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Events for February

  • Amazon Women in Tech Event (Virtual)

    Thu, Feb 03, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Amazon Women in Tech Event (Virtual)
    Thu, Feb 3, 2022 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM PST
    Link: On Viterbi Career Gateway

    For women who like to invent, there's no better place to explore opportunities than at Amazon! Join this webinar to meet women working in various tech roles at Amazon Ads in Boulder, CO, find out more about their career trajectories, mentoring, work-life harmony, and how they innovate on behalf of our customers. We look forward to seeing you there. Join our team and help us build the future!
    External employer-hosted events and activities are not affiliated with the USC Career Center. They are posted on Viterbi Career Connections because they may be of interest to members of the Viterbi community. Inclusion of any activity does not indicate USC sponsorship or endorsement of that activity or event. It is the participants responsibility to apply due diligence, exercise caution when participating, and report concerns to vcareers@usc.edu

    Location: Virtual

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Rovisys, LPA, Inc., UNITED STATES NAVY (On-Campus)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet & Greets (On-Campus)
    February 7th 10 am - 12 pm (20-minute sessions)
    Meet Rovisys, LPA, Inc., UNITED STATES NAVY

    These are 20-minute small group meet ups with recruiters from 10-12. How to signup: RSVP required to attend. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) -

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet SupplyFrame (Virtual)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet SupplyFrame (Virtual)

    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn bout opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: We are a technology company on a mission to change the way Engineers collaborate, design, and manufacture hardware.Our team is composed largely of Computer Scientists, Web Developers, and Data Scientists, with a passion for crafting beautiful, data-driven User Experiences and a love of solving hard problems. And we believe that there are few things in the world that can match the excitement of building tools for fellow Engineers and Hackers alike. Powered by breakthrough Design-to-Source Intelligence (DSI), Supplyframe's AI-based SaaS solutions enable previously impossible insights and decision support that bring new levels of resiliency and performance to the global electronics value chain.

    Location: Virtual

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet WHITING-TURNER (On-Campus)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet WHITING-TURNER (On-Campus)

    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn bout opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: Whiting-Turner provides construction management, general contracting, design-build and integrated project delivery services on projects small and large for a diverse group of customers. Successful markets include office and headquarters, healthcare, senior living, life sciences, microelectronics, mission critical, retail, higher education, K-12, industrial, warehouse and distribution, transportation, multi-family residential, mixed-use, urban redevelopment, hospitality, entertainment, cultural, religious and public sector.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Expensify & inVia Robotics (On-Campus)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 01:30 PM - 03:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Meet Expensify & inVia Robotics. These are 20-minute small group meetups with recruiters from 1:30 - 3:30 pm. Both Expesify and inVia Robotics can sponsor international candidates!

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    inVia Robotics is a Southern Californian technology company founded in 2015 by USC Alumni that provides the next generation of robotics warehouse automation and software solutions for eCommerce distribution centers and supply chains. As the developer of the world's first "Robots-as-a-Service" autonomous mobile robot picking and goods-to-person system, inVia is powering the future of warehouse productivity without disrupting the ecosystem of a business's operations.

    Expensify was founded with a simple, but clear purpose: to make expense reports not suck.

    Reporting expenses has never been an easy or intuitive process. Like many others, David Barrett felt firsthand the pain of doing expense reports on antiquated, less-than-intuitive platforms. As a result, he and a buddy started working on a product to alleviate that painful process. That product became Expensify.

    Expensify started with a receipt-scanning vision and in 2009 we raised $1M to make our vision a reality. People loved the idea, as did the tech community and major publications. Less than a year later, we raised another $5.7M to build SmartScan, a product that would forever change the expense reporting marketplace.

    Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) -

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Rovisys (On-Campus)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Rovisys (On-Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Founded in 1989, RoviSys is a leading control systems integrator and provider of comprehensive automation and information solutions. We help clients by developing and implementing independent systems and solutions. Our reputation of quality and continuity is focused on customer satisfaction. We are proud to serve small and large clients across the globe. Our employees have opportunities to work in a variety of industries, including: Chemicals, Consumer Goods, Data Centers, Food & Beverage, Glass, Life Sciences, Marine, Metals, Oil & Gas, District Energy, Utilities, Construction, Water/Wastewater and Paper & Wood. RoviSys is headquartered in Aurora, OH with offices across the United States, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet OnPrem Solution Partners (On-Campus)

    Mon, Feb 07, 2022 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet OnPrem Solution Partners (On-Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: OnPrem Solution Partners, LLC is a Southern California-based services and technology innovation start-up. Founded in 2013 by four ex-SVC leaders, OnPrem is focused on providing exceptional talent to our clients. OnPrem provides services in business consulting and technology innovation. We differentiate ourselves from the vast number of SI and Consulting companies in two ways. First, OnPrem acquires, develops, and retains the best talent in the country. We are committed to establishing an industry recognized distinction of having unparalleled US-based consulting talent. Second, OnPrem approaches every engagement as a partnership with our client, making client success our only priority.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Kier + Wright and Ensign-Bickford Industries (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet & Greets with Employers.
    Meet Kier + Wright and Ensign-Bickford Industries, These are 20-minute small group meetups with recruiters from 10-12.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Since 1972, Kier + Wright has provided both private and public sector clients with engineering and surveying work that is efficient, cost-effective and forward-thinking. We offer a full range of services to support commercial, industrial, and high-density residential development and redevelopment projects.

    Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. (EBI) is a global science and technology organization with businesses that are leaders in their industries and markets. These businesses include:
    AFB International (pet food flavoring)
    Avior Control Technologies Inc. (aerospace)
    Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (aerospace and defense)
    TiNi Aerospace, Inc. (aerospace)
    Honeybee Robotics (robotics)
    EnviroLogix (molecular detection)

    Each of our companies, as varied as they are, have a great deal in common. Each is a leader in its field, shares a dedication to innovation, a commitment to technical expertise and an unmatched level of service and support.

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Expensify (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Expensify (On-Campus)
    Meet Expensify at the Viterbi Career Expo. In this Trojan Talk, you can meet recruiters and drop your resume. Expensify sponsors international candidates! Recruiting for: Computer Engineering, Computer Science , Cybersecurity, Financial Engineering


    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Expensify was founded with a simple, but clear purpose: to make expense reports not suck.

    Reporting expenses has never been an easy or intuitive process. Like many others, David Barrett felt firsthand the pain of doing expense reports on antiquated, less-than-intuitive platforms. As a result, he and a buddy started working on a product to alleviate that painful process. That product became Expensify.

    Expensify started with a receipt-scanning vision and in 2009 we raised $1M to make our vision a reality. People loved the idea, as did the tech community and major publications. Less than a year later, we raised another $5.7M to build SmartScan, a product that would forever change the expense reporting marketplace.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Schlumberger (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Schlumberger (On-Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: We are Schlumberger, the leading global provider of technology and services to the energy industry.
    We specialize in reservoir characterization, well construction, and accelerating reservoir production and offer the most comprehensive range of products and services in the industry.
    The solutions we offer aim to push the technical limits of our industry. We hire the most-driven minds in engineering, science, technology development, and commercial roles to do that.
    We'll support you with world-leading learning and development, a meritocratic culture, and offer borderless careers that ensure you build skills by continually taking on challenging work.

    If you want to help shape the future of energy, then this is the place for you.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Wayfair (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Wayfair (On-Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: Wayfair is one of the worlds largest online destinations for the home. Whether you work in our global headquarters in Boston or Berlin, or in our warehouses or offices throughout the world, were reinventing the way people shop for their homes. Through our commitment to industry-leading technology and creative problem-solving, we are confident that Wayfair will be home to the most rewarding work of your career. If youre looking for rapid growth, constant learning, and dynamic challenges, then youll find that amazing career opportunities are knocking.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet UNITED STATES NAVY (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet UNITED STATES NAVY (On-Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: To recruit, train, equip, and organize to deliver combat ready Naval forces to win conflicts and wars while maintaining security and deterrence through sustained forward presence. The sea is an incredible beast. It reaches impossible speeds, depths and distances. It cannot be beaten with the strongest fist, the sharpest knife or the fastest bullet.

    In America's Navy, water and salt flow through our veins in the same proportion as the sea. That mighty force is the lifeblood of the greatest Navy ever to sail upon it, slip beneath it or fly above it. It shapes Americans from every corner of the nation into Sailors with the courage to protect liberty back home. Bonding us with the commitment to serve with honor. The sea propels every one of our men and women to defeat or defend.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Veeva Systems and Schlumberger (On-Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 01:30 PM - 03:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Veeva Systems and Schlumberger (On-Campus)
    These are 20-minute small group meetups with recruiters from 1:30 - 3:30 pm.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    At Veeva, we build and implement enterprise cloud technology that powers the biggest names in the life sciences industries. Our customers make vaccines, life-saving medicines, and life-enhancing products that make a difference in everyday lives.

    At Veeva, we are dedicated to building the careers of new university graduates. We are looking for driven and energetic associates to join our Engineering Development Program for new grad and intern software engineers. If you're interested in avoiding the herd and trying something different, join our diverse group - we've got career opportunities for you!

    We are Schlumberger, the leading global provider of technology and services to the energy industry.
    We specialize in reservoir characterization, well construction, and accelerating reservoir production and offer the most comprehensive range of products and services in the industry.
    The solutions we offer aim to push the technical limits of our industry. We hire the most-driven minds in engineering, science, technology development, and commercial roles to do that.
    We'll support you with world-leading learning and development, a meritocratic culture, and offer borderless careers that ensure you build skills by continually taking on challenging work.

    Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) -

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Keck Graduate Institute (Virtual)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Keck Graduate Institute (Virtual)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: KGI offers innovative postgraduate degrees and certificates that integrate life and health sciences, business, engineering, pharmacy, and genetics. With a focus on team projects and hands-on industry experiences, KGI provides pathways for students to become leaders within healthcare and the applied life sciences. KGI consists of four schools: Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Minerva Schools at KGI.

    Location: Virtual

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • PhD Thesis Proposal - Yuchen Lin

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    PhD Candidate: Yuchen Lin

    Title: Commonsense Reasoning for Natural Language Processing

    Tuesday: Feb 8, 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

    Committee members: chair: Prof. Xiang Ren (CS dept.), Prof. Cyrus Shahabi (CS dept.), Prof. Yan Liu (CS dept.), Prof. Robin Jia (CS dept.), Prof. Toby Mintz (Department of Psychology).


    Abstract:

    Common sense is all the background knowledge we have about the physical and social world that we have absorbed over our lives. It includes such things as our understanding of physics as well as our expectations about how humans behave. Commonsense knowledge is required before intelligent agents can anticipate how people and the physical world will react before they make decisions. However, it has long been a bottleneck for developing artificial general intelligence to use commonsense reasoning ability for understanding and generating natural language in real-world situations. In this thesis proposal, I present a series of work that enables natural language processing models to reason with commonsense knowledge. Specifically, my Ph.D. work focuses on using external knowledge bases to improve neural language models and developing generative, open-ended reasoning models that can serve real-life applications.

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/9502121213

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

    OutlookiCal
  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet STARTINVEST MARKETS INC (On Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet STARTINVEST MARKETS INC (On Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: We are a FinTech company focusing on the future of venture capital. We are recruiting for Computer Engineering, Computer Science and can sponsor international candidates!

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Airstrafe Interactive LLC (On Campus)

    Tue, Feb 08, 2022 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Viterbi Career Expo: Meet Airstrafe Interactive LLC (On Campus)
    Meet recruiters during the Viterbi Career Expo. attend the Trojan Talk to learn about opportunities, ask questions and drop your resume.

    How to attend: RSVP required. RSVP in the Viterbi Expo App: https://viterbicareers.eventus.io/
    Learn more about Career Expo: https://viterbicareers.usc.edu/careerexpo/

    Details: Airstrafe Interactive is a Los Angeles game studio that follows a very simple game design core value: maximize player expression as much as possible. We are developing our debut title, "Please Buy Something," a multiplayer online co-op shopkeeping action RPG that is pioneering and defining a new video game genre.

    Follow us on Twitter @airstrafeinter
    Follow us on Instagram @airstrafeinteractive

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - RTH 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Ph.D. Thesis Proposal - Rajat Tandon

    Thu, Feb 10, 2022 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Ph.D. Thesis Proposal - Rajat Tandon

    Thursday, February 10th, 2022: 12pm - 1pm

    Title: Protecting online services from sophisticated attacks

    Thesis Committee members: Dr. Jelena Mirkovic, Dr. Genevieve Bartlett, Dr. Emilio Ferrara, Dr. Ramesh Govindan, Dr. Chris Kyriakakis, Dr. Barath Raghavan


    Abstract: Online services are often targets of sophisticated attacks, which aim to overwhelm services or steal user data. In this work, we present solutions, which aim to protect services against sophisticated distributed denial-of-service attacks. These solutions can effectively handle attacks that: (1) involve sending requests which resemble legitimate ones, (2) involve exploiting vulnerabilities that exist in different online services, (3) take advantage of the changing trends in network traffic, and (4) often require online services to get help from their ISPs for mitigation, due to the high volumes of attack traffic.

    Zoom link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98623683240

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98623683240

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

    OutlookiCal
  • Bloomberg BPuzzled Event (Virtual)

    Thu, Feb 10, 2022 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    University Calendar


    Bloomberg BPuzzled Event (Virtual)
    Location - Zoom
    Event Date
    February 10, 2022 5:00pm - 6:00pm (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

    Event Description:
    Take a break from classes and studying to join Bloomberg Engineering for a fun puzzle hunt! We'll work together to solve logic-style puzzles that are fast paced and challenging. The winners of this challenge will be eligible to partake in our BPuzzled finals!

    Zoom link provided to those who register. Register here: https://bloomberg.recsolu.com/app/collect/event/Kl6v_x8BmJrtscnl1D7DYg

    External employer-hosted events and activities are not affiliated with the USC Career Center. They are posted on Viterbi Career Connections because they may be of interest to members of the Viterbi community. Inclusion of any activity does not indicate USC sponsorship or endorsement of that activity or event. It is the participants responsibility to apply due diligence, exercise caution when participating, and report concerns to vcareers@usc.edu

    Location: Virtual

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • Phd Thesis Proposal - Chaoyang He

    Fri, Feb 11, 2022 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Ph.D. Candidate: Chaoyang He

    Title: Towards End-to-end Federated Machine Learning at Scale: Algorithm, Systems, and Applications



    Committee members: Prof. Salman Avestimehr (Chair), Prof. Mahdi Soltanolkotabi, Prof. Murali Annavaram, Prof. Xiang Ren, Prof. Barath Raghavan

    Abstract: Federated learning (FL) is a machine learning paradigm that many clients (e.g. mobile/IoT devices or whole organizations) collaboratively train a model under the orchestration of a central server (e.g. service provider), while keeping the training data decentralized. It has shown huge potential in mitigating many of the systemic privacy risks, regulatory restrictions, and communication costs, resulting from traditional, centralized machine learning and data science approaches in healthcare, finance, smart city, autonomous driving, and the Internet of things. Though it's promising, landing FL into trustworthy data-centric AI infrastructure faces many realistic challenges from learning algorithms (e.g., data heterogeneity, label deficiency) and distributed systems (resource constraints, system heterogeneity, security, privacy, etc.), requiring interdisciplinary research in machine learning, distributed systems, and security/privacy. Driven by this goal, My Ph.D. research focuses on end-to-end FL research, from algorithms to systems to applications. In this thesis proposal, I will first summarize my publications from the perspective of FedML, a widely adopted open-source library I developed, and highlight how I enable scale FL at cross-device and cross-silo settings, as well as diverse applications in CV, NLP, and data mining. Second, I will also introduce my broader accomplishment, including visionary papers, open-source impacts, academia service, industrial collaboration, invited talks, and workshop organization. Finally, I will briefly introduce my ongoing works on secure aggregation and label deficiency and finalize my presentation with a clear future plan.

    Zoom Link: https://usc.zoom.us/my/usc.chaoyanghe

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/my/usc.chaoyanghe

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

    OutlookiCal
  • Baum Family Maker Space Open House

    Thu, Feb 24, 2022 @ 12:30 PM - 02:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs

    University Calendar


    This event will provide an opportunity for students to visit the nearly 10,000-square-foot Maker Space which is currently open to all USC Viterbi undergraduates and provides support across all engineering departments, including senior capstone design projects, and design teams.

    Location: Ground floor of the Science and Engineering Library

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Viterbi Undergraduate Programs

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  • PhD Thesis Proposal - Liyu Chen

    Fri, Feb 25, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Time: 2:00-3:00pm Feb 25, Friday

    Committee: Haipeng Luo (chair), Rahul Jain, David Kempe, Ashutosh Nayyar, Vatsal Sharan.

    Title: Online Goal-Oriented Reinforcement Learning

    Abstract: Reinforcement Learning (RL) studies how an agent learns to behave optimally in an unknown environment. It has been a popular topic in both industries and academia since AlphaGo demonstrated its great potential. However, there is still a large gap between theory and practice of RL due to the strong assumptions made in theoretical RL. My research focuses on online learning in a goal-oriented Markov Decision Process model named Stochastic Shortest Path (SSP), where the learner's objective is to reach a goal state with the smallest possible cost. Many real applications can be modeled by SSP such as games, car navigation, and robotic manipulations. To understand the SSP model better, we first focus on establishing minimax regret bounds in various settings. Specifically, for SSP with stochastic costs, we develop a simple minimax optimal algorithm concurrent to other works; for SSP with adversarial costs, we develop efficient minimax optimal algorithms with known transition, and near-optimal algorithms with unknown transition. Next, we focus on developing practical learning algorithms for SSP from different perspectives. Specifically, we develop the first model-free algorithm, the first set of policy optimization algorithms, and improved algorithms with linear function approximation.

    For future work, I plan to study SSP for more general settings and develop more practical algorithms. For example, I plan to study the non-stationary SSP where both the transition and cost functions are changing, and SSP under general function approximation. I also plan to develop parameter-free SSP algorithms under different settings.

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97003272644

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

    OutlookiCal
  • PhD Defense - Shao-Hua Sun

    Mon, Feb 28, 2022 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    PhD Candidate: Shao-Hua Sun

    Time: 2/28 (Mon) 3:30pm PST

    Venue: Online (zoom link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/2133002395)

    Committee members: Prof. Joseph J. Lim (Chair), Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme, Prof. Stefanos Nikolaidis, Prof. Quan Nguyen (AME dept)


    Title: Program-Guided Framework for Interpreting and Acquiring Complex Skills with Learning Robots


    Abstract: Recent development in artificial intelligence and machine learning has remarkably advanced machines' ability to understand images and videos, comprehend natural languages and speech, and outperform human experts in complex games. However, building intelligent robots that can physically interact with their surroundings as well as learn to operate in unstructured environments, manipulate unknown objects, and acquire novel skills - to free humans from tedious or dangerous manual work- remains challenging. The focus of my research is to develop a robot learning framework that enables robots to acquire long-horizon and complex skills with hierarchical structures, such as furniture assembly and cooking. Specifically, I aim to devise a robot learning framework which is: (1) interpretable: by decoupling interpreting skill specifications (e.g. demonstrations, reward functions) and executing skills, (2) programmatic: by generalizing from simple instances to complex instances without additional learning, (3) hierarchical: by operating on a proper level of abstraction that enables human users to interpret high-level plans of robots allows for composing primitive skills to solve long-horizon tasks, and (4) modular: by being equipped with modules specialized in different functions (e.g. perception, action) which collaborate, allowing for better generalization. This dissertation discusses a series of research projects toward building such an interpretable, programmatic, hierarchical, and modular robot learning framework.

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/2133002395

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

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