (DPD) of the PA input signal, represent an important paradigm shift in PA design. The PA component can now be designed with more emphasis on power and efficiency, without the traditional constraints of meeting stringent linearity specs simultaneously. Understanding the utility of a linearizer to obtain optimum efficiency has thus become a new subject area in modern RF PA design.

    The system-level design of linearized PA transmitters requires accurate models to achieve the optimal performance. Behavioural modeling is used to describe the PA and linearizer at this level of the design. In this tutorial, we shall present some approaches to the behavioral modeling of nonlinear dynamical systems that can be used to model RF PAs; particular emphasis will be given to the treatment of memory effects. Some common mathematical and systematic approaches to model generation will be presented, to obtain accurate but compact nonlinear dynamical models. A brief description of some characterization techniques will be included. These same nonlinear modeling techniques can be applied to the design of successful pre-distortion algorithms. We shall illustrate the overall structure of a linearized transmitter using several DPD architectures, and we shall present various approaches to adaptive pre-distortion, considering such features as convergence, signal bandwidth, accuracy, and cost.


    Biography: Dr. John Wood (M’87, SM’03, F’07) received B. Sc. and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Leeds, in 1976 and 1980, respectively. He is currently Senior Principal Member of Technical Staff with Maxim Integrated Products, working on the modeling and design of envelope-tracking solutions for mobile phones. He was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the RF Division of Freescale Semiconductor, where he worked from 2005--2011. His areas of expertise include the development of nonlinear compact device models and behavioral models for RF power transistors and ICs, the understanding of the impact, characterization, & control using digital pre-distortion (DPD) of nonlinearities and memory effects in high-efficiency PAs. From 1997--2005 he worked in the Microwave Technology Center of Agilent Technologies, developing large-signal and bias-dependent linear FET models for mm-wave applications, and nonlinear behavioral models using LSNA measurements and nonlinear system identification techniques. He is author or co-author of over 120 papers and articles. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, and a member of the Microwave Theory and Techniques, and Electron Devices Societies, and is a member of ARFTG Executive Committee. He is a Distinguished Microwave Lecturer for MTT Society. He is currently Editor-in Chief of the IEEE ‘Microwave’ magazine.

    Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi, Prof. Mike Chen

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

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    Contact: Hossein Hashemi

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  • The Joffrey Ballet

    Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 06:30 PM - 10:30 PM

    USC Viterbi School of Engineering

    University Calendar


    Open to USC students only. Admission is free. Reservations required. Tickets will be distributed on a lottery basis. To sign up for the lottery, click here: http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/113/event/897841 on Tuesday, January 15, between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. See below for details.*

    *This trip is for current USC students only. You must use the provided transportation to participate. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Due to high demand, tickets will be distributed on a lottery basis. To sign up for the lottery, click on the link above on Tuesday, January 15, anytime between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Check-in for the event will begin at 5:45 p.m. on campus. Buses will depart at 6:30 p.m. and return to campus at 10:30 p.m. Dinner will be provided at check-in.

    The Joffrey Ballet, one of the world’s finest dance companies and a leading artistic force since its founding in 1956, celebrates the 100th anniversary of dance’s most influential work, The Rite of Spring, with their groundbreaking recreation of the original Ballets Russes production. Igor Stravinsky’s score and Vaslav Nijinsky’s choreography for the 1913 Paris premiere sparked a riot that is said to have given birth to modern music and dance. It took over fifteen years of meticulous research to piece together original scores, paintings, reviews, notes and first-person accounts unearthing the alarming genius of the work.

    For further information on this event:
    visionsandvoices@usc.edu

    Location: Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, Los Angeles

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Daria Yudacufski

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