Logo: University of Southern California

Events Calendar



Select a calendar:



Filter February Events by Event Type:



Events for February 22, 2022

  • ECE Seminar: Next-Generation Wireless Networks for Billions of IoT Devices

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Ali Abedi, Research Lecturer, Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo

    Talk Title: Next-Generation Wireless Networks for Billions of IoT Devices

    Abstract: It is estimated that the total number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will grow to 80 billion devices in a few years. Unfortunately, existing wireless networks cannot satisfy the diverse requirements of IoT applications in terms of power consumption, data rate, and privacy. Some IoT devices, such as contact sensors used in intrusion detection systems, transmit only a few bytes of data occasionally, while other devices such as virtual reality headsets require a continuous stream of data with a high data rate. Moreover, many IoT devices run on a battery; therefore, they have very strict power consumption requirements. The battery in many IoT devices has to be changed every few months, which is time consuming and costly. Furthermore, old batteries have adverse environmental effects, if not disposed of properly. In addition to these problems, bringing many IoT devices to our smart homes and offices creates many privacy concerns. How can users be confident that their privacy is not violated in smart environments?

    In this talk, I present the design of next generation wireless networks that satisfy the diverse requirements of IoT applications. To enable low-power wireless networking for IoT applications that require low data rates, I present a system that enables a battery-free IoT device to transmit its data to nearby WiFi devices. Next, I describe the design of a low-power and low-cost millimeter wave network for IoT devices that require up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth. Finally, I discuss privacy issues caused by wireless signals transmitted by many IoT devices in a smart environment.

    Biography: Ali Abedi is currently a research lecturer at the University of Waterloo. His research interests are in the areas of wireless networks and mobile systems with a special focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart environments. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Waterloo. His work has been published in top systems and networking venues such as SIGCOMM, MobiCom, and HotNets. He was awarded the gold medal in the Student Research Competition (SRC) competition at Mobicom 2018. His research projects have been featured in ACM GetMobile, ACM Tech News, and Science Daily. He has received multiple grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). His research has resulted in multiple patents, and has attracted interests from companies such as Google, Qualcomm, and ecobee.

    Host: Dr. Konstantinos Psounis, kpsounis@usc.edu

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96468306783?pwd=cmJGWE91d1M0VDM1aGhaaXJNdDFPZz09

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96468306783?pwd=cmJGWE91d1M0VDM1aGhaaXJNdDFPZz09

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mayumi Thrasher

    OutlookiCal
  • ECE Seminar: Solving the Cloud Efficiency Crisis with Fast and Accessible Scheduling

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Kostis Kaffes, Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford University

    Talk Title: Solving the Cloud Efficiency Crisis with Fast and Accessible Scheduling

    Abstract: Operating systems (OS) specialization is necessary as the one-size-fits-all approach of fundamental OS operations such as scheduling is incompatible with today's diverse application landscape. Such specialization can improve application performance and cloud platform efficiency by an order of magnitude or more. Towards this goal, I will first discuss Shinjuku, a specialized OS that supports an order of magnitude higher load and lower tail latency than state-of-the-art systems by enabling better scheduling. Shinjuku leverages hardware support for virtualization to preempt as often as every 5 microseconds and disproves the conventional wisdom that interrupts are incompatible with microsecond timescales. Then, I will present Syrup, a framework that enables everyday application developers to specify custom scheduling policies easily and safely deploy them across different layers of the stack over existing operating systems like Linux, bringing the benefits of specialized scheduling to everyone. For example, Syrup allowed us to implement policies that previously required specialized dataplanes in less than 20 lines of code and improve the performance of an in-memory database by 8x without needing any application modification.

    Biography: Kostis Kaffes is a final-year Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, advised by Christos Kozyrakis. He is broadly interested in computer systems, cloud computing, and scheduling. His thesis focuses on end-host, rack-scale, and cluster-scale scheduling for microsecond-scale tail latency with the goal of improving efficiency in the cloud. Recently, he has been looking for ways to make it easier to implement and deploy custom scheduling policies across different layers of the stack. Kostis's research has been supported by a Facebook Research Award and various scholarships and fellowships from Stanford, A.G. Leventis Foundation, and Gerondelis Foundation. Prior to Stanford, he received his undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece.

    Host: Dr. Murali Annavaram, annavara@usc.edu

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96988520485?pwd=aHRIY1BBWW5PVEtCeDlWSnAwUUxsUT09

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

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96988520485?pwd=aHRIY1BBWW5PVEtCeDlWSnAwUUxsUT09

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mayumi Thrasher

    OutlookiCal
  • Evaluating & Negotiating Job Offers Workshop

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 01:00 PM - 01:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions



    THIS EVENT WILL BE HOSTED HYBRID: IN-PERSON & ONLINE SIMULTANEOUSLY

    Consider best practices on evaluating and negotiating job or internship offers by attending this professional development Q&A moderated by Viterbi Career Connections staff or Viterbi employer partners.

    To access more information on this workshop, log into Viterbi Career Gateway>> Events>>Workshops: https://shibboleth-viterbi-usc-csm.symplicity.com/sso/

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

    OutlookiCal
  • CS Colloquium: Siddharth Srivastava (Arizona State University) - Principles and Algorithms for Data-Efficient Assistive Sequential Decision Making

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Siddharth Srivastava, Arizona State University

    Talk Title: Principles and Algorithms for Data-Efficient Assistive Sequential Decision Making

    Series: Computer Science Colloquium

    Abstract: Can we balance efficiency and reliability while designing assistive AI systems? What would such AI systems need to provide? In this talk I will present some of our recent work addressing these questions. In particular, I will show that a few fundamental principles of abstraction are surprisingly effective in designing efficient and reliable AI systems that can plan and act over multiple timesteps. Our results show that abstraction mechanisms are invaluable not only in improving the efficiency of sequential decision making, but also in developing AI systems that can explain their own behavior to non-experts, and in computing user-interpretable assessments of the limits and capabilities of Black-Box AI systems. I will also present some of our work on learning the requisite abstractions in a bottom-up fashion. Throughout the talk I will highlight the theoretical guarantees that our methods provide along with results from empirical evaluations featuring decision-support/digital AI systems and physical robots.

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://usc.zoom.us/j/99395482251

    Meeting ID: 993 9548 2251

    One tap mobile
    +16699006833,,99395482251# US (San Jose)
    +13462487799,,99395482251# US (Houston)

    Dial by your location
    +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
    +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
    +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
    +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
    +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)


    Host: Sven Koenig

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/99395482251

    Location: Online - Zoom

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/99395482251

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Computer Science Department

    OutlookiCal
  • BD Launching Your Career in the Med Tech Industry (Virtual, Series)

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Come learn about BD's Technology Leadership Development Program (we're hiring!), one of the premier career-accelerating opportunities in the med-tech industry, along with insider interview & resume tips that will give you a leg up for your transition to industry.

    WHEN: Feb 22 @ 2 pm

    RSVP: https://bd.yello.co/app/collect/event/Oc9ryNPDd925WaMaJMOVMg

    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 participant's 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
  • Kick-Off Carnival

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    Student Activity


    The kickoff carnival is back to Engineers Week on Tuesday, February 22nd from 3pm to 5 pm on the E-Quad main lawn with Viterbi clubs hosting booths, where you can win prizes, like USC plushies! Free boba will also be given out. Stop by for fun prizes and to hang out with Viterbi organizations!

    Location: Epstein Family Engineering Plaza

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Viterbi Undergraduate Programs

    OutlookiCal
  • ISE 651 Epstein Seminar

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. M. Ravi Shankar, Professor, Dept. of Industrial Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

    Talk Title: Molecular Patterning Directs Morphing and Motility in Liquid Crystalline Polymers

    Host: Prof. Yong Chen

    More Information: February 22, 2022.pdf

    Location: Online/Zoom

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Grace Owh

    OutlookiCal
  • CS Distinguished Lecture: Hod Lipson (Columbia University) - Automating discovery: From cognitive robotics to particle physics

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Hod Lipson, Columbia University

    Talk Title: Automating discovery: From cognitive robotics to particle physics

    Series: Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series

    Abstract: Can machines discover scientific laws automatically? Despite the prevalence of big data, the process of distilling data into scientific laws has resisted automation. Particularly challenging are situations with small amounts of data that is difficult or expensive to collect. This talk will outline a series of recent research projects, starting with self-reflecting robotic systems, and ending with machines that can formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and interpret the results, to discover new scientific laws. We will see examples from psychology to cosmology, from classical physics to modern physics, from big science to small science.

    Register in advance for this webinar at:
    https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kYlG0b5QS3OShAvhHwF1hg

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

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.


    Biography: Hod Lipson is a professor of Engineering at Columbia University in New York, and a co-author of the award winning book "Fabricated: The New World of 3D printing", and "Driverless: Intelligent cars and the road ahead". His work on self-aware and self-replicating robots challenges conventional views of robotics, and his TED talk on self-aware machines is one of the most viewed presentations on AI. Lipson directs the Creative Machines Lab, which pioneers new ways to make machines that create, and machines that are creative. For more information visit http://hodlipson.com


    Host: Stefanos Nikolaidis

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kYlG0b5QS3OShAvhHwF1hg

    Location: Online - Zoom Webinar

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kYlG0b5QS3OShAvhHwF1hg

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Computer Science Department

    OutlookiCal
  • Mork Family Department Seminar - Jonathan Paras

    Tue, Feb 22, 2022 @ 04:00 PM - 05:15 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Jonathan Paras, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Talk Title: Quantifying Electronic Contributions to Phase Transitions

    Host: Prof. Andrea Hodge

    Location: SOS B46

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Heather Alexander

    OutlookiCal