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Events for February 13, 2007
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Co-Ops and Internships: The Gateway to Industry Experience
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Are you interested in participating in a Co-op Program or obtaining an internship? Attend this workshop and learn the benefits of each program and how you can begin your quest for engineering industry experience.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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MVDR modeling of Speech and its application to Speech Recognition
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Dr. Bhaskar D. Rao
University of California, San DiegoAbstract: In this talk, we present all-pole models based upon the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) spectrum for spectral modeling of speech. Although linear prediction (LP) is a popular method for obtaining all-pole model parameters, LP spectral envelopes overestimate and overemphasize the medium and high pitch voiced speech spectral powers, thereby featuring unwanted sharp contours, and do not improve in spectral envelope modeling performance as the filter order is increased. In contrast, the MVDR all-pole spectrum, which can be easily obtained from the LP coefficients, is shown to feature improved spectral envelope modeling as the filter order is increased. In particular, the high order MVDR spectrum models voiced speech spectra very well, particularly at the perceptually important harmonics, and features a smooth contoured envelope. Computationally, the MVDR spectrum can be based upon either conventional time domain correlation estimates or upon spectral samples, a task that is common in frequency domain speech coding. A robust feature extraction technique for continuous speech recognition based on MVDR modeling is discussed. We consider incorporating perceptual information in two ways: (1) after the MVDR power spectrum is computed and (2) directly during the MVDR spectrum estimation. Incorporating perceptual information directly into the spectrum estimation improves both robustness and computational efficiency significantly. We evaluate the technique on several recognition tasks and the results compare favorably with existing techniques.About the Speaker: Bhaskar D. Rao received the B.Tech. degree in electronics and electrical communication engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in 1979, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1981 and 1983, respectively. Since 1983, he has been with the University of California, San Diego, where he is currently a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. He is a Fellow of IEEE. His interests are in the areas of digital signal processing, estimation theory, and optimization theory, with applications to digital communications, speech signal processing, and human-computer interactions.Host: Shri Narayanan (ext 06432)Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
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Travel time estimation in extended urban networks
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Outline:The dynamics of traffic flow variation have a considerable impact on the task of monitoring and controlling the operation of road networks. The real-time prediction of travel time enables network operators to design and deploy Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) in freeway and urban arterial networks aiming to mitigate some of the effects of the un-predictability of traffic conditions and un-reliability of network travel services. One of the most difficult problems of travel time estimation is the magnitude of the error estimate as this can render any controlling measure unreliable and eventually useless. Subsequently, the determination of threshold values for the predicted travel times can assist network managers to run more efficient control strategies and enhance system performance. Such strategies can involve the timely selection of appropriate traffic control actions, e.g., through Variable Message Sign (VMS) displays, and allow risk-aversing travelers to make different travel choices, according to their own perception of their generalized travel cost. This paper describes both the algorithms and the real-life experiments that were undertaken in Athens in the wake of the Athens Summer Olympics of 2004.Bio:
Professor and Head, Laboratory of Railways and Transport, Dept of Transportation Planning and Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shane Goodoff
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Neurogrid: Emulating a Million Neurons in the Cortex
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Ming Shieh Department of Electrical EngineeringDISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIES"Neurogrid: Emulating a Million Neurons in the Cortex"Dr. Kwabena Boahen,Stanford UniversityAbstract: I will present a proposal for Neurogrid, a specialized hardware platform that will perform cortex-scale emulations while offering software-like flexibility. Recent breakthroughs in brain mapping present an unprecedented opportunity to understand how the brain works, with profound implications for society. To interpret these richly grow-ing observations, we have to build models—the only way to test our understanding—since building a real brain out of biological parts is currently infeasible. Neurogrid will emulate (simulate in real-time) one million neurons connected by six billion synapses with Analog VLSI techniques, matching the performance of a one-megawatt, 500-teraflop supercomputer while consuming less than one watt. Neurogrid will provide the programmability required to implement various models, replicate experimental manipulations (and con-trols), and elucidate mechanisms by augmenting Analog VLSI with Digital VLSI, a mixed-mode approach that combines the best of both worlds. Realizing programmability without sacrificing scale or real-time op-eration will make it possible to replicate tasks laboratory animals perform in biologically realistic models for the first time, which my lab plans to pursue in close collaboration with neurophysiologists.Bio: Kwabena A. Boahen is an Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Department at Stanford University. He is a bioengineer who is using silicon integrated circuits to emulate the way neurons compute, linking the seemingly disparate fields of electronics and computer science with neurobiology and medicine. His contributions to the field of neuromorphic engineering include a silicon retina that could be used to give the blind sight and a self-organizing chip that emulates the way the developing brain wires itself up. His scholarship is widely recognized, with over sixty publications to his name, including a cover story in the May 2005 issue of Scientific American. He has received several distinguished honors, including a Fellowship from the Packard Foundation in 1999, a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in 2001, a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research in 2002, and the National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award in 2006. Professor Boahen's BS and MSE degrees are in Electrical and Computer Engineering, from the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD (both earned in 1989), where he made Tau Beta Kappa. His PhD degree is in Computation and Neural Systems, from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA (1997), where he held a Sloan Fellowship for Theoretical Neurobiology. From 1997 to 2005, he was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, where he was the first Skirkanich Term Junior Chair.Host: Prof. Alice Parker(Reception to follow the talk at 5:00p.m.)
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - ontology Auditorium
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Rosine Sarafian
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IEEE: General Meeting with Professor John Choma
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
This talk overviews several research, development, and design issues that surround the realization of broadband analog integrated circuits earmarked for application in state of the art communication systems. Included among the topics for discussion are conventional and adaptive strategies for implementing low power, low voltage amplifiers for the front ends of communication networks, and broadband design techniques. Also addressed are linearity and noise issues in oscillators, multipliers, and amplifiers. Subsequent to an abridged, high-level discussion of state of the art design practices, attention is devoted to perceived future design and modeling trends, as well as how interested students might best prepare themselves for satisfying careers in the circuits and systems community.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 116
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: IEEE
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Engineering Internship/Co-op Panel
Tue, Feb 13, 2007 @ 05:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Join company representatives from BAE Systems, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, and Walt Disney Imagineering as they discuss the various internship/co-op positions offered to students pursuing engineering degrees.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori (GFS)106
Audiences: Graduate/Undergrad
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
