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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for October
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PhD Fellowships: Application Process Overview and Essay Insights
Tue, Oct 01, 2013 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Andrea Armani, USC
Talk Title: PhD Fellowships: Application Process Overview and Essay Insights
Abstract: There are several standard fellowships that you should consider applying for. We discuss what makes a good application and what key pitfalls to avoid. We will also review several successful fellowship applications.
This seminar is appropriate for students (undergraduates and graduates) considering applying for the NSF and NDSEG fellowships.
Host: Andrea Armani
Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 702
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Andrea Armani
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Epstein Institute / ISE 651 Seminar Series
Tue, Oct 01, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ellen Bass, Professor, College of Computing and Informatics and College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Talk Title: "Analyzing Human-Automation Interaction and Human-human Communication Using Formal Task Analytic Models" - GFS Room 101
Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series
Abstract: Complex systems are composed of humans and automation interacting with dynamic flexibility in the allocation of authority and autonomy. Breakdowns in complex systems often occur as a result of system elements interacting in ways unanticipated by designers. The analysis of such systems requires methods for verifying and validating that the range of roles and responsibilities potentially assignable to the humans and automation does not lead to unsafe situations. The use of human task behavior models as part of a larger, formal system model should allow the ramifications of normative and erroneous behaviors to be verified in relation to other aspects of the system. To support the development of formal models of human operator behavior, we have developed a task analytic modeling formalism, the Enhanced Operator Function Model with Communication (EOFMC). It is an Extensible Markup Language-based, platform- and analysis-independent languages with formal syntax and semantics. We have developed associated automated processes for translating instantiated models into the model checking language Symbolic Analysis Laboratory. Both normative and erroneous human behavior models are produced in order to verify procedure related (omissions, jumps, repetitions, and intrusions), strategic knowledge related (slips) erroneous human behaviors, and communication errors. The system model can then be verified using model checking in order to identify potentially hazardous situations related to the interaction of the environment, human behavior, and humanâ⬓automation interaction. These methods have already been applied to medical device design and transportation applications and they hold promise for other domains.
Biography: Ellen Bass is a Professor in the College of Computing and Informatics and in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. Her research focuses on understanding and modeling how human operators perform in real-time complex systems in order to inform the systems engineering process: operational concept definition, requirements for decision support and human-computer interaction, procedures the operators will follow, and training requirements. She develops analytical frameworks, measures, and methods that quantify total system performance including end users, their tools, features of the task environment and schedule. Bass has published over 200 publications on cognitive systems engineering topics.
Bass is a member of the Board on Human-Systems Integration (BOHSI) in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) of the National Academy of Sciences. Bass is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal IEEE Transactions on Human-machine Systems. She serves on several editorial boards. She is the Chair of the Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making (CEDM) Technical Group of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
For over thirty years, Bass has been involved in systems engineering research and design with relevant experience in cognitive modeling, cognitive systems engineering, human factors, simulation and formal methods. Bass served on the faculty at the University of Virginia from 2002 to 2012 and then joined the Drexel faculty in 2013. Before then, Bass was a systems engineer at IBM, SAIC, Search Technology and Georgia Tech. She earned a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering - GFS 101
More Information: Seminar-Bass.doc
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) -
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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AI Seminar
Fri, Oct 04, 2013 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Andreas Hart, Institute AIFB at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Talk Title: On-the-fly Integration of Static and Dynamic Linked Data
Abstract: The relevance of many types of data perishes or degrades
over time; to support timely decision-making, data integration systems
must provide access to live data and should make it easy to incorporate
new sources. We outline methods, based on web architecture that enable
(near) real-time access to data sources in a variety of formats and access
modalities. Our methods also enable rapid integration of new live sources
by modeling them with respect to a domain ontology, and by using these
models to generate a Linked Data interface to access them. Finally, we
present initial experimental results of a scenario involving several static
and dynamic sources from the web.
Biography: Dr. Andreas Harth is a post-doctoral researcher at Institute AIFB at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. His research interests are large-scale data interoperation on the Semantic Web, Linked Data, knowledge representation, computational logic and user interaction on web data. Andreas has published several dozen papers in these areas, and is author of a number of open source software systems. Recently, he has become interested in how to apply (RESTful) architectures and Read-Write Linked Data to cyber-physical systems (e.g., smart energy grids, surgery systems, mixed-reality systems).
Andreas was awarded his Ph.D. by the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Andreas worked as intern at Fraunhofer Gesellschaft in Wuerzburg and at IBM's Silicon Valley Lab in San Jose, CA. His Diplom thesis was carried out in collaboration with Centro Politenico Superior at Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain. He visited USC's Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey, CA as a research assistant.
Andreas has participated in numerous EU and national projects. He served as program committee member of numerous conferences and is one of the co-organisers of the Consuming Linked Data (COLD) workshop series and of the Semantic Web Challenge.
Host: Craig Knoblock
Webcast: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=cc80bc287fc54baab90d24920b47532f1dLocation: Information Science Institute (ISI) - 11th floor large conference room
WebCast Link: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=cc80bc287fc54baab90d24920b47532f1d
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kary LAU
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The W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
Fri, Oct 04, 2013 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Peter Baxendale, Department of Mathematics, USC
Talk Title: Random Behavior in Mathematics and Engineering
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Program
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Christine Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs
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Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Fri, Oct 04, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Alyssa Apsel, Cornell University
Talk Title: Firefly Radios : Biologically Inspired Low Power Radio Networks
Series: Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Abstract: Ultra-low power wireless transceivers that operate on harvested energy or use tiny batteries are a critical enabling technology for applications in biomedical (i.e. wireless ECG, EKG) and environmental monitoring (i.e. hazardous gas detection). However, inexpensive radios communicating continuously at power levels below 100uW even over short distances have been elusive for a variety of reasons. Among these reasons is a fundamental limit imposed by the power overhead required to overcome signal and receiver noise in continuous wave radios and the power required to maintain FCC compliance. In this talk I will discuss approaches to overcoming these limits through various signaling alternatives, new radio architectures, and use of effective duty cycling. I will discuss the problems associated with duty cycling and wideband communication over a wireless medium and propose a biologically inspired solution from my research based on the behavior of Southeast Asian Fireflies. I will discuss a full transceiver solution in 90nm CMOS based upon this idea and its relative merit and drawbacks compared to other traditional and state-of-the-art-approaches. Finally, I will consider emerging applications for such low power transceivers and discuss future directions for research.
Biography: Alyssa Apsel received the B.S. from Swarthmore College in 1995 and the Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, in 2002. She joined Cornell University in 2002, where she is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The focus of her research is on power-aware mixed signal circuits and design for highly scaled CMOS and modern electronic systems. She has authored or coauthored over 90 refereed publications in related fields of RF mixed signal circuit design, interconnect design and planning, photonic integration with VLSI, and process invariant circuit design techniques resulting in five patents and several pending patent applications. She received a best paper award at ASYNC 2006, had a MICRO “Top Picks” paper in 2006, received a college teaching award in 2007, received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2004, and was selected by Technology Review Magazine as one of the Top Young Innovators in 2004. She has also served as an Associate Editor of various journals including IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I and II and as the chair of the Analog and Signal Processing Technical committee of ISCAS 2011.
Host: Hossien Hashemi, Mike Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, Kunal Datta
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
More Information: Alyssa Apsel_Flyer.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Danielle Hamra
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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CEE Ph. D. Seminar
Fri, Oct 04, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Mohammad Alshaiji and Heather Brandow, Astani CEE Ph.D. Students Presentations
Talk Title: Reflection and Refraction of Plane Waves in Saturated Poroelastic Layered Media / Scattering and Diffraction of Seismic Waves from an Arbitrary Shape Surface Topography and an Arbitrary Shape Embedded Structure
Abstract: Understanding the ground surface response due to deep or surface vibration sources at a given site is invaluable information to many engineering professions. For instance, estimating the surface disturbance at a anticipated construction site will help structural engineers design structures more effectively overcoming such disturbance that might not only have its effects on the structural integrity of the project, but also on its serviceability. Based on the assumption that the vibration takes place in a poroelastic layered media, a model relating vibration source along with layered media properties is proposed to present displacements, rotations, and stresses as the components of surface disturbance. By relating the effects of different layers properties (such as thickness, porosity, stiffness, saturation, etc.) a better understanding, as well as an estimation tool, of the ground surface response can be obtained ensuring more effective structural designs and a better occupants comfort.
Refreshment is served in KAP 147 at 5:15PM
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Seminars in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Oct 07, 2013 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Stefan Bluml, PhD; Theodore Berger, PhD; Andrea Armani, PhD,
Talk Title: BME Faculty Presentations
Host: Michael Khoo
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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ENH Seminar Series
Mon, Oct 07, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Eugene Izhikevich, Brain Corporation San Diego, CA
Talk Title: Spikes
Abstract: Title: "Spikes"
Most communication in the brain is via spikes. While we understand the spike-generation mechanism of individual neurons, we fail to appreciate the spike-timing code and its role in neural computations. The speaker starts with simple models of neuronal spiking and bursting, describes small neuronal circuits that learn spike-timing code via spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP),and finishes with biologically detailed and anatomically accurate large-scale brain models.
Biography: Dr. Eugene M. Izhikevich is a computational neuroscientist known for his contributions into the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems and spiking networks. He pioneered a novel approach to spiking neurons that combined biologically plausibility and implementation efficiency, which allowed him in 2005 to simulate the largest thalamo-cortical model having the size of the human brain, i.e., the same number of neurons and synapses as in human brain. Presently, Dr. Izhikevich is the Chief Executive Officer of Brain Corporation, San Diego, CA, which he founded in 2009 to build a biologically detailed spiking model of the visual system and motor control (http://www.braincorporation.com). Before that, he was with The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, where he founded Scholarpedia - the peer-reviewed open-access encyclopedia (http://www.scholarpedia.org). Eugene is the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience and Encyclopedia of Dynamical Systems. Academic webpage is at http://www.izhikevich.org.
Host: Francisco Valero-Cuevas
More Info: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule.php
More Information: Eugene Izhikevich Flyer.pdf
Location: UPC: HNB 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: BME-ENH Seminar
Event Link: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule.php
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ENH Seminar Series
Mon, Oct 07, 2013 @ 11:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Eugene Izhikevich, Brain Corporation San Diego, CA
Talk Title: Spikes
Abstract: Title: "Spikes"
Most communication in the brain is via spikes. While we understand the spike-generation mechanism of individual neurons, we fail to appreciate the spike-timing code and its role in neural computations. The speaker starts with simple models of neuronal spiking and bursting, describes small neuronal circuits that learn spike-timing code via spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP),and finishes with biologically detailed and anatomically accurate large-scale brain models.
Biography: Dr. Eugene M. Izhikevich is a computational neuroscientist known for his contributions into the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems and spiking networks. He pioneered a novel approach to spiking neurons that combined biologically plausibility and implementation efficiency, which allowed him in 2005 to simulate the largest thalamo-cortical model having the size of the human brain, i.e., the same number of neurons and synapses as in human brain. Presently, Dr. Izhikevich is the Chief Executive Officer of Brain Corporation, San Diego, CA, which he founded in 2009 to build a biologically detailed spiking model of the visual system and motor control (http://www.braincorporation.com). Before that, he was with The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, where he founded Scholarpedia - the peer-reviewed open-access encyclopedia (http://www.scholarpedia.org). Eugene is the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience and Encyclopedia of Dynamical Systems. Academic webpage is at http://www.izhikevich.org.
Host: Francisco Valero-Cuevas
More Info: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule.php
More Information: ENH Seminar Eugene M. Izhikevich 10-7-13.pdf
Location: UPC: HNB 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: BME-ENH Seminar
Event Link: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule.php
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Ph.D.. Defense
Tue, Oct 08, 2013 @ 09:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Charalampos Chelmis, Ph.D. Candidate / USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Talk Title: HETEROGENEOUS GRAPHS VS MULTI-MODAL CONTENT: MODELING, MINING AND ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL NETWORK DATA
Abstract: Complex networks arise everywhere. Online social networks are famous complex networks due to (a) revolutionizing the way people interact on the Web, and (b) permitting in practice the study of interdisciplinary theories that arise from human activities, at both micro (i.e. individual) and macro (i.e. community) level. Understanding the rich properties and dimensional interdependencies of topology and content in complex networks is necessary to uncover hidden structures and emergent knowledge.
We propose a formal model that abstracts the semantics of complex networks into an integrated, context aware, time sensitive, multi-dimensional space, enabling holistic examination of their static and dynamic properties, facilitating joint analysis of graphs and content and their explicit and implicit interactions. Traditionally, network analysis methods, either ignore content and focus on the network structure, or make implicit assumptions about the complex correlation of these two components. We show that accurately modeling multiple symmetric or asymmetric, explicit and hidden interaction channels between people, integrating auxiliary networks into a unified framework, leads to significant performance improvements in a variety of prediction and recommendation tasks. We empirically verify this insight using real-world datasets from online social networks and corporate microblogging data.
In this research, we investigate implicit relationships in composite networks. We propose a novel, robust model which facilitates multimodal analysis of time varying, complex social networking data. We 1) study informal communication behavior, information sharing, and influence at the workplace, 2) perform accurate communication intention prediction using auxiliary information, and 3) significantly improve social tie recommendation in online social bookmarking systems by exploiting the dynamics of collaborative annotation.
Biography: Charalampos Chelmis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His research interests include modeling, mining and analysis of composite networks, large-scale (big) data analytics and information integration. He received his Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Southern California in 2010 and his Bachelor in Computer Engineering & Informatics from the University of Patras, Greece in 2007.
Host: Defense Chair: Prof Viktor K. Prasanna
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 110
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Janice Thompson
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Towards a Smarter Wireless Sensor Networks, UAVs and Smartphones: our experiences in São Paulo, Brazil
Tue, Oct 08, 2013 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Jo Ueyama, Associate Professor, University of São Paulo
Talk Title: Towards a Smarter Wireless Sensor Networks, UAVs and Smartphones: our experiences in São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract: This talk will summarize the work led by Dr. Jó Ueyama in the field of wireless networks at ICMC/USP (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil). The focus of this presentation will be to show the progress achieved on our prototype in wireless sensor networks (WSN) for urban river monitoring. Currently, our group has four undergraduate, two master, and four PhD students. They all investigate various topics in the field of wireless networks. This includes smart grids, the use of UAVs (and wireless sensor networks) for precision agriculture as well as HCI for smartphones targeted to the elderly public. The key question of our group is: how can we provide a smarter WSN, UAV and smartphone? The talk will include a summary of each line of research.
Biography: Dr. Ueyama is an Associate Professor at the University of São Paulo since 2008. Jó concluded his PhD at Lancaster University, UK and worked as a posdoc at the University of Kent-UK before heading back to Brazil. His multidisciplinary research in Brazil has been featured in several local and national medias. For further info, please check out www.icmc.usp.br/~joueyama
Host: Professor Viktor K. Prasanna
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 110
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Janice Thompson
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USC Civil and Environmental Engineering in China - Fall 2013
Tue, Oct 08, 2013 @ 06:30 PM - 08:30 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Lucio Soibelman , Chair of the Astani CEE Dept.,
Talk Title: Astani CEE Graduate Programs
Abstract: You are cordially invited to meet Professor Lucio Soibelman, Professor and Chair of the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ray Xu, Director of the USC China office for the Viterbi School of Engineering, at one of our upcoming Civil and Environmental Engineering information sessions in China.
Students who have earned or are in the progress of earning a Bachelor's degree in engineering, math, or a hard science (such as physics, biology, or chemistry) are welcome to attend to learn more about applying to our Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate programs.
The information session will include a presentation on: Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate programs available at USC, how to apply, scholarships, student life, and more. Students will also have the chance to ask questions and receive official brochures and handout information from USC. Light refreshments will be served.
For questions about these events, please contact us at viterbi.gradprograms@usc.edu.
There is no charge to attend these events. However, completion of the online registration form below is required.
Host: USC Viterbi
More Info: http://gapp.usc.edu/graduate-programs/international-students/CEE-China
Location: Crowne Plaza Beijing Zhongguancun
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Cassie Cremeans
Event Link: http://gapp.usc.edu/graduate-programs/international-students/CEE-China
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CS Colloquium - Matthias Buechler: Security Testing with Fault-Models and Properties
Wed, Oct 09, 2013 @ 06:15 PM - 08:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Matthias Buechler, Technical University Munich (Technische Universität München)
Talk Title: Security Testing with Fault-Models and Properties
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Web applications are complex and face a massive amount of sophisticated attacks. Since manually testing web applications for security issues is hard and time consuming, automated testing is preferable. In model-based testing, test cases are often generated using structural criteria. Since such test cases do not directly target security properties, my Ph.D thesis proposes to use a fault model for generating tests for web applications. Faults are represented as known source code vulnerabilities that, by using respective mutation operators at the model level, are injected into models of a System Under Validation to generate “interesting” test cases. To achieve this, advantages of penetration testing are combined with model-checkers dedicated to security analysis. To find attacks on real systems the gap between an abstract attack trace output by a model-checker and a penetration test needs to be addressed. My Ph.D thesis contributes with a semi-automatic methodology to turn abstract attack traces operational.
Host: William GJ Halfond
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Lyman L. Handy Colloquia: Semiconductor and Metal Nanocrystals as Plasmonic Antennas
Thu, Oct 10, 2013 @ 12:45 PM - 01:50 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Andrea Tao,
Talk Title: Semiconductor and Metal Nanocrystals as Plasmonic Antennas
Series: Lyman L. Handy Colloquia
Abstract: A critical need in nanotechnology is the development of new tools and methods to organize, connect, and integrate solid-state nanocomponents. I will present our recent work on the synthesis and self-assembly of nanocrystals for plasmonics, where light is propagated, manipulated, and confined by solid-state components that are smaller than the wavelength of light itself. We show the organization of polymer-grafted metal nanocrystals into nanojunction arrays that possess intense “hot spots” due to electromagnetic field localization. Nanocrystals organize into self-propagating chains resembling linear polymers, generating plasmonic homojunctions. Mixtures of nanocrystals organize into cross-propagating, branched structures that resemble copolymers to generate plasmonic heterojunctions. These hierarchical structures possess unique electromagnetic properties that rival top-down structures and demonstrate the potential of self-assembly for fabricating designer plasmonic materials. We also show that doped semiconductor nanocrystals can serve as a new class of plasmonic building blocks, where shape and carrier density can be actively tuned to engineer plasmon resonances. These examples demonstrate that nanocrystals possess unique electromagnetic properties that rival top-down structures, and the potential of self-assembly for fabricating designer plasmonic materials.
Host: Prof. Armani
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 159
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ryan Choi
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CS Colloquium
Thu, Oct 10, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: CS Colloquium, CS Colloquium
Talk Title: NO EVENT - CS Colloquium
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: There will be no colloquium today due to Game Day.
Host:
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Department Advisory Board Meeting
Fri, Oct 11, 2013 @ 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: ,
Talk Title: Department Advisory Board Meeting
Host: Gaurav Sukhatme
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 332
Audiences: Invited Faculty Only
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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The W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
Fri, Oct 11, 2013 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Pietro Perona, Department of Electrical Engineering, Director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center in Neuromorphic Systems Engineering, California Institute of Technology
Talk Title: A Visual System Composed of Machines and People
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Program
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Christine Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs
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Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Fri, Oct 11, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Ahmad Mirzaei, Pennsylvania State University
Talk Title: Reconfigurable Fully-Integrated RF Receiver Front-Ends
Series: Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Abstract: In wireless receivers, strong out-of-band interferers may accompany the weak desired signal. These interferers must be filtered out prior to reaching the Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) to avoid gain compression. Due to the limited quality factor (Q) of on-chip inductors, the out-of-band filtering is traditionally attained by off-chip Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) components. SAW filters are expensive and bulky and since they are not tunable, in multiband applications one filter must be dedicated for each radio standard. With the widespread applications of multiband wireless systems, replacing SAW filters by on-chip counterparts has become the long-pursued goal among circuit designers.
In this talk, I will introduce integrated N-phase filters to replace external SAW filters in wireless receivers. N-phase filters can frequency-translate baseband impedances to synthesize high-Q bandpass filters with center frequencies precisely controlled by the Local Oscillator (LO) clock. Composed of only Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) switches and capacitors, these filters are ideal for integration and they follow the technology scaling. The clock-tunable center frequency of the N-phase filters enables fully-integrated reconfigurable receiver architectures for multi-band applications. Some of these architectures will be covered in this talk.
Biography: Ahmad Mirzaei received his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees (with honors) from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, all in Electrical Engineering. He is now an Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department of the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining Penn State, he was a Sr. Principal Scientist at the RF research and development group of Broadcom Corporation, Irvine, CA, where he was developing solutions for next generation low-power and multi-band wireless transceivers. He also contributed to a few high-volume wireless products during his seven-year long tenure at Broadcom. He is the author and coauthor of over 45 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, and two books. He holds over 50 issued/pending patent applications in the field of RF-CMOS. His research is focused on integrated circuits and systems for broad range of applications.
Host: Hossien Hashemi, Mike Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, Kunal Datta
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
More Information: Ahmad Mirzaei_Flyer.pdf
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - GFS 118
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Danielle Hamra
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Oct 11, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Charanraj Thimmisetty and Victor Aspurez , Astani CEE Ph.D. Candidates Presentation
Talk Title: Multiscale stochastic representation of well bore signature over the Gulf of Mexico
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Seminars in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Oct 14, 2013 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: John Van Horn, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology & Director of Education, Institute for Neuroimaging Data Processing Challenges, USC Keck School of Medicine
Talk Title: Neuroimaging Data Processing Challenges in the Context of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Host: Michael Khoo
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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USC Civil and Environmental Engineering in China - Fall 2013
Mon, Oct 14, 2013 @ 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Lucio Soibelman , Chair of the Astani CEE Dept.
Talk Title: Astani CEE Graduate Programs
Abstract: You are cordially invited to meet Professor Lucio Soibelman, Professor and Chair of the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ray Xu, Director of the USC China office for the Viterbi School of Engineering, at one of our upcoming Civil and Environmental Engineering information sessions in China.
Students who have earned or are in the progress of earning a Bachelor's degree in engineering, math, or a hard science (such as physics, biology, or chemistry) are welcome to attend to learn more about applying to our Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate programs.
The information session will include a presentation on: Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate programs available at USC, how to apply, scholarships, student life, and more. Students will also have the chance to ask questions and receive official brochures and handout information from USC. Light refreshments will be served.
For questions about these events, please contact us at viterbi.gradprograms@usc.edu.
There is no charge to attend these events. However, completion of the online registration form below is required.
Host: USC Viterbi
More Info: http://gapp.usc.edu/graduate-programs/international-students/CEE-China
Location: Shanghai
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Cassie Cremeans
Event Link: http://gapp.usc.edu/graduate-programs/international-students/CEE-China
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Far out Experiments in MRI using FM Pulses
Tue, Oct 15, 2013 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Michael Garwood, University of Minnesota
Talk Title: Far out Experiments in MRI using FM Pulses
Series: Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses radiofrequency (RF) irradiation to excite and manipulate nuclear spins. In multiple disciplines of MRI, significant gains in experimental precision and new experimental capabilities are made possible by RF pulses that are frequency modulated (FM). This presentation will show clinically relevant examples of how FM pulses can be exploited for MRI.
FM pulses can be used not only to improve data quality, but also to reveal spin dynamics, such as dipole-dipole interactions and exchange between spins on different molecules. The ability to modulate the pulse frequency, as well as the pulse amplitude, creates almost limitless possibilities to sensitize the MRI signal to molecular motions happening on slow time scales. This presentation will show how this novel approach can create contrast for better delineating normal anatomy and disease states.
By exploiting unique features of FM pulses, we have also developed a radically different approach to produce MR images. The technique is called SWIFT (sweep imaging with Fourier transformation). The FM pulse used in SWIFT makes possible simultaneous or time-shared excitation and acquisition. The smooth change of gradient orientation used in SWIFT produces negligible acoustic noise, making image acquisition close to silent.
Finally, spatiotemporal-encoding methods using FM pulses have been attracting much interest recently. In particular, the spatiotemporal domain allows direct treatment of spatial problems like B0 and B1 inhomogeneity. I will describe a new spatiotemporal MRI technique called STEREO (steering resonance over the object). This unique technique excites MR signals locally and steers the localized region over the object in a spatiotemporal manner. STEREO provides a means to accomplish multi-dimensional spatiotemporal-encoded MRI in a manner that permits compensation for extreme magnetic field inhomogeneity. With STEREO, MR images are reconstructed using exclusively an inverse problem solution (i.e., no Fourier transformation).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: this research is funded by NIH grant P41 EB15894
Biography: Michael Garwood, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Radiology and Associate Director of the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, at the University of Minnesota, where he has been for the past 27 years. He holds the Lillian Quist â⬓ Joyce Henline Chair in Biomedical Research. Dr. Garwood was educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he received bachelors degrees in biology and chemistry in 1981, and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1985. In his time at the University of Minnesota, he has made many significant contributions to the field of biomedical NMR, mostly involving MRI technology development for better detection and assessment of therapies for cancer, Alzheimerââ¬â¢s disease, and other disorders. He has many awards and honors, including the Gold Medal from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Dr. Garwood has published more than 170 scientific papers and is an inventor on 15 patents.
Host: Professor Krishna Nayak
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
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Epstein Institute / ISE 651 Seminar Series
Tue, Oct 15, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Guglielmo Lulli, Assistant Professor, Dept of Informatics, Systems and Communication, University of Milano â⬓ Bicocca, Italy
Talk Title: " 'Facets' of the Air Traffic Flow Management Problem"
Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series
Abstract: Air traffic has experienced a dramatic increase in recent years. During time periods when the weather is less than ideal and/or demand is at a peak, severe congestion is typically experienced. In response, the air traffic management (ATM) systems assign large delays to many flights. The resulting additional costs are very substantial. It is not surprising that the minimisation of delays due to congestion in air traffic networks has received a lot of attention both from aviation authorities and from the scientific research community. The most effective way to deal with the situation, at least in the short-term, is to adjust the flow of air traffic on a continuous basis so that it matches the available capacity of the various components of the ATM network, thus reducing flight delays. This is known as the Air Traffic Flow Management Problem (ATFM).
In the past few years, many mathematical models have been developed for this purpose, especially to address capacity constraints at major airports or in the terminal airspace around them. However, en-route capacity constraints also impose important limits on air traffic flows. Some en-route sectors experience congestion on an almost routine basis, especially during the summer months. Dealing with sector capacity restrictions requires new mathematical models that capture the largest possible set of feasible actions. In this new framework, the spectrum of available options is wider and it includes in addition to the traditional ground and airborne holding delays, both more tactical actions, e.g., "metering" and "miles-in-tail", and rerouting, i.e., the possibility of rerouting flights through alternative flight paths.
In this talk, we present a new integer programming formulation which captures all the aspects described above. The scope of the model is to suggest the time of departure, the route, the time required to cross each sector and the time of arrivals taking into account the capacity of en-route sectors and airports. The main feature of the model is the formulation of rerouting decisions in a very compact way. With respect to previous models, the methodology we presented does not require any additional variables, but it only introduces new constraints. These constraints implement local routing conditions that are sufficient for the purpose of the model. Moreover, to strengthen the polyhedral structure of the underlying relaxation, we also present three classes of valid inequalities. Several polyhedral insights are also provided.
A wide computational analysis on realistic instances demonstrated the viability of the proposed model. We report short computational times (less than 15 minutes) on instances of the size of the US air traffic control system that make it realistic that our approach can be used as the main engine of managing air traffic in the US. Given that our approach includes all the air traffic control decisions (ground holding, air holding, adjusting speed of aircraft and rerouting) combined with the attractive computational times, makes us optimistic that this approach may succeed in becoming the main air traffic control engine.
This is joint work with D. Bertsimas and A. Odoni.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013
GRACE FORD SALVATORI (GFS) ROOM 101
3:30 - 4:50 PM
Biography: Guglielmo Lulli is Assistant Professor of Operations Research at University of Milano-Bicocca. He received a PhD in Operations Research in 2003 from the University of Rome ââ¬ÅLa Sapienzaââ¬Â. During his studies, he visited the NEXTOR center at University of Maryland and the System and Industrial Engineering Department at University of Arizona, both for one year appointment. In 2007, he was recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests focus on mathematical programming and stochastic programming particularly as applied to transportation and logistic operations, air traffic flow management and bio-computational problems.
Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
More Information: Seminar-Lulli.doc
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - Room 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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CS Colloquium - Ashutosh Saxena: How should a robot perceive the world?
Tue, Oct 15, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ashutosh Saxena, Cornell University
Talk Title: How should a robot perceive the world?
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: In order to perform assistive tasks, a robot should learn a functional understanding of the environment. This comprises learning how the objects in the environment could be used (i.e., their affordances). In this talk, I will present methods to represent and learn these affordances using data-driven machine learning algorithms. Our learning algorithm will be Infinite Latent CRFs (ILCRFs) that allow modeling the data with different plausible graph structures. Unlike CRFs where the graph structure is fixed, our ILCRFs learn distributions over possible graph structures in an unsupervised manner.
We then show that our idea of modeling environments using object affordances and (hidden) humans is not only useful for robot manipulation tasks such as arranging a disorganized house, unloading items from a dishwasher, but also in significantly improving standard robotic tasks such as scene segmentation, 3D object detection, human activity detection and anticipation, and task and path planning.
Biography: Ashutosh Saxena is an assistant professor in computer science department at Cornell University. His research interests include machine learning and robotics perception, especially in the domain of robotics in human environments. He received his MS in 2006 and Ph.D. in 2009 from Stanford University, and his B.Tech. in 2004 from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He is a recipient of National Talent Scholar award in India, Google Faculty award, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, Microsoft Faculty Fellowship, and NSF Career award.
In the past, Ashutosh developed Make3D (http://make3d.cs.cornell.edu), an algorithm that converts a single photograph into a 3D model. Tens of thousands of users used this technology to convert their pictures to 3D. He has also developed algorithms that enable robots (such as STAIR, POLAR, see http://pr.cs.cornell.edu) to perform household chores such as unload items from a dishwasher, place items in a fridge, etc. His work has received substantial amount of attention in popular press, including the front-page of New York Times, BBC, ABC, New Scientist, Discovery Science, and Wired Magazine. He has won best paper awards in 3DRR, IEEE ACE and RSS, and was named a co-chair of the IEEE technical committee on robot learning.
Host: Fei Sha
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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NL Seminar- Qing Dou: "Dependency Based Decipherment for Resource-Limited Machine Translation (EMNLP 2013 Practice Talk) "
Wed, Oct 16, 2013 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Qing Dou, USC/ISI
Talk Title: "Dependency Based Decipherment for Resource-Limited Machine Translation (EMNLP 2013 Practice Talk) "
Series: Natural Language Seminar
Abstract: We introduce dependency relations into deciphering foreign languages and show that dependency relations help improve the state-of-the-art deciphering accuracy by over 500%. We learn a translation lexicon from large amounts of genuinely non parallel data with decipherment to improve a phrase-based machine translation system trained with limited parallel data. In experiments, we observe BLEU gains of 1.2 to 1.8 across three different test sets.
Biography: Home Page:
http://www.isi.edu/~qdou/
Host: Yang Gao
More Info: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - 6th Flr Conf Rm # 689, Marina Del Rey
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Peter Zamar
Event Link: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
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CS Colloquium - Richard Snodgrass: Database Ergalics: Examining Suboptimality
Wed, Oct 16, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Richard Snodgrass, University of Arizona
Talk Title: Database Ergalics: Examining Suboptimality
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: In this talk I apply the methodology of ergalics (the science of
computing) to database management systems, by articulating a model of database suboptimality: when a DBMS picks the wrong query execution plan. Along the way, I develop a protocol for accurately measuring query time, a surprisingly difficult task. The goal is to make the case that computer science integrates three equally ascendant perspectives: mathematics, science, and engineering. I'll look at how these three perspectives interact and the sources of endurance of ergalic theories.
Biography: Richard T. Snodgrass joined the University of Arizona in 1989, where he is a Professor of Computer Science. He holds a B.A. degree in Physics from Carleton College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. He is an ACM Fellow.
Rick's research foci are ergalics, compliant databases, and temporal databases.
Rick was Editor-in-Chief of the ACM Transactions on Database Systems from 2001 to 2007, was ACM SIGMOD Chair from 1997 to 2001, and has chaired the ACM Publications Board, the ACM History Committee, the ACM SIG Governing Board Portal Committee, the ACM Outstanding Award Committee, and program committees for SIGMOD and VLDB. His web page is at http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/rts
Host: Shahram Ghandeharizadeh
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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CS Colloquium - Jieping Ye: Large-Scale Sparse Learning for Biomedical Data
Thu, Oct 17, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jieping Ye, Arizona State University
Talk Title: Large-Scale Sparse Learning for Biomedical Data
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Sparse methods have been applied extensively to analyze biomedical data. In this talk, we consider sparse methods for (1) variable selection where the structure over the features can be represented as an undirected graph or a collection of disjoint groups, (2) multi-source data fusion with a "blockwise" data missing pattern, and (3) network construction. We address the computational challenge by designing novel screening strategies which scale sparse methods to large-size problems.
Biography: Jieping Ye is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Arizona State University. He is a core faculty member of the Bio-design Institute at ASU. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2005. His research interests include machine learning, data mining, and biomedical informatics. He has served as Senior Program Committee/Area Chair/Program Committee Vice Chair of many conferences including NIPS, ICML, KDD, IJCAI, ICDM, SDM, ACML, and PAKDD. He serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. He won the SCI Young Investigator of the Year Award at ASU in 2007, the SCI Researcher of the Year Award at ASU in 2009, and the NSF CAREER Award in 2010. His papers have been selected for the outstanding student paper at the International Conference on Machine Learning in 2004, the KDD best research paper honorable mention in 2010, the KDD best research paper nomination in 2011 and 2012, the SDM best research paper runner up in 2013, and the KDD best research paper runner up in 2013.
Host: Fei Sha
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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The W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
Fri, Oct 18, 2013 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Diana Huffaker, UCLA Department of Electrical Engineering, Director of Integrated NanoMaterials Core Lab
Talk Title: Patterned Nanopillars for Optoelectronic Devices
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Program
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Christine Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs
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Astani CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Oct 18, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Hoda El Safty and Haeng Sik Ko , Astani CEE Ph.D. Candidates
Talk Title: Astani CEE Ph.D. Presentations
Abstract: Presentation by: Hoda El Safty
Bottom Boundary Layer Motions Forced by Finite Amplitude Long and Short Free Surface Waves
Presentation by: Haeng Sik Ko
Design of a Hydraulic-Control Wave-Maker (HCW) for the Study of Oceanographic Flows
This study aims to verify new approach to generate and absorb waves by using a system termed the Hydraulic-Control Wave-maker (HCW). The experimental device would eventually permit the study of multi-scale and vertically-variable oceanographic flows. The HCW has upstream and downstream flume boundaries composed of an adjustable set of vertical chambers. Each chamber is connected to an individual pump control system, such that the vertical distribution of flow is entirely controllable. In this study, a numerical tank with a HCW is created with OpenFOAM�, and results are compared with various analytical solutions. To generate sine wave and solitary wave, horizontal particle velocity from linear wave theory and solitary wave theory are used. The optimized HCW is investigated through sensitivity analyses with respect to baffle length, height, number and position. The method of wave absorption is applied by the similar technique with wave generation to downstream boundary. For the application to deal with wave absorption in practical, numerical analyses that the velocity profile from any station to outlet boundary can be shifted by using wave celerity are performed.
Refreshments is served following the seminar in KAP 147
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Seminars in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Oct 21, 2013 @ 12:30 AM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Greg D. Field, PhD, Asst. Professor, Cell & Neurobiology, USC Keck School of Medicine
Talk Title: The impact of cellular noise and the signal fidelity of primate rod photoreceptors
Host: Michael Khoo
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Arterial Spin Labeled Perfusion MRI and Dynamic MRA
Tue, Oct 22, 2013 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Danny J.J. Wang , University California, Los Angeles
Talk Title: Arterial Spin Labeled Perfusion MRI and Dynamic MRA
Series: Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Abstract: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is an emerging MRI technique for noninvasive measurement of microvascular blood flow or perfusion as well as for non-contrast enhanced MR angiography (MRA). ASL is appealing for noninvasive evaluation of vascular function of the brain and body organs. However, its widespread clinical applications have been hampered by the relatively low SNR and the competing effects of T1 relaxation and the transit time required for the labeled blood to reach the target tissue. During the past decade, many technical advancements in MRI have been utilized to enhance the SNR and reliability of ASL, including high and ultrahigh magnetic field, parallel imaging, pseudo-continuous spin labeling, and highly efficient pulse sequences for image acquisition (e.g. 3D GRASE, multi band and dynamic golden angle radial acquisition). In this presentation, I will review the latest technical developments in ASL perfusion MRI and non-contrast enhanced dynamic MRA along with their clinical applications in stroke, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), brian tumor, dementia and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Biography: Dr. Wang obtained his PhD in Biophysics from the Lab of Cognitive Brain Imaging, University of Science & Technology of China (now Beijing MRI Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) in 1998. He subsequently obtained postdoctoral training in MRI biophysics at University of Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2002. He has been a Research Assistant Professor at the Departments of Radiology and Neurology, University of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2010. He joined Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center at UCLA as Associate Professor of Neurology with secondary appointment in Radiology in 2010. His main interests are technical development and applications of novel quantitative functional MRI methods such as perfusion and resting state fMRI. To date, Dr. Wang has published 80 peer-reviewed papers and 10 book chapters/review articles, and has continuously been funded by NIH since 2004.
Host: Professor Krishna Nayak
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
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PhD Student Colloquium: Megha Gupta (Robotics Research Lab) & Hien To (Information Laboratory)
Tue, Oct 22, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Megha Gupta & Hien To , Robotics Research Lab & Information Laboratory
Talk Title: Megha Gupta: Interactive Environment Exploration in Clutter; Hien To: Entropy-based Histograms for Selectivity Estimation
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Presenter: Megha Gupta (Robotics Research Lab)
Title: Interactive Environment Exploration in Clutter
Robotic environment exploration in cluttered environments is a challenging problem. The number and variety of objects present not only make perception very difficult but also introduce many constraints for robot navigation and manipulation. In this talk, we investigate the idea of a robot exploring a small, bounded environment (eg. the shelf of a home refrigerator) by physically interacting with the objects in the environment. The presence of multiple objects results in partial and occluded views of the scene. This inherent uncertainty in the scene's state forces the robot to adopt an observe-plan-act strategy and interleave planning (which object to move, where to move) with execution (rearrangement of the objects). Objects occupying the space and potentially occluding other hidden objects are rearranged to reveal more of the unseen area. The environment is considered explored when the state (free or occupied) of every voxel in the volume is known. The presented algorithm can be easily adapted to real world problems like object search, taking inventory, and mapping. We evaluate our planner using various metrics, then present an implementation on the PR2 robot and use it for object search in clutter.
Presenter: Hien To (Information Laboratory)
Title: Entropy-based Histograms for Selectivity Estimation
Selectivity estimation is the task of estimating the size of the result set of a relational algebra operator. For a particular query, multiple execution plans can be generated with different ordering of operators. Thus, selectivity estimation of intermediate temporary relations significantly influences the choice of a query plan chosen by a query optimizer. Accurate estimations are crucial to generate optimal execution plans while bad estimations often lead to large overhead in performance.
Histograms have been extensively used for selectivity estimation by academics and have successfully been adopted by database industry. However, the estimation error is usually large for skewed distributions and biased attributes, which are typical in real-world data. Therefore, we propose effective models to quantitatively measure bias and selectivity based on information entropy. These models together with the principles of maximum entropy are then used to develop a class of entropy-based histograms that achieves near-optimal quality in linear runtime. We conducted an extensive set of experiments to compare the accuracy and efficiency of our proposed techniques with many other histogram-based techniques, showing the superiority of the entropy-based approaches for both equality and range queries.
Host: PhD Committee
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Epstein Institute / ISE 651 Seminar Series
Tue, Oct 22, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Behrokh "Berok" Khoshnevis, Director, Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT) http://CRAFT.usc.edu, Professor, Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
Talk Title: "Essentials of Technological Creativity and Invention"
Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series
Abstract: Great engineering systems, processes and products are usually based largely on the exercise of inventive thinking and not on routine procedures for engineering analysis and optimization. Research could conservatively aim at making marginal improvements to the state-of-the-art in the chosen domain, or it may be based on original and novel ideas and potentially lead to breakthrough impacts and discovery of new frontiers. Creative engineers and researchers use inventive, non-routine approaches and in most instances their creations clearly stand out. Inventive thinking and problem solving enriches professional life and brings prosperity to organizations and society. Contrary to common belief, creativity and the ability to invent can be acquired and enhanced. Some fundamentals are presented in this seminar.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2013
GRACE FORD SALVATORI (GFS) ROOM 101
3:30 - 4:50 PM
Biography: Behrokh Khoshnevis is a Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California and is active in robotics and mechatronics related research and development projects that include the development of several 3D Printing processes, a technology for automated construction of building structures as well as extraterrestrial infrastructure construction, development of mechatronics systems for biomedical applications (e.g., restorative and orthodontic dentistry, rehabilitation engineering, and tactile sensing devices), autonomous mobile and modular robots for assembly applications on earth and in space, and various other hi-tech projects. His academic research projects are entirely based on his inventions. He routinely conducts lectures and seminars on the subject of invention.
Dr. Khoshnevisââ¬â¢ inventions have received worldwide publicity in acclaimed media. Contour Crafting was identified as one of top 25 inventions among over 4000 candidate inventions by National Inventors Hall of Fame and the History Channelââ¬â¢s Modern Marvels program. NASA recently entitled Dr. Khoshnevis as a NASA Innovative Advanced Concept Fellow because of his idea of Lunar and Martian construction using in-situ materials utilized by Contour Crafting.
Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
More Information: Seminar-Khoshnevis.doc
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - Room 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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"Computing with the D-Wave quantum processor: physics, challenges and applications"
Wed, Oct 23, 2013 @ 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Federico Spedalieri, Computer Scientist/USC-ISI
Talk Title: "Computing with the D-Wave quantum processor: physics, challenges and applications"
Abstract: Quantum computing promises computational speedups for solving some important problems like the factoring of large integers. Although a general purpose, universal quantum computer is yet to be built, technology has matured enough to provide us with a programmable (although restricted) quantum device. The D-Wave processor currently housed at the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center is an example of this type of device. It exploits the controllable interaction between superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) to optimize binary quadratic functions.
I will present some of the work I have carried out aiming at understanding the physics of the device (in particular its quantum nature), its possible uses, and the main challenges that are still left to overcome to make it a practical computational tool.
Biography: Dr. Spedalieri obtained his degree of Licenciado en Ciencias Fisicas from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1994, and his PhD in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2003. He worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and at the EE Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2010, he joined the Information Sciences Institute. He has worked on the characterization of entangled states, devising a numerical test that is widely used to decide whether a given state is entangled (these results, published in Physical Review Letters and Physical Review A has been cited more than 200 times). This work pioneered the application of semi-definite programming methods in quantum information that have since been applied on a wide range of problems. He has also worked on implementations of quantum computing using linear optics, devised a protocol that exploits orbital angular momentum states of photons to implement quantum key distribution, and has designed a low latency implementation of fault-tolerant quantum computing suited for planar architectures with local interactions. Currently at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), Dr. Spedalieri is working to bridge the gap between the adiabatic quantum computing model (and its incarnation in the form of the adiabatic quantum computer D-Wave Two) and applications to many different fields, such as model checking, natural language processing, scheduling and planning, complex system design, and many others. He is also actively studying the physics behind the operation of D-Wave Two, aiming at understanding the roles that quantum-ness and entanglement play in its operation, and designing experiments to validate these studies.
Host: Dr. Sandeep Gupta
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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CREATE Seminar w/ Shilpika Lahri
Thu, Oct 24, 2013 @ 11:30 AM - 01:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Shilpika Lahri, CREATE Research Assistant & Department of Homeland Security Intern
Talk Title: An Overview of my Recent Internship at the United States Department of Homeland Security
Series: CREATE Monthly Seminar Series
Abstract: How can we best prepare our nation for the next natural or man-made disaster? Can we justify proposed policy changes with hard data? What really is the next big threat?
This past year, I have had the unique opportunity to answer these questions during a recent internship. I was part of the first batch of National Center of Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) students (2 total) who interned with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The eight-month internship was housed in the Office of Policy / Office of Strategy, Planning, Analysis, and Risk and focused on developing the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, a report DHS formulates that reviews the organization internally, explores the future risk environment, and ultimately dictates homeland security strategy at the agency and the enterprise levels for the next four years. Through the use of risk and decision analysis tools, my colleagues and I identified high likelihood-high consequence threats that DHS should address as the homeland security authority. I worked with several groups, ranging from systems mapping professionals to risk analysis experts, one of whom essentially had a PhD in time travel. Together, we constructed a few different strategic approaches based on our risk findings and qualitative interviews. Ultimately, we used a decision tool we created this past summer to objectively apply pre-weighted criteria to determine a recommended strategy.
Biography: Shilpika Lahri is a second-year Master's in Public Policy candidate at the University of Southern California (USC) and a Research Assistant with the National Center of Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) since Fall 2012. Prior to joining USC, she worked at American Express, where she used web analytics to inform digital marketing strategy and negotiations with partners like eBay and Amazon. Shilpika graduated with honors from New York University, where she earned a BA in Politics (focus: game theory).
To ensure that I order your lunch, please RSVP no later than Tuesday, October 22nd. Please advise if you require a vegetarian option.
Hope to see you there!
Host: CREATE at USC
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 306
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Erin Calicchio
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Distinguished Lectures: Bio-enabled Materials through Biomimetics Molecular Design
Thu, Oct 24, 2013 @ 12:45 PM - 01:50 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Candan Tamerler, Mechanical Engineering & Bioengineering, University of Kansas
Talk Title: Bio-enabled Materials through Biomimetics Molecular Design
Series: Distinguished Lectures
Abstract: Nature has developed a wide range of ingenious solutions, which serve as valuable sources for inspiration when designing new materials and systems. Biological systems employ bio-molecular machinery tuned by evolutionary pathways to devise materials that bridges multiple length scales while providing diverse and outstanding properties. With a growing understanding of the molecular processes involved, biological principles are increasingly explored to develop novel bio-enabled approaches to materials science and engineering. The challenges in these strategies include controlling self-organization at a molecular level and thus provide control over the biological and inorganic interfaces under environmentally benign and biologically compatible conditions.
Proteins are key players in bio-molecular machinery by their ability to perform various tasks based on their functional specificity, their precise molecular recognition and their self-assembly capabilities. In addition to their role in biomineralization, proteins perform a wide spectrum of functions ranging from catalysis to self-regulation. Our inspiration has been to decode the foundations provided in biology`s highly organized and multifunctional structures and, thereby, to design advanced materials using biological principles. This results in a core of engineering well-defined peptide/protein based inorganic interfaces that serve useful functions (Fig. 1). In my talk, I will summarize the materials directed evolution of peptides by bridging combinatorial screening protocols to an engineered design for the targeted property. Building upon the modularity of protein domains, I will discuss the bio-enabled material and systems design approach, which deploy through single to multifunctional chimeric peptides or recombinant fusion proteins. With an extensive array of multifunctional molecular units, this approach promises to provide solutions to technological and medical areas that are built upon tunable interfacial interactions at the biomolecular-material interface. Specific examples will include i) bio-functionalization of surfaces, ii) developing multifunctional protein/peptide based hybrid nanoprobes for sensing and targeting, iii) addressable protein immobilization, and iv) bio-nano-fabrication routes for peptide enabled material synthesis and mineralization. Using biomineralization as an example, I will address: i) how combinatorial peptide design can be evolved over cycles of peptide generation towards translating mineralization formation capability to development of novel restorative and regenerative materials, ii) how material specific peptides can be explored in designing bacteria to mimic the material formation ability of cellular proteins through synthetic biology. The funding sources greatly appreciated are NIH-NIAMS, KU Internal & Endowment Funding Sources, LSDF, UW- CGF, NSF-BioMaterials, MRSEC at GEMSEC-UW and TUBITAK-International Office.
Host: Prof. Nutt
More Information: Candan Tamerler poster-2013.pdf
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 159
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ryan Choi
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NL Seminar- Kuzman Ganchev:
Thu, Oct 24, 2013 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kuzman Ganchev , (Google Research)
Series: Natural Language Seminar
Abstract: I will describe a framework for cross-lingual transfer of probabilistic models that uses posterior regularization. As a long aside, I will describe several methods for learning with side information: constraint driven learning, posterior regularization, generalized expectation, augmented loss as well as how they relate to each other and to Bayesian measurements. I will conclude with some applications from my work and from the literature, including sequence and tree models.
Biography: I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria where I lived until February 1989. My family moved to Zimbabwe and then in 1995 to New Zealand where I went to high school. I came to the US in 1999 to study at Swarthmore College. I spent the 2001-2002 academic year studying abroad in Paris. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science in 2003 I worked at StreamSage Inc. in Washington DC until starting at the University of Pennsylvania in Fall 2004. During the summer of 2007 I was an intern at TrialPay in Mountain View, CA and during the summer of 2008 I was an intern at Bank of America in New York. I graduated from UPenn in 2010 and have since been working at Google Inc. in New York.
Host: Yang Gao
More Info: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
Location: 11th Flr Conf Rm # 1135, Marina Del Rey
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Peter Zamar
Event Link: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
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The W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
Fri, Oct 25, 2013 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Ian Duncan, UC Santa Barbara Department of Statistics and Applied Probability; Vice President, Outcomes and Analytics for the Walgreen Cos.
Talk Title: Educating Tomorrow's Professionals
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Program
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Christine Viterbi Admission & Student Affairs
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NL Seminar- Roy Schwartz :"Authorship Attribution of Micro-Messages"
Fri, Oct 25, 2013 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Roy Schwartz, NLP Lab, Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Talk Title: "Authorship Attribution of Micro-Messages"
Series: Natural Language Seminar
Abstract: Work on authorship attribution has traditionally focused on long texts. In this work, we tackle the question of whether the author of a very short text can be successfully identified. We use Twitter as an experimental testbed. We introduce the concept of an author's unique "signature", and show that such signatures are typical of many authors when writing very short texts. We also present a new authorship attribution feature ("flexible patterns") and demonstrate a significant improvement over our baselines. Our results show that the author of a single tweet can be identified with good accuracy.
Biography: Home Page:
http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~roys02/
Host: Yang Gao
More Info: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - 11th Flr Conf Rm # 1135, Marina Del Rey
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Peter Zamar
Event Link: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
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Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Fri, Oct 25, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Fred Lee, Fairchild Semiconductor
Talk Title: Mixed-signal IC design for MEMS-based systems
Series: Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Abstract: In the last decade, a boom in commercial MEMS-based sensors and products have found widespread adoption in our world. We will discuss mixed-signal IC architectures in four mainstream areas of MEMS-based systems: timing references, temperature sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. Finally, we will conclude with forward-looking thoughts on how "the cloud" and humanity's desire for "passively aware intelligence" will grow the demand for many other sensor systems in the next decade and beyond.
Biography: Fred S. Lee received the B.S./M. Eng. and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA in 2002 and 2007, focusing on analog/RF circuits and low energy ultra-wideband radios. From 2007 to 2008, he was with Rambus Inc. in Los Altos, CA, working on multi-GHz wireline and 60GHz wireless transceivers. From 2008 to 2011, he was with SiTime, in Sunnyvale, CA, developing MEMS-based fractional-N PLLs, MEMS-based temperature sensors, and RF/mixed-signal circuits. Currently, he is with Fairchild Semiconductor, developing MEMS and sensor solutions. He was a co-recipient of the ISLPED Low Power Design Contest Award in 2002, DAC/ISSCC Student Design Contest Award in 2004 and the ISSCC Jack Kilby Best Student Paper Award in 2007.
Host: Hossien Hashemi, Mike Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, Kunal Datta
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
More Information: Fred Lee_Flyer.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Danielle Hamra
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/activities/integrated-systems/
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Astani CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Oct 25, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Babak Zareiyan and Amir Eftekharian , Astani CEE Ph.D. Candidates
Talk Title: Contour Crafting (Concrete and Adobe Construction)
Abstract: TBA
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Seminars in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Oct 28, 2013 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Stacey D. Finley, PhD, Asst. Professor of Biomedical Engineering, USC
Talk Title: “Computational Systems Biology Models of Tumor Angiogenesis Signalling Pathways”
Host: Michael Khoo
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Model-Based Imaging
Tue, Oct 29, 2013 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Charles A. Bouman, Purdue University
Talk Title: Model-Based Imaging
Series: Medical Imaging Seminar Series
Abstract: Over the last two decades, model-based imaging techniques have emerged as a principled framework for understanding and solving many of the most important problems in imaging research. The approach of model-based imaging is to construct a model of both the image and the imaging system, and then to use this integrated model to either reconstruct an unknown image, or to estimate unknown parameters. So for example, model-based image reconstruction and parameter estimation can be used to robustly form images from sensors with uncertain calibration. But in addition, model-based imaging can serve as a framework for optimizing the static and dynamic design of imaging sensor systems themselves.
In this talk, we review some techniques and recent successes in model-based imaging. Two application domains that we consider are tomographic reconstruction from multislice helical-scan CT and electron microscopy, two very different sensors that share much in common when viewed from the perspective of model-based imaging. For both cases, we discuss a variety of technical innovations, which either improve image quality or reduce the computational burden. We then show results, which demonstrate the value of the methods both quantitatively and qualitatively, on a variety of real and simulated datasets. Finally, we conclude with a philosophical discussion of the future potential of model-based methods, and we present some emerging ideas, which have the potential to change the field.
Biography: Charles A. Bouman is the Showalter Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University where he also serves has a co-director of Purdueââ¬â¢s Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility. He received his B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, M.S. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1989.
Professor Bouman's research focuses on inverse problems, stochastic modeling, and their application in a wide variety of imaging problems including tomographic reconstruction and image processing and rendering. Prof. Bouman is a Fellow of the IEEE, AIMBE, IS&T, and SPIE and is currently the IEEE Signal Processing Societyââ¬â¢s Vice President of Technical Directions. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing and the Vice President of Publications for the IS&T Society.
Host: Prof. Richard Leahy
More Info: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia Veal
Event Link: http://mhi.usc.edu/medical-imaging-seminar-series/
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Munushian Keynote Lecture - Dr. Zhores Alferov
Tue, Oct 29, 2013 @ 02:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Zhores Alferov, President, St. Petersburg University, Nobel Laureate, Physics 2000
Talk Title: Breakthrough Technologies of the 20th Century and Their Importance Today
Abstract: In the 20th century, new technologies that determined to a large extent the development of the new civilization were created on the basis of fundamental research. They are nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, jet engines and space technologies, creation of computers (electronic computing machines), discovery of the transistor, discovery of the laser, the basics of information technologies of today (discovery of silicone chips and heterostructures), revolution in genetics and new technologies
in medicine. Milestones in the history of creation and development of these technologies and their importance today are overviewed. A special focus is made on importance and role of the fundamental research. Information and energy technologies are reviewed in particular detail.
Biography: Dr. Zhores Alferov earned a doctor of sciences in physics and mathematics in 1970 from Ioffe Physical Technical Institute. He is a co-winner of 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics “for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed-electronics and
optoelectronics.” He is also a Russian politician, and has been a member of the Russian State Parliament, the Duma, since 1995.
Co-sponsored by: Ming Hsieh Institute
Host: EE - EP and Ming Hsieh Institute
More Info: http://viterbi.usc.edu/news/events/keynote/munushian/
Webcast: http://geromedia.usc.edu/Gerontology/Play/a34741a9d5524190abc29698f4e7c8f91dLocation: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 124
WebCast Link: http://geromedia.usc.edu/Gerontology/Play/a34741a9d5524190abc29698f4e7c8f91d
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
Event Link: http://viterbi.usc.edu/news/events/keynote/munushian/
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Epstein Institute / ISE 651 Seminar Series
Tue, Oct 29, 2013 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: W.S. Marras, Honda Professor and Director, Biodynamics Laboratory, The Spine Research Institute, The Ohio State University
Talk Title: "The Working Back: A Systems View of Causation, Prevention and Control"
Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series
Abstract: Low back disorders continue to be one of the most troublesome and costly health problems facing society today costing society nearly $100 billion annual and resulting in nearly 100 million lost work days each year. However, the causal pathway associated with these disorders is poorly understood and clinical treatments for these disorders are often unsuccessful. While the literature cites physical work requirements, psychosocial influences, and hereditary factors as contributors to the low back pain, the mechanisms by which these factors increase risk has not been well understood. This talk will review research advances in our laboratory that have helped us understand how the physical, psychological, and organizational factors can influence causal pathway associated with low back disorders. This understanding has helped us develop person-specific models of the spine that have been used to prevent back problems at the worksite as well as help us understand the biomechanical implications of spine treatments and surgeries.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING BLDG (EEB) ROOM 248
3:30 - 4:50 PM
Biography: William S. Marras, Ph.D., CPE
William S. Marras holds the Honda Professor Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. He serves as the director of the Biodynamics Laboratory, the Center for Occupational Health in Automobile Manufacturing and is Executive Director for the Institute for Ergonomics. Dr. Marras also holds joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, as well as Biomedical Engineering. Currently he is developing a Spine Research Institute at Ohio State that is a collaborative effort between the College of Medicine and College of Engineering. His research is centered on musculoskeletal causal pathway investigations including occupational biomechanical epidemiologic studies, laboratory biomechanics studies, mathematical modeling, and clinical studies of the lumbar and cervical spine. His findings have been published in over 200 peer reviewed journal articles and numerous books and book chapters including a recent book entitled ââ¬ÅThe Working Back: A Systems View.ââ¬Â He holds Fellow status in six professional societies including the American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and has been widely recognized for his contributions through numerous national and international awards including an honorary Sc.D. degree. Professor Marras was the past Chair of the Board on Human Systems Integration at the National Research Council (NRC). He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Human Factors, Deputy Editor of Spine, and has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (the National Academies). Recently he recorded a TED talk entitled ââ¬ÅBack pain and your brain."
Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
More Information: Seminar-Marras.doc
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - Room 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
