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University Calendar
Events for March
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Central Intelligence Agency Career Opportunities Info Session
Mon, Mar 01, 2021 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Log in and learn about career opportunities at the Central Intelligence Agency!
All degree levels and Viterbi majors welcome.
Hear about different career paths, and get the chance to ask a Central Intelligence Agency recruiter about what it is like to work there, the hiring process, what opportunities they have, and more.
You will also be able to sign up for one-on-one office hour phone calls with Central Intelligence Agency recruiters taking place next week, March 8th.
Registration: Link Coming soon!
NOTE: The Central Intelligence Agency cannot sponsor international candidates.Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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PhD Defense - Kan Qi
Mon, Mar 01, 2021 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
PhD Candidate: Kan Qi
Committee:
Prof. Barry Boehm (chair)
Prof. Paul Adler (outside)
Prof. Chao Wang
Title: Incremental Effort Estimation via Transaction Analysis
Accurate software cost and effort estimation is particularly important for many classes of software projects. Examples are projects with fixed budget, competitive bidding on prospective projects, or prioritization of candidate projects. Many organizations primarily rely on commercial or open-source cost estimation models, which have been calibrated on the actual sizes and costs of previous projects. Their key size parameter is generally the number of lines of code in the projects. This can be accurately determined via a code-count system on the previous projects, but there is no counterpart for estimating the lines of code in the system to be developed. One can try to break the system into pieces and estimate the lines of code in each piece but doing this accurately will generally require additional time and effort to design the system. Alternative early effort estimation methods such as story points, use case points, and function points involve determining the system's numbers and complexities of user stories, use cases, inputs, outputs, queries, and logical files, which again typically require additional time and effort to analyze the functionality and architecture. In summary, there are two limitations that prevent the existing effort estimation methods from being effectively used for early effort estimation. First, the existing methods require extensive manual analysis effort to acquire system information as their input. This makes it costly to apply the existing methods at the early stage of a software project. Secondly, the system information that the existing methods rely on as the input can usually only be retrieved from certain types of system specifications. This makes the existing methods only applicable at the development phases where the required types of system specifications are produced.
To address the first limitation, an automated transaction analysis method is proposed, which can be used to automatically retrieve transactional information from the typical early-phase artifacts produced in a software project; To address the second limitation, three phase-based effort estimation models are proposed, which utilize the retrieved transactional information to provide effort estimates at all the typical early phases of a software project. The evaluation results have shown that the automated transaction analysis method can be an effective replacement of manual transaction analysis with high transaction identification accuracy, and the phase-based effort estimation models can provide considerable estimation accuracy improvements over the existing effort estimation models and the later-phase effort estimation models can provide significant accuracy improvements over the earlier-phase effort estimation models.
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98532742081?pwd=a2VLK1NEQUNKK3BWOWdLN01ZUUNrZz09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Lizsl De Leon
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Spring 2021 Viterbi Industry Networking Event
Wed, Mar 03, 2021 @ 01:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
The Virtual Viterbi Industry Networking Events connect students with Viterbi Alumni and industry professionals from across the world in an online networking event.
The event will have twelve different booths, organized by industry. Move between booths to connect randomly with a Viterbi Alumni or organization rep based on the booth you enter. This approach will help you network with industry professionals and make new connections with people from various backgrounds. There will also be a Viterbi Career Connections booth with advisors to answer your career or event-related questions.
This event is open to all Viterbi Students including current Bachelors, Masters & Doctoral students.
Registration coming soon!Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Boeing Freshman Design Challenge
Thu, Mar 04, 2021 @ 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Challenge Details: As the world's leading aerospace company, Boeing is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes and military aircraft. To continue this dominance, Boeing needs the young minds of tomorrow to provide innovative, new perspectives. For this reason, Boeing will be putting on a design challenge for the Freshmen class of USC. In this competition, teams of three or four freshmen will have two hours to work together and design a solution to a typical, real-world engineering problem.
During this unique, resume-building experience, students will also have the opportunity to network with Boeing engineers and executives, who will be available to act as mentors and judges.
Despite being virtual, food will be provided in the form of dining gift cards for participants. Prizes are provided to top participants!
To RSVP log into Viterbi Career Gateway>> Events>> Information Sessions:
https://shibboleth-viterbi-usc-csm.symplicity.com/ssoAudiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Central Intelligence Agency Office Hours | Pre-Signup Required
Mon, Mar 08, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Sign Up For a Time Slot: Link Coming soon!
Schedule a one-on-one phone call with a recruiter to discuss career opportunities at the Central Intelligence Agency!
All degree levels and Viterbi majors welcome.
NOTE: The Central Intelligence Agency cannot sponsor international candidates.
All times are in local Los Angeles time (PST)
Talk one-on-one with a CIA Representative to explore career and paid internship opportunities and life at the CIA. These are informal sessions--not job interviews--but please be prepared with questions about positions found on cia.gov/careers.
If you sign up for a "waitlist" slot, you will be called if the first student signed up for that time does not answer their phone.
We recommend going to the website, taking the short survey through the website's Job Fit Tool and having your results for our conversation. We can discuss resume style, cover letters, preparing for any interview, or anything else regarding working at the CIA. Undergraduates and Graduates of all academic disciplines are encouraged to attend. All CIA positions require US citizenship and relocation to the Washington, DC metropolitan area.Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Oracle: NetSuite Diversity Lunch & Learn
Tue, Mar 09, 2021 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Please join the Oracle NetSuite Diversity Team at one of our upcoming virtual open houses to learn more about NetSuite and explore a career in sales or consulting within the Tech industry.
The sessions will discuss the following:
- Our commitment to diversity & inclusion in the workplace
- Available full-time opportunities
- Q&A with sales and consulting business leaders
Register Here: https://apexapps.oracle.com/pls/apex/f?p=10412:1::::RP,1:P1_EVENT_ID:DSLBELYBMT&cs=1GOoqZbXxpvWGcUP20T8rOOzikdq1kk0ISQS8-RJhPtPdN6OnOpDDqr5pMFKqSMrphkOSDWXsqwwOzUSQVNHM4wAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Amazon SDE 101
Tue, Mar 09, 2021 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
*This is an external event hosted by Amazon*
For people who like to invent, there's no better place to explore opportunities than at Amazon! Come learn more about our Software Development Engineer (SDE) full-time and internship opportunities, our culture, the recruitment process and interview tips.
Please register for our upcoming info session and submit your questions in advance. (we will select the most frequent pre-submitted questions to answer at the end of the session).
Register through Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > Information Sessions
Join our team and help us build the future!Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Key Virtual Job Search Tips with Northrop Grumman
Wed, Mar 10, 2021 @ 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Hear from Northrop Grumman recruiter (and USC alumni) Anjali Chopra about how to navigate your job search in a virtual world. This workshop will include tips for virtual networking events/job fairs, security tips, virtual interviewing preparation, how to succeed in an online interview.
RSVP through Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > Workshops
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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NL Seminar Leave No Question Behind! Broadening the Scope of Machine Comprehension
Thu, Mar 18, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
University Calendar
Abstract
Despite remarkable progress in building Question Answering QA models, the scope of progress remains limited to niche dataset specific domains. How can we expand the scope of the problems that our models can address? In this talk, I discuss two instances of QA system design that cover a broader range of problems. In the first part, I introduce UnifiedQA, a single model that generalizes to multiple different QA formats multiple choice QA, extractive QA, abstractive QA, yes no QA. Then I will introduce ModularQA, a single system that addresses multiple multi hop reasoning datasets by leveraging existing single hop modules systems. For each system, I present empirical evidence on their better generalization and stronger robustness across datasets and domains.
BIO
Daniel Khashabi is a Young Investigator at Allen Institute for AI, Seattle. His interests lie at the intersection of artificial intelligence and natural language processing. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and his undergraduate degree from Amirkabir University of Technology Tehran Polytechnic.Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only
WebCast Link: https://youtu.be/O-ttj6CCb44
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Petet Zamar
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A Conversation with Visa's Leading Women: Celebrating Potential
Thu, Mar 18, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
*This is an external event hosted by Visa*
Visa Inc., Girls in Tech at USC and the USC Career Center invite you to hear from some of Visa's leaders in honor of International Women's Day. As an attendee, hear from an amazing panel about their career journey and prepare to be the future leaders of the workforce!
To RSVP: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > Information SessionsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Career Conversations with Employer Relations Coordinator Maggie Cutler
Mon, Mar 29, 2021 @ 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Career Conversation: Learn about Career Connections events, activities, and recruitment strategies to find internship and full-time positions. Sessions will be held with Employer Relations Coordinator, Maggie Cutler Young.
Link to join will be shared with those to RSVP.
Limit of 9 students per discussion.
To register: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > WorkshopsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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External Event | Adapting to Change: Job Searching in Unprecedented Times
Tue, Mar 30, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
***EXTERNAL EVENT HOSTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN***
Hear from Northrop Grumman's very own employees that graduated during the 2008 financial crisis. Get tips on how to job search, network yourself, and general advice on how to grow your career in a difficult time.
Catherine Howard -- Senior Principal Talent Acquisition Business Partner, University Relations & Recruiting
Keith Bettencourt -- Senior Principal Engineer, Structural
Coleman Younger -- Manager, Engineering
Chase Shaver -- Principal Engineer, Manufacturing
Hoeuth (Lee) Kim -- Senior Principal Engineer, Software
To RSVP: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > Information SessionsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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UPDATED External Event | Ace the Case Workshop!
Tue, Mar 30, 2021 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
*This is an external event hosted by OnPrem, it is not exclusive to Viterbi engineering students*
(This event was originally set for March 23rd and has been postponed to March 30th)
Interested in learning how to start your career as a Consulting Analyst working in Management Consulting? From major entertainment studios to consumer goods companies, our clientele trusts us to strategize, design, develop, and integrate technology solutions.
Join us on March 30th at 3PM PST to learn how to critically think through a business case and master your next case interview!
To register: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > Information SessionsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Real Talk: Careers & Internships Financial, Industrial & Systems Engineering and lnformatics Session #1
Wed, Mar 31, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Viterbi Career Connections is Real Talk with VCC to get feedback from Viterbi Students. This is a chance to meet with a Viterbi Career Ambassador to have open dialogue on your well-being and how it's impacting your career goals!. Tell them what is working for you and if there are any barriers to getting the support and resources you need to achieve your career goals. These sessions will be hosted by your peers to provide open and anonymous feedback.
The session will last 30 minutes and VCC staff can be available after the session to answer any questions or concerns you may have to help you in your career journey.
To Register: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > WorkshopsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Real Talk: Careers & Internships Financial, Industrial & Systems Engineering and lnformatics Session #2
Wed, Mar 31, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
University Calendar
Viterbi Career Connections is Real Talk with VCC to get feedback from Viterbi Students. This is a chance to meet with a Viterbi Career Ambassador to have open dialogue on your well-being and how it's impacting your career goals!. Tell them what is working for you and if there are any barriers to getting the support and resources you need to achieve your career goals. These sessions will be hosted by your peers to provide open and anonymous feedback.
The session will last 30 minutes and VCC staff can be available after the session to answer any questions or concerns you may have to help you in your career journey.
To Register: Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > WorkshopsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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Thesis Proposal - Chi Zhang
Wed, Mar 31, 2021 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title:
Safe Reinforcement Learning via Offline Learning
Committee:
Viktor Prasanna
Bistra Dilknia
Pau Bodgan
Ashutosh Nayyar
Jyo Deshmukh
Kannan
Abstract:
Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a general learning paradigm to solve sequential decision making problems. They are often modeled as Markov Decision Process (MDP) or Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). Reinforcement learning aims at learning policies that maximize the expected accumulated rewards with unknown dynamics or transition probabilities. Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) refers to using deep neural networks as a general function approximator when applying RL algorithms.
Despite recent success of RL algorithms in robotics, games (e.g. AlphaGo), RL algorithms pose particular challenges when applied to real world settings.
First, it often requires sufficient exploration effort to achieve a reasonable performance; such exploration is either too expensive (e.g. it takes time to gather data in real world) or forbidden due to safety constraints.
This limits the RL algorithms in the scenarios where an accurate simulator is available.
In this proposal, we focus on developing reinforcement learning algorithms that can ensure safety during the training phase and the deployment phase. We argue that by leveraging offline learning from a static dataset collected by existing safe policies, safety can be guaranteed.
However, standard off-policy RL algorithms are prone to overestimations of the values of out-of-distribution (OOD) actions. This may cause the learned policies to visit unexplored and unsafe states at deployment phase. To mitigate this issue, we first mathematically show that by constraining the learned policies within the support set of the offline datasets, the state di stribution of the learned policy also lies within the support set of the offline datasets; hence safety is guaranteed.
To constrain the learned policies within the support set, we propose i) distribution matching, and ii) model-based OOD actions generalization detection.
We improve the existing state-of-the-art behavior regularization based approaches and propose BRAC+: Improved Behavior Regularized Actor Critic. We propose two key improvements including an analytical upper bound for the KL divergence as the behavior regularizor to reduce variance associated with sample based estimations, and gradient penalized Q update to avoid out-of-distribution (OOD) actions due to the unbounded gradient of the Q value w.r.t the OOD actions. Distribution matching is too conservative when the dataset is diverse so that the outcomes of the OOD actions can be correctly predicted. We propose to learn the inverse dynamics model as a variational auto-encoder along with the forward dynamics model. We detect OOD actions generalization by the agreement of the both models. Our approach will be evaluated on several benchmarks as well as a simulated building HVAC control testbed. We will gauge the success of our work by i) Whether the safety criteria is met. ii) The performance improvement over existing safe policies used to collect the dataset.
Zoom Link:
https://usc.zoom.us/j/2488070010
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/2488070010
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Lizsl De Leon
