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Events for February 14, 2011
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Polar Codes and Power Blackouts
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Edmund Yeh, Yale University
Talk Title: Polar Codes and Power Blackouts
Abstract: Achieving the fundamental capacity limits of noisy communication channels with low complexity coding schemes has been a major challenge for over 60 years. Recently, a new coding construction, called polar coding, has been shown to provably achieve the capacity of discrete memoryless single-user channels. Whereas a number of practical coding constructions (e.g. Turbo and Low Density Parity Check codes) can empirically approach the capacity of single-user communication channels, there is still a shortage of good practical coding schemes for multi-user communication channels. In the first part of the talk, we extend the polar coding method to two-user multiple-access communication channels. We show that if the two users use the channel combining and splitting construction, the resulting multiple-access channels will polarize to one of five possible extremals, on each of which uncoded transmission is optimal. Our coding technique can achieve some of the optimal transmission rate pairs obtained with uniformly distributed inputs. The encoding and decoding complexity of the code is O(n log n) with n being the block length, and the block error probability is roughly O(2^{-\sqrt{n}}). Our coding construction is one of the first low-complexity coding schemes which have been proved to achieve capacity in multi-user communication networks.
In electrical power networks, cascading failure associated with power blackouts often result from a small number of initial line failures triggering a global failure event affecting the whole network, inflicting enormous socioeconomic cost. In spite of the increasing frequency of blackout events, there is still a shortage of understanding regarding the structures and properties which lend the network susceptible to cascading failure. In the second part of the talk, we show how the theory of percolation can be used to analyze the problem of cascading failure from a network perspective. For large-scale networks modeled by random geometric graphs, we use a simple but descriptive model to show that the cascading failure problem is equivalent to a dependent percolation process. Within this context, we obtain analytical conditions for the occurrence and non-occurrence of cascading failure, respectively.
Joint work with Eren Sasoglu, Emre Telatar, Zhenning Kong, and Hongda Xiao.
Biography: Edmund Yeh received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with Distinction from Stanford University in 1994, his M.Phil in Engineering from the University of Cambridge in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2001. He is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Statistics at Yale University.
Professor Yeh is the recipient of a Humboldt Research Fellowship, an Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, the Winston Churchill Scholarship, the National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research Graduate Fellowships, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award, and the Presidentâs Award for Academic Excellence (Stanford University). He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.
Host: Giuseppe Caire, caire@usc.edu, EEB 528, x04683
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
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BME 533 - Seminar in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Arkadiusz Gertych, Cedars Sinai Hospital
Talk Title: Nuts and Bolts of Bio-Image Informatics in Translational Medicine Continuum
Host: Department of Biomedical Engineering, USC
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Engineering for the 21sr Century
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. David Allen, Gertz Regents Professor and Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, University of Texas
Talk Title: Engineering for the 21st Century
Abstract: The profession of engineering is in a period of rapid change. Although the most basic elements of engineering education and practice will remain relatively constant, engineers of the 21st century will need to operate in global environments and adapt to an explosion of knowledge. Engineers will need to design products and infrastructures for increasingly urban populations and will require innovation and entrepreneurship skills. And, as societies and their technologies become more intertwine engineers will need to become engaged in public policy development.
All of these changes have implications for engineering education and research. Leading departments of engineering will respond to these changes in the profession of engineering. This presentation will describe a vision for a leading engineering program addressing the engineering challenges of megacities
and their populations.
Biography: Dr. David Allen is the Gertz Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of six books and over 200 papers in areas ranging from coal liquefaction and heavy oil chemistry to the chemistry of urban atmospheres. For the past decade, his work has focused primarily on urban air quality and the development of materials for environmental education. Dr. Allen was a lead investigato for the first and second Texas Air Quality Studies, which involved hundreds of researchers drawn from around the world, and which have had a substantial impact on the direction of air quality policies in Texas. He has also developed environmental educational materials for engineering curricula and for the Universityâs core curriculum, as well as engineering education materials for high school students. The quality of his work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (through the Presidential Young Investigator Award), the AT&T Foundation (through an Industrial Ecology Fellowship), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (through the Cecil Award for contributions to environmental engineering and through the Research Excellence Award of the Sustainable Engineering Forum), the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (through their Distinguished Lecturer Award), and the State of Texas (through the Governorâs Environmental Excellence Award). He has won teaching awards at UCLA and the University of Texas.
Dr. Allen received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, with distinction, from Cornell University in 1979. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering were awarded by the California Institute of Technology in 1981 and 1983. He has held visiting faculty appointments at the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Department of Energy.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Distinguished Lecturer Series
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. R. Srikant, University of Illinois
Talk Title: Network Optimization
Abstract: Resource allocation problems in many different types of networks can often be posed as convex optimization problems, and duality theory can then be used to derive optimal algorithms. The talk will illustrate the applications of this rich theory at the intersection of optimization, stochastic networks, combinatorial optimization and stochastic approximation. Specifically, we will present applications of this paradigm to problems ranging from wireless networks to online advertising with budget constraints.
Biography: R. Srikant received his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1985, his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988 and 1991, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering. He was a Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1991 to 1995. He is currently at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is the Fredric G. and Elizabeth H. Nearing Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Research Professor in the Coordinated Science Lab. His research interests include communication networks, stochastic processes, and game theory.
Host: Bhaskar Krishnamachari
More Info: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
Event Link: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/
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GOPA IT Consultants Information Session
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 05:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Please join us to learn about career opportunities in fast growing areas of SAP Enterprise Cloud Computing, System Virtualization and SAP Transportation Management.
GOPA is a high-end, focused SAP boutique firm today with ambitious goals for tomorrow. We are on our way to becoming a leading SAP services company based on a well-defined strategy and vision. This is an excellent opportunity for you to become one of the key members of the GOPA team in the US, and help drive our continued success.
Please bring your resume. GOPA is hiring BS/MS students with backgrounds in Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Industrial Engineering with a strong SAP focus. MIS and MBAs are also encouraged to apply.
For more information on opportunities at GOPA, please visit us at: http://usa.gopa-itc.de/career.html
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106
Audiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Info Session
Mon, Feb 14, 2011 @ 05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available opportunities.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
