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Events for March 27, 2018

  • EE Seminar: Statistical and Formal Methods in Hardware Security

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018 @ 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Yiorgos Makris, Professor, ECE Department, The University of Texas at Dallas

    Talk Title: Statistical and Formal Methods in Hardware Security

    Abstract: Partly because of design outsourcing and migration of fabrication to low-cost areas around the globe, and partly because of increased reliance on third-party intellectual property, the integrated circuit (IC) supply chain is now considered far more vulnerable than ever before. With electronics ubiquitously deployed in sensitive domains and critical infrastructure, such as wireless communications, industrial environments, as well as health, financial and military applications, understanding the corresponding risks and developing appropriate remedies have become paramount. To this end, in this presentation I will discuss the role that statistical and formal methods can play in ensuring security and trustworthiness of ICs and the systems wherein they are deployed, and I will introduce two solutions that my research group has contributed to the area of hardware security.

    The first contribution, known as Statistical Side-Channel Fingerprinting, is a statistical method for assessing whether an integrated circuit originates from a known distribution or not, based on parametric measurements such as delay, power, electromagnetic emanations, temperature, etc. Effectiveness of this method in detecting ICs which have been subjected to malicious modifications (a.k.a. hardware Trojans) will be demonstrated using silicon measurements from a custom-designed wireless cryptographic IC. Solutions to the main challenges of statistical side-channel fingerprinting, namely the availability of a statistically significant trusted population and the detection of hardware Trojans which are activated after deployment, will also be discussed and demonstrated in silicon.

    The second contribution, known as Proof-Carrying Hardware Intellectual Property, is a formal method for proving compliance of an electronic design acquired from a third-party vendor with a set of security properties. These properties, which are expressed as theorems with corresponding proofs in a formal proof management system (i.e., Coq) and which can be automatically checked by the consumer, outline the boundaries of trusted operation without necessarily specifying the exact functionality of the design. Effectiveness of this method in certifying secure instruction execution will be demonstrated on a popular microcontroller and its utility for data secrecy protection through fully-automated information flow tracking will be demonstrated on a cryptographic core.

    I will conclude by revisiting the modus operandi of the hardware security research area as it enters its second decade of activity and I will emphasize the need for (i) intensified efforts towards statistical and formal methods which can offer risk bounds and provable security, and (ii) synergy platforms whereby hardware security can be seamlessly integrated with software security, network security and cryptography, towards developing holistic system-level solutions for both contemporary and emerging applications. In this context, I will also briefly review our recent efforts in mixed-signal and system-level proof-carrying hardware, covert wireless communications, machine learning-based malware detection and workload forensics, as well as in establishing an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Hardware and Embedded System Security and Trust (CHEST).

    Biography: Yiorgos is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he leads the Trusted and RELiable Architectures (TRELA) Research Laboratory. Prior to joining UT Dallas in 2011, he spent a decade as a faculty of Electrical Engineering and of Computer Science at Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. (2001) and an M.S. (1997) in Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a Diploma of Computer Engineering and Informatics (1995) from the University of Patras, Greece. His main research interests are in the application of formal and machine learning-based methods in the design of trusted and reliable integrated circuits and systems, with particular emphasis in the analog/RF domain. He is also investigating hardware-based malware detection, forensics and reliability methods in modern microprocessors, as well as on-die learning and novel computational modalities using emerging technologies. His research activities have been supported by NSF, SRC, ARO, AFRL, DARPA, Boeing, IBM, LSI, Intel, Advantest, AMS and TI. Yiorgos is as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, the IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, the IEEE Design & Test periodical and the Springer Journal of Electronic Testing: Theory and Applications. He served as the 2016-2017 general chair and the 2013-2014 program chair of the IEEE VLSI Test Symposium, and as a topic coordinator and/or program committee member for several IEEE and ACM conferences. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, a recipient of the 2006 Sheffield Distinguished Teaching Award and a recipient of the Best Paper Award from the 2013 Design Automation and Test in Europe (DATE'13) conference and the 2015 VLSI Test Symposium (VTS'15).

    Host: Peter Beerel, beerel@usc.edu

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mayumi Thrasher

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  • CS Colloquium: Stefanos Nikolaidis (Carnegie Mellon University) - Mathematical Models of Adaptation in Human-Robot Collaboration

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Stefanos Nikolaidis, Carnegie Mellon University

    Talk Title: Mathematical Models of Adaptation in Human-Robot Collaboration

    Series: CS Colloquium

    Abstract: The goal of my research is to improve human-robot collaboration by integrating mathematical models of human behavior into robot decision making. I develop game-theoretic algorithms and probabilistic planning techniques that reason over the uncertainty in the human internal state and its dynamics, enabling autonomous systems to act optimally in a variety of real-world collaborative settings.

    While much work in human-robot interaction has focused on leader-assistant teamwork models, the recent advancement of robotic systems that have access to vast amounts of information suggests the need for robots that take into account the quality of the human decision making and actively guide people towards better ways of doing their task. In this talk, I propose an equal partners model, where human and robot engage in a dance of inference and action, and I focus on one particular instance of this dance: the robot adapts its own actions via estimating the probability of the human adapting to the robot. I start with a bounded memory model of human adaptation parameterized by the human adaptability - the probability of the human switching towards a strategy newly demonstrated by the robot. I then propose data-driven models that capture subtler forms of adaptation, where the human teammate updates their expectations of the robot's capabilities through interaction. Integrating these models into robot decision making allows for human-robot mutual adaptation, where coordination strategies, informative actions and trustworthy behavior are not explicitly modeled, but naturally emerge out of optimization processes. Human subjects experiments in a variety of collaboration and shared autonomy settings show that mutual adaptation significantly improves human-robot team performance, compared to one-way robot adaptation to the human.



    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium. Please note, due to limited capacity, seats will be first come first serve.

    Biography: Stefanos Nikolaidis completed his PhD at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute in December 2017 and he is currently a research associate at the University of Washington, Computer Science & Engineering. His research lies at the intersection of human-robot interaction, algorithmic game-theory and planning under uncertainty. Stefanos develops decision making algorithms that leverage mathematical models of human behavior to support deployed robotic systems in real-world collaborative settings. He has a MS from MIT, a MEng from the University of Tokyo and a BS from the National Technical University of Athens. He has additionally worked as a research specialist at MIT and as a researcher at Square Enix in Tokyo. He has received a Best Enabling Technologies Paper Award from the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, has a best paper nomination from the same conference this year and was a best paper award finalist in the International Symposium on Robotics.

    Host: Joseph Lim

    Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 100D

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Assistant to CS chair

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  • Lunch and Learn: Doctoral Seminar Series

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018 @ 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Doctoral Programs

    Workshops & Infosessions


    This monthly series provides PhD students with a forum to improve communication skills and discuss scientific topics of societal significance in a friendly, peer-to-peer manner. Each month, one student will introduce a new topic and lead the group discussion over lunch. Come hungry and ready to engage others! Lunch is provided.

    Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 12:00 PM

    For more details on speaking or attending Lunch and Learn, please contact Prof. Mojarad (mojarad@usc.edu). One-on-one presentation coaching is offered to all students who lead lunch discussions.

    Audiences: PhD Students only.

    Contact: Jennifer Gerson

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  • Epstein Institute Seminar, ISE 651

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Fernando Ordonez, Professor, University of Chile

    Talk Title: Solving Stackelberg Equilibrium in Stochastic Games

    Host: Prof. Maged Dessouky

    More Information: March 27, 2018.pdf

    Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 206

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Grace Owh

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  • Tips to Getting an Internship or a Job

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Virtually everything you think you know about getting a job/internship is wrong -- especially in the real-world after graduation.

    Discover how to cope with competition and avoid pitfalls in your job hunt, learn what employers are actually looking for during an interview and get tips on how to negotiate your salary.

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

    Audiences: All Viterbi

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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