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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for August
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CENG Seminar
Thu, Aug 02, 2012 @ 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner , UCLA
Talk Title: TBD
Abstract: Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner presents a seminar about her accomplishments as an educator. She will describe her teaching philosophy, track record, and most important educational innovations. Her lectures are designed to stimulate creativity and foster innovation among engineering students. To demonstrate this she will present a sample lecture about a challenging topic. Professor Eshaghian-Wilner will conclude with a brief summary of her research interests and achievements.
Biography: Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner received a B.S. degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering (1985), M.S. degree in Computer Engineering (1985), Engineers degree in Electrical Engineering (1988), and Ph.D. in Computer Engineering (1988), all from the University of Southern California (USC). She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to joining UCLA, she was a tenured Full Professor and Department Head at the Computer Engineering Department of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Professor Eshaghian-Wilner is best known for her contributions to the three areas of Optical Computing, Heterogeneous Computing, and Nanoscale Computing. In the area of Optical Computing, she produced one of the first theses that dealt with the computational aspects of optical interconnects for VLSI chips. She developed the well-referenced OMC model as part of her Ph.D. work at USC, and since then several architectures and algorithms have been designed based on that model. In the area of Heterogeneous Computing, she is the editor of the fieldâs first book, âHeterogeneous Computing,â and she is the co-founder of the IEEE Heterogeneous Computing Workshop. She developed the well-known NSF-funded Cluster-M model. It is one of the first paradigms for mapping heterogeneous applications onto heterogeneous systems. The Cluster-M mapping is still the fastest known algorithm for mapping arbitrary task graphs onto arbitrary system graphs. Most recently, Dr. Eshaghian-Wilner has been focusing on the bio and nano applications of her work. One of her most notable results in this area involves the design of highly interconnected multiprocessor chips with spin waves that possess an unprecedented degree of interconnectivity that was not possible previously with electrical VLSI interconnects. She is a founding series co-editor of âNature Inspired Computingâ for Wiley & Sons, and has edited the first book of this series, âBio-inspired and Nanoscale Integrated Computingâ. Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner has founded and/or chaired numerous IEEE conferences and organizations, including the IEEE Women in Engineering affinity division of the coastal Los Angeles section. She is the recipient of several IEEE and NSF awards.
Host: CENG
More Information: Mary Eshaghian-Wilner Pic.jpg
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
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CENG Seminar
Wed, Aug 08, 2012 @ 10:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Maqsood A. Chaudhry, California State University, Fullerton, California
Talk Title: Engineering for the 21st Century: Future of Engineering Practice and Education
Abstract: Rapidly changing needs and priorities of the world; sustainable energy, access to clean water, better urban infrastructure, are redefining the role of engineering in the society. At the same time, an array of powerful global forces, emergence of global knowledge economy, fast evolving technologies and growing importance of technological innovation, are profoundly changing the nature of engineering practice. To meet the technological needs of the 21st century society, engineers will have to acquire far broader skills then simply the mastery of scientific and technological disciplines.
In my presentation, I will talk about the teaching strategies I employ inside and outside the classroom to not only give the students technical depth but also instill the broad traits necessary for them to become successful engineers and contributors to the society.
Biography: Dr. Maqsood A. Chaudhry earned B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan in 1978, his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Fullerton in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 1989. He has over 25 years of teaching experience at California State University, Fullerton and at the University of California, Irvine combined, and has taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computer Science Departments. He has also consulted for several engineering companies. He received several teaching awards, honors and recognitions, such as the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award by the Orange County Engineering Council and the Boeing A. D. Welliver Fellow. At California State University, Fullerton, he received an Outstanding Faculty Recognition, the Mentor of the Year Award and the Instructor of the Year Award in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. He also received Instructor of the Year in the School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine.
Host: CENG
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
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USC Physical Sciences in Oncology Monthly Seminar Series
Fri, Aug 24, 2012 @ 11:45 AM - 01:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jeffrey Varner, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University
Talk Title: Modeling and Analysis of the Core Architecture Regulating TGFβ Induced Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)
Abstract: The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is important in development and pathological processes such as fibrosis and cancer. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) initiates EMT, repressing the expression of epithelial genes such E-cadherin, while simultaneously activating the expression of mesenchymal genes such as Vimentin. In this study, we developed a first-generation ordinary differential equation (ODE) model of TGFβ induced EMT. The model contained 80 genes, 995 protein or mRNA components interconnected through 1700 interactions. A family of 15,000 likely model parameter sets (1700 kinetic constants and 56 non-zero initial conditions) was estimated using 41 data sets generated in DLD1 colon carcinoma, MDCKII and A375 melanoma cells using the Pareto optimal ensemble technique (POETs) multiobjective optimization algorithm. Analysis of the model population suggested three important regulatory axes controlled TGFβ induced EMT. First, the AP1 and SP1 transcription factors played differential roles during EMT induction. Deletion of AP1 enhanced E-cadherin expression, while decreasing Vimentin expression. On the other hand, SP1 deletion enhanced Vimentin expression with little or no effect on E-cadherin. Second, overexpression of ERK-specific phosphatases increased the level of phosphorylated Smad2, which enhanced the transition to a mesenchymal phenotype (instead of the expected epithelial phenotype). Lastly, the abundance of LEF1 was a key factor regulating the shift to a mesenchymal phenotype. Taken together, these results provided insight into the core molecular architecture of TGFβ induced EMT, and revealed possible operational paradigms of phenotypic conversion.
Biography: Jeffrey Varner holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Chemistry), a Masters and a Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering, all from Purdue University. Prof. Varner's graduate thesis work at Purdue was done under the direction of Prof. D. Ramkrishna in the area of modeling and analysis of metabolic networks. Following Purdue, Prof. Varner was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at the ETH-Zurich where he studied signal transduction mechanisms involved in cell-death under Prof. Jay Bailey. After the ETH, Prof. Varner was a Scientist in the Oncology business unit of Genencor International Inc, Palo Alto, CA. While at Genencor, Prof. Varner was involved in the discovery of novel targets in human cancers, and was a project team member for preclinical, phase-I and II studies of protein therapeutics for the treatment of colorectal cancer and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Prof. Varner left Genencor at the end of 2005 to join the faculty of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at Cornell University. At Cornell, the Varner lab is developing physiochemical modeling tools to rationally reprogram human signal transduction architectures.
Host: USC Phyiscal Sciences in Oncology Center
Location: Clinical Science Center (CSC) - Harkness Auditorium #250
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kristina Gerber
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Epstein Institute Seminar Series / ISE 651 Seminar
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Vadim Shapiro, Bernard A. and Frances M. Weideman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin â Madison
Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series
Abstract: Modern manufacturing enterprise requires adaptable, trustable, and affordable solutions in model-based engineering and platform-based engineering. Limited or poor geometric interoperability of the software supporting engineering applications within the product life cycle now dominates practical considerations in deploying computational technologies and solutions.
I will argue that many computational problems in engineering may be formulated in terms of standard geometric queries that are supported by any reasonable geometric representation, thus liberating engineering applications from assumptions of and dependence on any particular geometric system or representation. This in turn leads to solution procedures involving geometric and functional sampling and composition steps, used in conjunction with standard numerical techniques. I will demonstrate that systematic application of these principles yields practical computational solutions to two unrelated challenging problems: fully automated (in-situ) finite element analysis and rapid exploration of six-dimensional configuration space.
* Portions of this talk are based on joint work with Chris Hoffmann (Purdue) and Vijay Srinivasan (NIST)
Biography: Vadim Shapiro is Bernard A. and Frances M. Weideman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin â Madison, where he is a founding Director of the Spatial Automation Laboratory. He holds Bachelor degrees in Mathematics and in Computer Science from NYU, MS in Computer Science from UCLA, and MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Prior to his academic career he spent over ten years on research staff at the General Motors R&D Center. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of geometric modeling, computational geometry, engineering design and analysis, automation and interoperability, and product life-cycle management. His technical contributions have been recognized by a number of best paper awards, patents, fellowships, and NSF Career Award. His is a Fellow of ASME, Co-Editor in Chief of the Computer-Aided Design journal, and serves on editorial boards of several other archival journals.
Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
More Information: Seminar-Shapiro.doc
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - Room 309
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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CE Ph.D. Oral Dissertation Defense
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Hadi Meidani, CE Ph.D. Candidate
Talk Title: Uncertainty Management for Complex Systems of Systems. Applications to the Future Smart Grid
Abstract: Today, many of the infrastructures are composed of several coupled sub-systems, many of which are by themselves complex couplings introduce yet more complexities which pose the system
operators with several challenging issues. In many of these
infrastructure systems, uncertainty is an intrinsic features, in several others it is present as a mathematical abstraction
referring to our ignorance due either to the unknown governing physics or to missing information. A major challenge is the predictability of such complex systems of systems under these uncertainties and also the quantification of confidence in the prediction. A predictive science for these systems should (a) assess the uncertainties; that is, to identify and characterize them in the input variables or model parameters; and (b) predict their impacts on the performance of the system, which will eventually assist decision and policy making processes. The study in this dissertation aims to contribute to these two pillars of a successful predictive model for complex infrastructure systems. We have focused on the uncertainty management of the future Smart Grid, as an example of a complex system of systems. The future Smart Grid will be a composition of interacting systems, including the power grid, weather system, social networks, communication networks, etc. The scope of this dissertation encompasses the challenges induced by the uncertainties in the demand and supply sides of the future Smart Grid. Models for the characterization of these uncertainties have been proposed and their impacts on performance metrics of the overall system have been quantified.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium; An Engineer's Overview of the World's Largest Astronomical Project, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA)
Fri, Aug 31, 2012 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Michael Thorburn, Head of ALMA Department of Engineering
Talk Title: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium; An Engineer's Overview of the World's Largest Astronomical Project, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA)
Abstract: Dr. Michael Thorburn, Head of ALMA Department of Engineering, will present "An Engineer's Overview of the World's Largest Astronomical Project, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA)" as part of the W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium.
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amanda Atkinson
