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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for October 08, 2009
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Water Resources Workshop
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Workshop GoalWater issues have been and will continue to exert challenges to communities and business in the West and in particular Southern California. By engaging in a discussion of these water challenges researchers from USC and Veolia believe that a common research-oriented collaboration can be developed. The action items that are identified through these focused discussion will provide the backbone of further work collaborations.Workshop Themes1. Water distribution systems including bio-films and sensors.2. Desalination including pre-treatment, post-treatment (brine management), and Red Tide.3.Water reuse of municipal and industrial wastewaters including technology and policy aspects.4.Construction management, including asset management, PPP and design, build, and operate.5.Robotics for inspection of collection systems.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 526
Audiences: By Invitation Only
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Separating Gases with Ionic Liquids
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 12:45 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Lyman Handy Colloquium SeriesPresentsJoan F. BrenneckeUniversity of Notre DameAbstract: Ionic liquids (ILs) are non-volatile organic salts that have low melting points, frequently below room temperature. Typical compounds are comprised of a quaternary ammonium, quaternary phosphonium, imidazolium or pyridinium cation with a wide variety of common anions. Since they cannot evaporate and cause air pollution, they are being vigorously investigated as promising alternatives to volatile organic solvents. Here we report on their use as absorption solvents for gas separations. Many important gas separations are highly energy intensive, especially those involving cryogenic distillation or desorption of chemically-complexed gases. We show that many ILs show good selectivity for CO2 and SO2 over gases such as N2, O2 and H2. We measure pure and mixed gas solubilities using gravimetric microbalances, as well as any of a variety of volumetric systems, with and without gas sampling. We show that some gas separations, especially when the partial pressure of the target gas is relatively high, can be achieved by physical absorption into ionic liquids.Engineering ionic liquids for gas separations involving gases with low partial pressures may be best achieved by including functional groups on the ionic liquid that can chemically react with the target gas. We show results of CO2 uptake as a function of pressure and temperature for a variety of ionic liquids, containing primary and secondary amine functionality on either the cation or the anion. Using FTIR we are able to differentiate between physically dissolved CO2 and CO2 that has reacted with the amine moiety. We show how the capacity and the enthalpy for the reaction can be tailored by the inclusion of additional functionality in the ionic liquid. The physical solubility of N2 and O2 in these same ILs remains low so that the selectivity for CO2 removal is extremely high. Preliminary process design calculations indicate that the functionalized ionic liquids require significantly less energy for CO2 capture from post-combustion flue gas than the commercially available aqueous amine technology.
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Petra Pearce Sapir
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Reinforcement Learning and Markov Chain Computations, Part II
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University Calendar
Speaker: Prof. Vivek Borkar, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, IndiaPart I: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2-3PM, HED 116Part II: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2-3PM, EEB 248This two part series shall cover an introduction to reinforcement learning and stochastic approximations, and its application to Markov Chain computations.Part I (Tuesday, Oct. 6) shall highlight the main strands in the reinforcement learning based approaches to approximate dynamic programming for Markov decision processes. In particular, connections to numerical methods for MDPs and convergence issues will be discussed.Part II (Thursday, Oct. 8) will present a novel potential application of reinforcement learning algorithms, viz., for certain matrix computations. It will be argued that these present a hybrid scheme situated between pure Monte Carlo and pure numerical iterative schemes. Various trade-offs and acceleration techniques will be discussed.Speaker Bio: Vivek Borkar is a Professor in the School of Technology and Computer Science at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, where he has been for the last decade. He was formerly Dean of the same school. Prior to TIFR, he was a Professor in the Computer Science and Automation department of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in EECS in 1979. He is well-known for his work in many areas including stochastic processes, mathematical control, game theory and learning. He is the author of several books including a recent book on Stochastic approximations: A Dynamical Systems Viewpoint.Host: Prof. Rahul Jain, 213-740-2246, rahul.jain@usc.edu.
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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Seminar Series: Reinforcement Learning and Markov Chain Computations
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Prof. Vivek Borkar, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India This two part series shall cover an introduction to reinforcement learning and stochastic approximations, and its application to Markov Chain computations.Part II (Thursday, Oct. 8) will present a novel potential application of reinforcement learning algorithms, viz., for certain matrix computations. It will be argued that these present a hybrid scheme situated between pure Monte Carlo and pure numerical iterative schemes. Various trade-offs and acceleration techniques will be discussed.Speaker Bio:
Vivek Borkar is a Professor in the School of Technology and Computer Science at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai where he has been for the last decade.
He was formerly Dean of the same school. Prior to TIFR, he was a Professor in the Computer Science and Automation department of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in EECS in 1979. He is well-known for his work in many areas including stochastic processes, mathematical control, game theory and learning. He is the author of several books including a recent book on Stochastic approximations: A Dynamical Systems Viewpoint.Host: Prof. Rahul Jain, 213-740-2246, rahul.jain@usc.edu. If you would like to meet the speaker during his weeklong visit from October 5-9, please contact the host.Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Annie Yu
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RANDOM FIELD MODELS FOR POLYCRYSTALS AND TWO-PHASE MICROSTRUCTURES
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Mircea Grigoriu, Ph.D., Cornell UniversityAbstract:The presentation has two parts. In the first part, we use examples to illustrate the need for representing material microstructures by random fields and illustrate potential difficulties related to the estimation of the parameters of these felds. Common techniques for reconstructing microstructures are presented and critically examined. In the second part, we present (1) a Markov random field for aluminum polycrystals, calibrate the model to measurements of Euler angles giving the atomic lattice orientation, and generate virtual aluminum polycrystals, (2) an inhomogeneous non-Gaussian random field for inclusions of arbitrary geometry, calibrate the model to measurements, and generate virtual concrete aggregates, and (3) homogeneous/inhomogeneous level-cut filtered Poisson fields for two-phase microstructures. Filtered Poisson fields are sums of kernels with specied functional form and random amplitude/orientation that are located at Poisson points. The cuts of these fields above a level define the inclusions of two-phase microstructures.
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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On the Complexity of Game, Market, and Network Equilibria
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University Calendar
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering ISE 650 Seminar:"On the Complexity of Game, Market, and Network Equilibria"SHANG-HUA TENG, Seeley G. Mudd Professor Computer Science Department, USC Viterbi School of EngineeringTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2009, 3:30PM - 4:45PM, ANDRUS GERONTOLOGY AUDITORIUMABSTRACT: I will present some recent advances in Algorithmic Game Theory. I will focus on the computational equivalence of Nash equilibria for games, Arrow-Debreu equilibria and Fisher equilibria for markets, and fractional equilibria for networks. In additional to worst-case complexity, I will consider the smoothed and approximation complexity of these problems. If time permits, I will highlight some potential computational difference between solution concepts in games and in multi-objective optimization. Joint work with Xi Chen, Xiaotie Deng, Deichen Dai, Ye Du, Li-Sha Huang, Shiva Kintali, Laura Poplawski, Rajmohan Rajaraman, Heiko Röglin, Ravi Sundaram and Paul Valiant.SHANG-HUA TENG is the Seeley G. Mudd Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He has taught as a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics of MIT and in the Computer Science Departments of Boston University, the University of Minnesota and UIUC. He has worked and consulted for Microsoft Research, Akamai, IBM Almaden Research Center, Intel Corporation, Xerox PARC, Cray Research/SGI, Thinking Machine Corporation, and the NASA Ames Research Center. He received dual B.S. degrees in computer science and in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1985, an M.S. degree in computer science from USC in 1988, and a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1991.He is a recipient of the 2009 Fulkerson Prize (AMS-MPS) and the 2008 Gödel Prize (ACM-EATCS) for his joint work on Smoothed Analysis of Algorithms with Daniel Spielman. He is also an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, a winner of the Senior Xerox Award for Outstanding Faculty Research (UIUC), and a recipient of the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award. His recent research interests include computational game and economics theory, spectral graph theory, scientific computing, and mathematical programming. He has received more than ten US Patents for his work on compiler optimization and Internet technology.Hosted by Profs. Elaine Chew and Fernando Ordonez.
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - Auditorium
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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Preparing for the Career Fair/Career Conference
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Make a great first impression! Learn how to optimize your time, approach employers and prepare for the recruiting event of the semester
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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USC Student Health Council Alumni Panel
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University Calendar
Thursday, October 8, 2009, 5:30-6:30 pm, followed by a 30 minute networking opportunityLocation TBDPatsy Rincon, Sr. Associate Consultant, Kaiser PermanenteNatalia Rincon, Project Manager, Regional Operations, HealthCare PartnersElizabeth Navarro, Valley Presbyterian HospitalPrub Khurana, VP of Strategy and Planning, Facey Medical Group Guests will be sharing their experience, knowledge relating to residencies, job search, and people skills.RSVP to https://usc.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_aaefjPszEVpCsXG&SVID=Prod by October 6 for the location.
Location: To Be Determined
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Georgia Lum
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Spotlight on Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Astronautical Engineering
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
A panel discussion featuring industry representatives, alumni, faculty and current student discussing opportunities in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Astronautical Engineering.For more detailed information please visit the Spotlight website at - http://viterbi.usc.edu/students/undergrad/fye/spotlight.htm\Dinner is provided.RSVP to viterbi.studentservices@usc.edu with subject line: "RSVP for Spotlight on 10/8".
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106
Audiences: Viterbi Undergraduate Students
Contact: Benjamin Vatterott
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IEEE presents Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems Info Session \N
Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 06:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come learn about the Communication Systems Center at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems! This is a great networking opportunity, so be sure to bring your resumes too. Dinner will be served. Ranked among the world's premier defense companies, Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $31.5 billion global defense and technology company whose 122,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
