Logo: University of Southern California

Events Calendar



Select a calendar:



Filter September Events by Event Type:



Events for September 19, 2013

  • AI SEMINAR

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Information Sciences Institute

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Jens Lehmann, Head of AKSW/MOLE group, University of Leipzig

    Talk Title: The LinkedGeoData and GeoKnow Projects

    Series: AISeminar

    Abstract: In the talk, Jens Lehmann will give an introduction to Geospatial Linked Data projects at his research group AKSW (http://aksw.org) at the University of Leipzig / Germany. The presentation will cover the GeoKnow (http://geoknow.eu) European Union project, which is a funded project with 7 partner organisations, as well as spatial data extraction in with 7 partner organisations, as well as spatial data extraction in LinkedGeoData (http://linkedgeodata.org), a large RDF knowledge base derived from OpenStreetMap.


    Biography: Dr. Jens Lehmann (http://www.jens-lehmann.org) is a researcher at the University of Leipzig, at which he is co-leading the Agile Knowledge Engineering and Semantic Web Group. His research interests involve Semantic Web, machine learning and knowledge representation. He is founder, leader or contributor of several community research projects, including DL-Learner, DBpedia, LinkedGeoData and ORE. He works/worked in several funded projects, e.g. GeoKnow (EU STREP, coordinator), LOD2 (EU IP, work package lead), LATC (EU STREP, lead for University of Leipzig) and SoftWiki (BmBF). Dr. Jens Lehmann authored more than 40 articles in international journals and conferences cited more than 3000 times according to Google Scholar.


    Host: Craig Knoblock, USC/ISI

    Webcast: will not be webcasted

    Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) -

    WebCast Link: will not be webcasted

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Alma Nava / Information Sciences Institute

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • The iCub project: a common open source platform for robotics research

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Giorgio Metta, Italian Institute of Technology

    Talk Title: The iCub project: a common open source platform for robotics research

    Series: CS Colloquium

    Abstract: I will present the iCub humanoid, a robotic platform designed for research in embodied cognition. At 104 cm tall, the iCub has the size of a three and half years old child. It can crawl on all fours and sit up to manipulate objects. Its hands have been designed to support sophisticate manipulation skills. The iCub is distributed as Open Source following the GPL/FDL licenses and can now count on a worldwide community of enthusiastic developers. The entire design is available for download from the project homepage and repository (http://www.iCub.org). About 25 robots have been built so far which are available in laboratories in Europe, US, and soon in Japan. It is one of the few platforms in the world with a sensitive full-body skin to deal with the physical interaction with the environment including possible people.

    SPECIAL NOTE: The iCub robot will be available for hands-on experience in RTH 422 from 9am to 3pm.

    Biography: The iCub stance on cognition posits that manipulation plays a fundamental role in the development of cognitive capability [1-4]. As many of these basic skills are not ready-made at birth, but developed during ontogenesis [5], we aim at testing and developing this paradigm through the creation of a child-like humanoid robot: i.e. the iCub. This "baby" robot is meant to act in cognitive scenarios, performing tasks useful for learning while interacting with the environment and humans. The small (104cm tall), compact size (approximately 22kg and fitting within the volume of a child) and high number (53) of degrees of freedom combined with the Open Source approach distinguish RobotCub from other humanoid robotics projects developed worldwide.

    References:
    [1] L. Fadiga, L. Craighero, and E. Olivier, "Human motor cortex excitability during the perception of others' action," Current Biology, vol. 14 pp. 331-333, 2005.
    [2] L. Fadiga, L. Craighero, G. Buccino, and G. Rizzolatti, "Speech listening specifically modulates the excitability of tongue muscles: a TMS study," European Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 15, pp. 399-402, 2002.
    [3] G. Rizzolatti and L. Fadiga, "Grasping objects and grasping action meanings: the dual role of monkey rostroventral premotor cortex (area F5)," in Sensory Guidance of Movement, Novartis Foundation Symposium, G. R. Bock and J. A. Goode, Eds. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1998, pp. 81-103.
    [4] D. Vernon, G. Metta, and G. Sandini, "A Survey of Cognition and Cognitive Architectures: Implications for the Autonomous Development of Mental Capabilities in Computational Systems," IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, special issue on AMD, vol. 11, 2007.
    [5] C. von Hofsten, "On the development of perception and action," in Handbook of Developmental Psychology, J. Valsiner and K. J. Connolly, Eds. London: Sage, 2003, pp. 114-140.

    Host: Stefan Schaal

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 422

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Assistant to CS chair

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • CS George A Bekey Distinguished Lecture: Professor Lydia Kavraki (Rice University)

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Lydia Kavraki, Rice University

    Talk Title: From Robots to Biomolecules: Computing for the Physical World

    Series: CS Keynote Series

    Abstract: Over the last decade, the development of fast and reliable motion planning algorithms has deeply influenced many domains in robotics, such as industrial automation and autonomous exploration. Motion planning has also contributed to great advances in an array of unlikely fields, including graphics animation and computational structural biology.

    This talk will first describe how sampling-based methods revolutionized motion planning in robotics. The presentation will quickly focus on recent algorithms that are particularly suitable for systems with complex dynamics. The talk will then introduce an integrative framework that allows the synthesis of motion plans from high-level specifications. The framework uses temporal logic and formal methods and establishes a tight link between classical motion planning in robotics and task planning in artificial intelligence. Although research initially began in the realm of robotics, the experience gained has led to algorithmic advances for analyzing the motion and function of proteins, the worker molecules of all cells. This talk will conclude by discussing robotics-inspired methods for computing the flexibility of proteins and large macromolecular complexes with the ultimate goals of deciphering molecular function and aiding the discovery of new therapeutics.

    Biography: Lydia E. Kavraki is the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and Bioengineering at Rice University. She also holds an appointment at the Department of Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Kavraki received her B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Crete in Greece and her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University. Her research contributions are in physical algorithms and their applications in robotics (robot motion planning, hybrid systems, formal methods in robotics, assembly planning, micromanipulation, and flexible object manipulation), as well as in computational structural biology, translational bioinformatics, and biomedical informatics (modeling of proteins and biomolecular interactions, large-scale functional annotation of proteins, computer-assisted drug design, and systems biology).

    Kavraki has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and a co-author of the popular robotics textbook "Principles of Robot Motion" published by MIT Press. She is heavily involved in the development of The Open Motion Planning Library (OMPL), which is used in industry and in academic research in robotics and biomedicine. Kavraki is currently on the editorial board of the International Journal of Robotics Research, the ACM/IEEE Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, the Computer Science Review, and Big Data. She is also a member of the editorial advisory board of the Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics. Kavraki is a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a Fellow of the World Technology Network (WTN). Kavraki was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in 2012. She is also a member of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST) since 2012.

    Host: Gaurav Sukhatme

    More Information: BEKEY_LECTURE_VERTICAL.pdf

    Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Assistant to CS chair

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • Getting to know OIS and the Importance of CPT & OPT

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Looking for an internship or full-time job in the U.S.?
    Then come to this presentation for International Students to learn about off-campus work authorization options for F-1 international students.

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

    Audiences: All Viterbi International Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • Chevron IT Information Session

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Overview of Chevron's Global Energy Technology and Information Technology companies.

    Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101

    Audiences: Viterbi BS and MS Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • Hensel Phelps Information Session

    Hensel Phelps Information Session

    Thu, Sep 19, 2013 @ 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    Workshops & Infosessions


    CMAA is hosting its first information session of the year! Information sessions are an opportunity for students to get an idea of what a construction company does in the industry. Employees from Hensel Phelps will be coming to present and give you a better understanding of their company. These sessions give a chance for students of all majors to get an in depth description of a day-in-the-life of a Civil Engineer. Students will also have a chance to meet and greet the company's recruiters throughout the evening. This information session will be followed up by an interview process on Friday, October 4th.

    Location: Von Kleinsmid Center For International & Public Affairs (VKC) - 207

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: USC CMAA

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File