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Events for March 13, 2014
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Lean Green BeltThu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: TBA, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Talk Title: Lean Green Belt
Abstract: Course Overview
This three-day course provides an in-depth understanding of lean enterprise principles and how to apply them within your organization. Your lean journey begins with a series of interactive simulations that demonstrate how each lean concept is applied and its impact on the process. Mapping the process flow and identifying the activities that add value from the customer's perspective is the cornerstone of this class. The class is then given a scenario and the students simulate the conversion from traditional to lean in a practical hands-on environment. The course also provides a structure for how to manage a lean process for continuous improvement. Participants will learn how to structure their organizations to support and continuously improve a lean process. Participants will also fully understand how to implement 5S within their plants and how to begin reducing setup time using the SMED process.
Course Topics
5S and muda
Point of use
Pull
SMED
Value-added
Value stream mapping
SMED
7 Wastes
Visual Workplace
Benefits
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Create and improve a lean process
Implement 5S to develop a safe, clean working environment
Map the process flow and identify activities that add value
Reduce setup time using the SMED process
Who Should Attend
Engineers new to a managerial position
Engineers preparing to make the transition to managerial roles
Current managers wanting to hone leadership skills
Program Fees
On-Campus Participant: $1,545
Includes continental breakfasts, lunch and all course materials. The fee does not include hotel accommodations or transportation.
Online Participant with Live Session Interactivity: $1,400
Includes attendee access codes for live call-in or chat capabilities during class sessions. Also includes all course and lecture materials available for live stream or download.
Continuing Education Units
CEUs: 2.1 (CEUs provided by request only)
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering Certificate of Participation is awarded to all participants upon successful completion of the course.
The USC Viterbi School of Engineering Certificate of Completion and the Institute of Industrial Engineering certification in Lean Green Belt will be awarded to those participants that pass the assessment on the final day of the course.
Host: Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: http://gapp.usc.edu/professional-programs/short-courses/industrial%26systems/lean-green-belt
Audiences: Registered Attendees
Contact: Corporate and Professional Programs
Event Link: http://gapp.usc.edu/professional-programs/short-courses/industrial%26systems/lean-green-belt
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Lossy Data Compression: Non-asymptotic Fundamental Limits
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Victoria Kostina, Princeton University
Talk Title: Lossy Data Compression: Non-asymptotic Fundamental Limits
Abstract: The basic tradeoff in lossy compression is that between the compression ratio (rate) and the fidelity of reproduction of the object that is compressed. Traditional (asymptotic) information theory seeks to describe the optimum tradeoff between rate and fidelity achievable in the limit of infinite length of the source block to be compressed. A perennial question in information theory is how relevant the asymptotic fundamental limits are when the communication system is forced to operate at a given, fixed blocklength. The finite blocklength (delay) constraint is inherent to all communication scenarios. In fact, in many systems of current interest, such as real-time multimedia communication, delays are strictly constrained, while in packetized data communication, packets are frequently on the order of 1000 bits.
Motivated by critical practical interest in non-asymptotic information-theoretic limits, we study the optimum rate-fidelity tradeoffs in lossy source coding and joint source-channel coding at a given fixed blocklength. While computable formulas for the asymptotic fundamental limits are available for a wide class of channels and sources, the luxury of being able to compute exactly (in polynomial time) non-asymptotic fundamental limits is rarely affordable. One can at most hope to obtain bounds and approximations to information-theoretic non-asymptotic fundamental limits. Our main findings include tight bounds to the non-asymptotic fundamental limits in lossy data compression and transmission, valid for general sources without any assumptions on ergodicity or memorylessness. Moreover, in the stationary memoryless case we show a simple formula approximating the non-asymptotic optimal coding rate that involves only two parameters of the source.
Biography: Victoria Kostina received the Bachelors degree with honors in applied mathematics and physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia, in 2004, where she was affiliated with the Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Ottawa, Canada, in 2006. In September 2013, she completed her Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Princeton University, and is currently a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Sergio Verdú. Her research interests lie in information theory, theory of random processes, coding, and wireless communications. She is the recipient of two Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postgraduate fellowships, the Upton Fellowship in Engineering from Princeton University, the University of Ottawa Excellence Scholarship, the University of Ottawa Admission Scholarship and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Excellence Scholarship.
Host: Urbashi Mitra, ubli@usc.edu, EEB 540, x04667
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Susan Wiedem
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Astani CEE Department
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kyle Doudrick, Arizona State University
Talk Title: Environmentally Responsible Use of Nanomaterials for the Photocatalytic Reduction of Nitrate in Water
Abstract: Nitrate is the most prevalent water pollutant limiting the use of groundwater as a potable water source. Current technologies available for treating nitrate in drinking water do not meet green principles and are ineffective as long-term solutions. Photocatalysis is emerging as a sustainable technology for treating contaminants that are difficult to remove using traditional treatment methods (e.g., nitrate). In this presentation, I will discuss research that leverages advances in nanotechnology to improve nitrate photocatalysis, the effect of charge transfer kinetics and pH, and the development of a framework for a nitrate-specific photocatalyst. I will also demonstrate the responsible use of nanomaterials by ensuring that appropriate detection methods are in place for the nanomaterials tested. While methods existed for the metals and metal oxides examined, there were none available for carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Acknowledging that risk assessment encompasses dose-response and exposure, new analytical methods were developed for extracting and quantifying CNTs in complex environmental (e.g., urban air) and biological matrices (e.g. rat lungs).
Biography: Kyle Doudrick is currently an NSF/ASEE Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellow at Integrated Surface Technologies and an Adjunct Researcher at Arizona State University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Memphis in Civil Engineering and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Environmental Engineering. Dr. Doudrickââ¬â¢s research is focused on the development of sustainable water treatment technologies and the impact these technologies have on human health and the environment. Within this scope, his expertise lie in photoelectrochemical water treatment systems and quantification of nanomaterials in complex environmental and biological matrices.
Host: Astani CEE Department
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Cassie Cremeans
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AI Seminar
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 10:30 AM - 11:30 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Leslie Pack Kaelbling, MIT CSAIL
Talk Title: Making Robots Behave
Abstract: The fields of AI and robotics have made great improvements in many individual
subfields, including in motion planning, symbolic planning, probabilistic
reasoning, perception, and learning. Our goal is to develop an integrated
approach to solving very large problems that are hopelessly intractable to
solve optimally. We make a number of approximations during planning,
including serializing subtasks, factoring distributions, and determinizing
stochastic dynamics, but regain robustness and effectiveness through a
continuous state-estimation and replanning process. This approach is
demonstrated in three robotic domains, each of which integrates perception,
estimation, planning, and manipulation.
Biography: Leslie Pack Kaelbling is the Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and
Engineering
at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has made research
contributions to decision-making under uncertainty, learning, and
sensing with applications to robotics, with a particular focus on
reinforcement learning and planning in partially observable domains.
She holds an A.B in Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from
Stanford University, and has had research positions at SRI
International and Teleos Research and a faculty position at Brown
University. She is the recipient of the US National Science
Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship, the IJCAI Computers and
Thought Award, and several teaching prizes and has been elected a
fellow of the AAAI. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of the
Journal of Machine Learning Research.
Host: Yu-han Chang
More Info: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=65e56103c0124c70aba0b19994a913c61d
Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - 11th floor conference room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kary LAU
Event Link: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=65e56103c0124c70aba0b19994a913c61d
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CS Colloquium: Thomas Karagiannis (Microsoft Research Cambridge UK) - Predictable Data Centers
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Thomas Karagiannis, Microsoft Research Cambridge UK
Talk Title: Predictable Data Centers
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: In the talk, I will provide an overview of the Predictable Data Centers project at MSR Cambridge. The project tackles the issue of unpredictable application performance in data centers. A key contributor to such unpredictability is shared resources like network and storage, where the bandwidth across the cloud network and to the cloud storage service can vary significantly. To address this, PDC aims at designing an architecture that offers performance Service Level Agreements (SLAs) across shared resources by providing tenants with the abstraction of a dedicated virtual data center.
Host: CS Systems Group
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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CS Colloquium: Harsha V. Madhyastha (University of California Riverside) - Enabling the Software as a Service Revolution
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 01:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Harsha V. Madhyastha, University of California Riverside
Talk Title: Enabling the Software as a Service Revolution
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: We are currently in the midst of a revolution with regards to how applications are delivered to users. Instead of simply shipping binaries that users install on their devices, application providers are increasingly shifting to the model of offering software services. Google Docs, Instagram, Dropbox, and Words with Friends are popular examples of this paradigm shift. In all of these cases, the use of software services enables application providers to offload application functionality from resource-constrained client devices such as smartphones and tablets, offer a seamless user experience across multiple devices, and enable content sharing.
However, the software as a service application model requires application providers to incur additional costs associated with hosting and managing service deployments. Software services also implicitly threaten user privacy and are constrained by the Internet in terms of the performance and availability perceived by users. In this talk, I will describe the existing best practices to address these challenges, highlight the problems associated with these best practices, and present an overview of three systems that we have developed to address these problems: SPANStore, WhyHigh, and LASTor. I will also discuss some of my ongoing projects and future plans for research in this space.
Biography: Harsha V. Madhyastha is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at University of California Riverside. His research interests broadly span the areas of distributed systems, networking, and security and privacy. Many of the systems developed as part of his research have been widely used and have had significant impact. For example, WhyHigh has reduced latencies to Google by an order of magnitude for millions of users, the MyPageKeeper system for detecting social malware is in use by over 20,000 Facebook users, and Internet topology and performance data from the iPlane system has been used in research projects at over 100 institutions. His work has also resulted in award papers at the USENIX NSDI and ACM SIGCOMM IMC conferences. His research is supported by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Amazon, VMware, a Google Research award, a NetApp Faculty Fellowship, and an NSF CAREER award.
Host: Ethan Katz-Bassett
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 332
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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EE Distinguished Lecturer Series
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Bruce Hajek, Prof. Leonard C. and Mary Lou Hoeft Endowed Chair in Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Abstract: This talk will focus on theory and practice of combinatorial auctions and their application to the sale of wireless spectrum licenses. As new wireless applications emerge worldwide, the wireless industry and government regulators are looking to reallocate wireless spectrum to better match the demand. Combinatorial auctions can play an effective role in the allocation process, but important implementation and theoretical issues remain. The talk will include an overview of recent research on the use of profit sharing contracts and core projecting auctions. (Joint work with Vineet Abhishek and Prof. Steven Williams)
Biography: Bruce Hajek received the BS in Mathematics and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and the Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from the
University of California at Berkeley. Since 1979 he has been on the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Coordinated
Science Laboratory, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Hajek pursues basic research in the area of modeling, analysis, and optimization in communication systems and networks. His recent research has focused on allocation based on game theory, peer-to-peer network protocols, and inference in graphical models. He received the IEEE Kobayashi Award for Computer Communications and the Donald P. Eckman Award of the IEEE Control Systems Society. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 1999.
Host: Rahul Jain & Michael Neely
More Info: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/
More Information: 20140313 Hajek Print (2).pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
Event Link: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/
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CS Distinguished Lecture: Leslie Kaelbling (CSAIL MIT) - Making Robots Behave
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: CS Distinguished Lecture: Leslie Kaelbling, CSAIL MIT
Talk Title: Making Robots Behave
Series: CS Distinguished Lectures
Abstract: The fields of AI and robotics have made great improvements in many individual subfields, including in motion planning, symbolic planning, probabilistic reasoning, perception, and learning. Our goal is to develop an integrated approach to solving very large problems that are hopelessly intractable to solve optimally. We make a number of approximations during planning, including serializing subtasks, factoring distributions, and determinizing stochastic dynamics, but regain robustness and effectiveness through a continuous state-estimation and replanning process. This approach is demonstrated in three robotic domains, each of which integrates perception, estimation, planning, and manipulation.
Biography: Leslie Pack Kaelbling is the Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has made research contributions to decision-making under uncertainty, learning, and sensing with applications to robotics, with a particular focus on reinforcement learning and planning in partially observable domains.
She holds an A.B in Philosphy and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University, and has had research positions at SRI International and Teleos Research and a faculty position at Brown University. She is the recipient of the US National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship, the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, and several teaching prizes and has been elected a fellow of the AAAI. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Machine Learning Research.
Host: Nora Ayanian and Hao Li
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Implicit Bias: How Default Assumptions Hurt Science, Skew Journalism and Send Innocent People to Jail
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
University Calendar
RSVP TO: http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/113/event/903815
A panel of experts from diverse fields will explore how the assumptions we don’t know we make lead to unconscious racism, sexism and other forms of discriminationâand as a result severely damage careers, scientific progress, the arts and justice. Panelists will include writer/actor and “recovering mathematician” Gioia De Cari; director, producer and writer Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn, whose film Blowin’ the Roof Off Women Horn Players explored gender bias in jazz; Carol Tavris, author of The Mismeasure of Woman and Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me); Jody Armour, the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at USC and author of Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America; and USC Annenberg professor K.C. Cole. The discussion will be presented in conjunction with De Cari’s performance, Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp Through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze, on March 12.Location: Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library (DML) - 240
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Visions and Voices
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Southern California Gas Company Information Session
Thu, Mar 13, 2014 @ 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Southern California Gas Company is seeking to fill a number of Associate Engineer positions for graduating seniors in the following disciplines:
-Chemical
-Electrical
-Instrument/Control
-Environmental
-Materials
-Mechanical
-Civil/Structural
-Civil/Environmental
-Petroleum
This is an opportunity for So Cal Gas to showcase all our company has to offer and in turn we hope to find students who meet our hiring needs.Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
