Logo: University of Southern California

Events Calendar



Select a calendar:



Filter May Events by Event Type:



Events for May 03, 2011

  • VARC Spring Study Day

    Tue, May 03, 2011 @ 10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Come join other Viterbi undergrads and get ready for finals!

    Spring Study Day will be held on Tuesday, May 3rd in Ronald Tutor Hall.

    • 10am-1pm: Upper class study partners will be on hand to answer questions for select 100- and 200-level engineering classes: AME 150, MATH 126, MATH 226, MATH 245, PHYS 151, PHYS 152

    • 1pm-4pm: Study space available throughout first and second floors of RTH.

    • Snacks and care packages will be provided to participants.

    Just come to the lobby of RTH with your books, notes, and a desire to study for finals!

    Stop by VARC (RTH 222) for more information! Or email viterbi.varc@usc.edu.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) -

    Audiences: Undergrad

    Contact: Viterbi Academic Resource Center

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • Demystifying Ultra-Low Power VLSI Design: from Basic Misconceptions to Advanced Techniques

    Tue, May 03, 2011 @ 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Massimo Alioto, University of Siena (Italy), UC Berkeley

    Talk Title: Demystifying Ultra-Low Power VLSI Design: from Basic Misconceptions to Advanced Techniques

    Abstract: In this seminar, basic concepts and advanced techniques for ultra-low power (ULP) VLSI digital circuits and systems are presented, with emphasis on the related opportunities and challenges. Common misconceptions and incorrect beliefs are thoroughly discussed based on a coherent and fresh perspective. Variation-aware design strategies to reduce the minimum operating voltage and enable robust ULV operation are discussed. The dependence of the minimum energy point on design knobs is discussed at various levels of abstraction (from physical to the micro-architecture level), and yield is explicitly considered as further dimension in the design space. The important (and often overlooked) role played by the minimum operating voltage is clarified, along with its relation with the optimal voltage minimizing energy, which is currently the subject of a controversial debate within the scientific community.
    New directions and on-going work to address various issues in extreme ULP systems will be presented. In particular, innovative highly-efficient “smart” on-chip DC-DC converters will be presented, and alternative logic styles will be introduced to demonstrate pW/gate operation.


    Biography: Massimo Alioto (M’01–SM’07) is with the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Siena since 2002, where he became Associate Professor in 2005. In 2007, he was a Visiting Professor at EPFL - Lausanne (Switzerland). In 2009-2011, he is Visiting Professor at BWRC – UCBerkeley, investigating on next-generation ultra-low power circuits and wireless nodes. He has authored or co-authored more than 160 publications on journals (55+, mostly IEEE Transactions) and conference proceedings. He is an IEEE Senior Member, Chair of the “VLSI Systems and Applications” Technical Committee of the IEEE CASS, and he was IEEE CASS Distinguished Lecturer in 2009-2010. He serves as Track Chair for several conferences (ISCAS, ICCD, ICECS, ICM) and as Associate Editor of several journals (including the IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems). He was Technical Program Chair for the conference ICM 2010.

    Host: Massoud Pedram

    Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 118

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Annie Yu

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • Epstein ISE Research Seminar

    Tue, May 03, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Harriet Black Nembhard, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering, Director, Center for Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems (CIHDS), The Pennsylvania State University

    Talk Title: "Experimental Designs for Multiple Stage Manufacturing of Nano-Enabled Medical Instruments"

    Abstract: Surgical procedures have been trending toward minimally invasive approaches often using an endoscope inserted into the body via a natural orifice (e.g., the mouth). The use of nano-particulates has held promise in the development of smaller devices that can be accommodated in an endoscope. A challenge, however, is to increase the device yield and quality. This seminar will address the work of an interdisciplinary team to develop a novel lost mold rapid infiltration forming (LMRIF) fabrication process for these devices and specifically focus on new experimental designs suited for the required fabrication.

    In particular, the multiple-stage LMRIF process has restrictions on the randomization, meaning that the allocation of the experimental material and the order in which the individual trials of the experiment are to be performed are not randomly determined because certain process variables are “hard to change" or “expensive to change”. Accordingly, we use design of experiments (DOE) principles to develop the multistage fractional factorial split-plot (MSFFSP) design with the combination of both split-plot and split-block structure. Several statistical properties are derived and its application is demonstrated in the yield improvement of the prototype devices fabricated with the LMRIF process. Furthermore, we develop a framework of DOE and robust parameter design (RPD) to expedite the transition of the technology into robust products that can be produced with minimum variability and defects.

    This work has had a significant broader impact on the collaborative work in healthcare delivery development. The opportunities future work on the project related to DOE, accelerated testing, and reliability, will be briefly discussed.

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Georgia Lum

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File