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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for June
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Recent Developments in Continuously Moving Table Peripheral MR Angiography and Contrast-Enhanced Int
Thu, Jun 01, 2006 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: H. Harry Hu, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, Rochester, MinnesotaAbstract:
Under the direction of Dr. Stephen J. Riederer, our group's primary focus over the past five years has been contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) with parallel imaging and partial Fourier acquisition methods. My presentation will be divided into two parts. The first portion is technically oriented. I will review a method of continuously moving table (CMT) MRI developed in our laboratory, discuss some of the technical challenges in its implementation, and provide the motivation for using CMT in peripheral CE-MRA. A collection of in vivo clinical results will be shown, not only from the original CMT approach conceived in 2002, but also from recent developments that have incorporated non-traditional k-sampling trajectories and dynamic variations in scanner table velocity and acquisition field-of-view. The second portion of the talk is clinically driven, focusing on the collaborations between our research group and Mayo's clinicians to improve the institution's MR radiology practice. Our most recent project has involved 3D CE-MRA of the lower-legs and 3D contrast-enhanced MR venography (CE-MRV). In the latter, intracranial CE-MRV requires an imaging volume that encompasses the full anterior/posterior and right/left extent of the brain with sub-millimeter spatial resolution for accurate visualization of the venous system. At our institution, these specifications can easily push acquisition times over 4 minutes, well beyond the duration of the administered contrast bolus. CE-MRV is thus an ideal candidate for accelerated MR acquisition techniques such as parallel imaging and partial Fourier. Representative examples from several clinical studies will be shown, where four to nine-fold accelerated acquisitions (30 to 60 seconds) achieved with 2D-SENSE, 2D partial Fourier, and the combination of both, yield results that are rated as either superior or equivalent to corresponding non-accelerated scans for diagnostic image quality by evaluating radiologists.Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kaleena Richards
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Early Warning System for Landslide Predictions using Wireless Sensor Networks
Thu, Jun 01, 2006 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Every year landslides cause heavy loss of life and property particularly in areas that are prone to heavy monsoon. Hence, there is a major need to develop technology that can provide early warning. In this talk we will describe the architecture and preliminary results of using Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) to predict landslides. Primary advantages of using WSN for landslide prediction are: (i) dense data, (ii) overall increased accuracy and robustness because of the dense deployment of sensors,(iii) real-time monitoring and prediction of events and (iv)inexpensive with respect to ease of deployment. In the rocky western (Konkan) coast of India landslides are mainly caused by the increase in strain due to rain water logging in rocks joints, fissures, cavities, causing rocks to decompose and slide down the slope. Existing solutions are expensive and not that accurate.
These methods involve use of expensive equipment like extensometers, tilt sensors, and displacement sensors. In all these, one needs to drill deep holes (approximately 30 meters) to install these sensors. Cost and deployment difficulty preclude dense deployment. We propose a method wherein each node consists of an /inexpensive strain gauge/, a wireless senor node (mote), a mini data acquisition card, and a small size battery. The strain gauge is mounted on the surface of the rock (using few centimeter indentations in the rock) and measures fine rock movement due to built up pressure. We have developed a new algorithm called /CAMP/ / (Clustering and Multi-hop Protocol)/for distributed clustering and multi-hop routing. We also present different distributed hypothesis testing algorithms for deciding the occurrence or non-occurrence of landslides.
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shane Goodoff
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Logic Circuits w/ Spin Wave Bus - A.Khitun UCLA
Tue, Jun 06, 2006 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Abstract: There is an impetus for the development of novel logic devices for information processing in line with scaled CMOS and beyond in order to provide high signal processing rate and be scaleable to the nanometer range. Logic circuits utilizing spin waves as a physical mechanism for information transmission and processing is an alternative solution to the traditional CMOS-based architectures. The novelty of this approach is that information transmission is accomplished without charge transfer. A bit of information is encoded into the phase of spin wave propagating in a ferromagnetic film - Spin Wave Bus. The communication between the Spin Wave Bus and outer devices is performed in a wireless manner via a magnetic field. I will present our experimental data on spin wave excitation/detection in 100nm thick NiFe and CoFe films obtained at room temperature. The performance of logic circuits is illustrated by numerical modeling based on the obtained experimental results. Potentially, logic circuits with Spin Wave Bus may be beneficial in reducing power consumption and subsequently resolve the interconnect problem. According to the numerical estimates the minimum energy per bit can be as low as 10-17J. Another anticipated benefit is in the enhanced logic functionality. The shortcomings and limitations of the logic circuits with Spin Wave Bus will be discussed.
Bio: Alexander Khitun received the Ph.D. degree in applied physics and mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1995. He is an Assistant Research Engineer in Electrical Engineering Department at UCLA leading a group of graduate students in two research projects supported by MURI and DARPA. His research interests include Spintronics, Nanotechnology in application to novel logic devices, and Phonon Engineering.
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shane Goodoff
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MR Imaging and image processing in the assessment of cardiovascular biomechanics
Mon, Jun 12, 2006 @ 01:15 PM - 02:15 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Abbas Moghaddam, Ph.D., Department of Bioengineering, CaltechAbstract:Cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of the death in the modern world has become the center of attention for scientists from all related disciplines. On the other hand MRI shows its new potentials for non-invasive diagnostic, measurement and modeling of the cardiovascular problems everyday. For instance Phase Contrast (PC) MRI measures the three dimensional velocity field of the blood, Tagging and Displacement ENcoding Stimulated Echo (DENSE) can be used to determine the cardiac deformation, and SENC encodes the through plane strain of the heart muscle in the short axis slices. All these MRI techniques along with the knowledge about the cardiovascular system as well as image processing tools form a very promising combination to improve our ability to design strategies for effective treatment of heart failure.Using MRI along with effective computational methods can greatly improve patient-specific measurement of the cardiovascular system by avoiding disadvantages of pure experimental measurements and pure numerical calculations. They help numerical approaches in modeling the functionality of the ventricles by making them fast and specific for clinical treatments. These tools along with the theoretical works on the heart structure can eventually result in better surgical planning to repair the defects in the heart ventricles (ventriculoplasty).In my talk I'm going to explain this concept, that how we may increase the share of MR Imaging and image processing in the assessment of cardiovascular system, through three examples:1. Calculation of intravascular pressure from Phase-Contrast (PC) MRI2. Extraction of biomechanics and structure of the heart from DENSE MRI3. Introduction of a new MR method for obtaining the circumferential strain: CIRCOMEIn first example an algorithm will be explained that finds the best pressure map corresponding to the pressure gradients, obtained from the velocity field of fluid collected by PC MRI. The effects of noise, resolution, and velocity (flow) on the algorithm will be further elucidated. In second example I will demonstrate some of our achievements in DENSE imaging as well as assessment of the dynamic behavior and structure of the heart muscle based on DENSE. Finally in the third item a new and fast method will be explained that encodes the circumferential strain in the heart short axis plane. Both pulse sequence and reconstruction will be discussed.Host: Professor Krishna Nayak, x03494, knayak@sipi.usc.edu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kaleena Richards
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National Energy Symposium to Tackel the Urgent Challenge Facing U.S.
Thu, Jun 15, 2006
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
NATIONAL ENERGY SYMPOSIUM TO TACKLE THE URGENT CHALLENGE FACING U.S.SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE ECONOMISTS, SCHOLARS AND ENERGY EXPERTS FROM NATION'S TOP UNIVERSITIES/RESEARCH INSTITUTIONSThe recent steep rise in oil prices to more than $70 per barrel and the U.S.'s continuing dependence on petroleum imports call for a rational and objective analysis of the situation. A group of leading research universities have announced the first ever National Energy Symposium to provide just such an examination of the urgent energy challenge facing the American economy. Set to take place on June 15 on the University of Southern California (USC) campus in Town & Gown, the National Energy Symposium will bring together many of the nation's leading energy experts and offer participants (to include journalists, policy makers, elected officials and members of the public), a rare opportunity to learn whether or not we are on a brink of major energy crisis. The symposium will cover renewables, gasoline, diesel, nuclear, solar and other sources. Symposium sponsors and partner institutions include USC, Caltech, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Congressional Quarterly (CQ), and The Communications Institute. The Symposium will also include a segment on energy policy featuring top experts including the chief economist from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from Washington, D.C. The goal is to equip journalists with the knowledge they need to do an even better job of covering this very complex and evolving story.The Symposium will feature several presentations and three panels of experts moderated by NBC's Conan Nolan and CQ Editor David Rapp.Confirmed Speakers include:Henry Lee, Ph.D., Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Nathan S. Lewis, Ph.D., George L. Argyros Professor and Professor of Chemistry, Caltech
Conan Nolan, Correspondent, NBC4 News
Iraj Ershaghi, Ph.D., P.E., Omar B. Milligan Professor and Director, Petroleum Engineering Program, Viterbi School of Engineering, USC
Craig Smith, Senior Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (nuclear energy expert)
David Rapp, Editor & Senior Vice President, Congressional Quarterly
David Austin, Economist, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, D.C.
Surya Prakash, George A. and Judith A. Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry (synthetic fuel and hydrogen), USC
Paul D. Ronney, Ph.D., Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Former NASA Astronaut
Beth Lowery, Vice President, Environment and Energy, General Motors
Tsen-Chung Cheng, Lloyd F. Hunt Chair in Electrical Power Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering/Electrophysics, University of Southern California
Pedro Pizarro, Senior Vice President for Power Procurement, Southern California Edison
Joe Jones, Research Director, California Environmental Engineering
(testing agency for CARB and EPA)
Anupam Madhukar, Ph.D., Professor of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials , USC (solar and new materials expert)
Assemblyman Joseph Canciamilla, (D-Contra Costa County)
Roderick Wright, Chairman, California State Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce (1998-2002)Additional information is available online at www.communicationsinstitute.org or at (626) 796-4747.Location: Tower Hall (TOW) - n & Gown
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Jason Dziegielewski
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Arterial Spin Labeling: Quantitative non-invasive measurement of tissue perfusion using MRI
Thu, Jun 22, 2006 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Eric C. Wong, Ph.D. MD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Psychiatry, UCSD Center for Functional MRIAbstract:Arterial Spin Labeling is a class of MRI based methods to measure and image tissue perfusion. It is based on the idea of using arterial blood water as an endogenous tracer, with a tag that is generated by modulation of the longitudinal magnetization of that water using RF pulses. Tagging can be implemented as short adiabatic pulses, flow driven continuous adiabatic inversion, or velocity selective pulse trains. This presentation will focus on the development of tagging methodology, and current and potential applications of ASL.Bio:Eric C. Wong, PhD MD is a biophysicist working on the development of new hardware and imaging methods for MRI. His current areas of interest include: (1) Arterial Spin Labeling techniques for noninvasive measurement of tissue perfusion (2) High speed and high resolution imaging techniques, including spiral techniques and contrast optimization (3) Diffusion imaging (4) Local gradient coils (5) Application specific RF coils (6) Local shim coils.Host: Professor Krishna Nayak, x03494, knayak@sipi.usc.edu
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kaleena Richards
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An Overview of the Probability Density Evolution Method in Stochastic Mechanics
Fri, Jun 23, 2006 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
An Overview of the Probability Density Evolution Method in Stochastic MechanicsJianbing Chen
Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Tongji University
Visiting Scholar, USC.AbstractStochastic mechanics has gained increasing interests. In the past decades, extensive investigations have been made in the discipline, leading to a variety of approaches. The presentation will deal with a newly developed probability density evolution method, which starts from revisiting the principle of preservation of probability. Based on the random event description (Lagrange description), a partial differential equation governing evolution of the one- or any arbitrary- dimensional joint probability density function could be set up. This equation could be conveniently numerically solved through combining the deterministic dynamic analysis and the finite difference method. The probability density evolution method could be applied to static/dynamic stochastic response analysis of linear/nonlinear structures, dynamic reliability evaluation and system reliability evaluation. Some key problems need further investigations are discussed.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 415
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Photodetection and Locality
Fri, Jun 23, 2006 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
SPEAKER: Prof. Ian Percival, University of LondonABSTRACT: Locality follows from classical relativistic dynamics. Nonlocality
follows from quantum theory with ideal quantum measurements, but
has never been demonstrated experimentally without a further
assumption. For the experiment of Zeilinger, Weihs and their collaborators
(ZW), this was 'fair sampling'. We investigate this assumption and
conclude that further experiments and theory are needed.Joint work with Barry Garraway.BIO: Ian Percival is Professor of Physics at Queen Mary, University of
London. He has worked on theoretical atomic physics, chaos theory, quantum state diffusion, and his main interest at present is in theoretical and experimental aspects of Bell inequalities.Host: Prof. Todd Brun, tbrun@usc.eduLocation: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics in Mesoscopic Circuits
Wed, Jun 28, 2006 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
"Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics in Mesoscopic Circuits: High-fidelity Measurement and Quantum Feedback Control"SPEAKER: Prof. Hsi-Sheng Goan, National Taiwan UniversityABSTRACT:
Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) is a promising solid-state quantum computing architecture. It also has excellent potential as a platform for quantum control-especially quantum feedback control-experiments. However, the current scheme for measurement in circuit QED is low efficiency and has low signal-to-noise ratio for single-shot measurements. The low quality of this measurement makes the implementation of feedback difficult, and here we propose a scheme for measurement in circuit QED architectures that can significantly improve signal-to-noise ratio and potentially achieve quantum-limited measurement. Such measurements would enable the implementation of quantum feedback protocols and we illustrate this with a simple entanglement-stabilization scheme.Joint work with G. Milburn, M. Sarovar, and T.S. Spiller.BIO: Hsi-Sheng Goan is a Professor of Physics at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, working on solid state implementations of quantum computing in collaboration with the Center for Quantum Computing in Australia.HOST: Prof. Todd Brun, tbrun@usc.edu
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
