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Events for October 13, 2010
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Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, & Engineering Talk
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 01:00 AM - 01:00 AM
Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission
Receptions & Special Events
This half day program is designed for prospective freshmen and family members. Meet USC includes an information session on the University and the Admission process; a student led walking tour of campus and a meeting with us in the Viterbi School. Meet USC is designed to answer all of your questions about USC, the application process and financial aid.Reservations are required for Meet USC. This program occurs twice, once at 8:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m. Please visit http://usconnect.usc.edu/ to check availability and make an appointment. Be sure to list an Engineering major as your "intended major" on the webform!
Location: USC Admission Center
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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Image Segmentation with Optimization Techniques Used for Medical Imaging
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 02:00 AM - 03:15 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Dorit S. Hochbaum, ISE, University of Southern California
Talk Title: Image Segmentation with Optimization Techniques Used for Medical Imaging
Abstract: Image segmentation is to determine a partition to the "main" areas of the image and identify them as associated with different types of objects. This is of particular importance in medical imaging where blur conceals information of critical importance. The problem is modeled as minimization of deviation penalty, from the captured colors of the pixels, and separation penalty, which is associated with two adjacent images having different colors.
We describe a very efficient and best possible polynomial time algorithm for the problem. This algorithm is more efficient than most procedures based on spectral techniques, partitioning approaches or heuristic clustering. We then demonstrate how to apply the procedure for the purpose of recovering hidden features in de-blurred medical images.
Biography: Dorit S. Hochbaum is a Daniel Epstein chair professor at the ISE department at USC. Professor Hochbaum holds a Ph.D from the Wharton school of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Hochbaum held a faculty position at Carnegie Mellon university's Tepper school of business (GSIA), and then joined UC Berkeley where she was a full professor and chancellor chair at the department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR). Her research interests are in the areas of approximation algorithms and design and analysis of computer algorithms and discrete and continuous optimization. Her recent work focuses on efficient techniques for network flow related problems, ranking, data mining and image segmentation problems.
Professor Hochbaum is the author of over 140 papers that appeared in the Operations Research, Management Science and Theoretical Computer Science literature. Professor Hochbaum was named in 2004 an honorary doctorate of Sciences of the University of Copenhagen, for her work on approximation algorithms. Professor Hochbaum was awarded in 2005 the title of INFORMS fellow.
Host: Prof. Rahul Jain
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
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Image Segmentation with Optimization Techniques Used for Medical Imaging
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 02:00 AM - 03:15 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Dorit S. Hochbaum, ISE, University of Southern California
Talk Title: Image Segmentation with Optimization Techniques Used for Medical Imaging
Abstract: Image segmentation is to determine a partition to the "main" areas of the image and identify them as associated with different types of objects. This is of particular importance in medical imaging where blur conceals information of critical importance. The problem is modeled as minimization of deviation penalty, from the captured colors of the pixels, and separation penalty, which is associated with two adjacent images having different colors.
We describe a very efficient and best possible polynomial time algorithm for the problem. This algorithm is more efficient than most procedures based on spectral techniques, partitioning approaches or heuristic clustering. We then demonstrate how to apply the procedure for the purpose of recovering hidden features in de-blurred medical images.
Biography: Dorit S. Hochbaum is a Daniel Epstein chair professor at the ISE department at USC. Professor Hochbaum holds a Ph.D from the Wharton school of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Hochbaum held a faculty position at Carnegie Mellon university's Tepper school of business (GSIA), and then joined UC Berkeley where she was a full professor and chancellor chair at the department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR). Her research interests are in the areas of approximation algorithms and design and analysis of computer algorithms and discrete and continuous optimization. Her recent work focuses on efficient techniques for network flow related problems, ranking, data mining and image segmentation problems.
Professor Hochbaum is the author of over 140 papers that appeared in the Operations Research, Management Science and Theoretical Computer Science literature. Professor Hochbaum was named in 2004 an honorary doctorate of Sciences of the University of Copenhagen, for her work on approximation algorithms. Professor Hochbaum was awarded in 2005 the title of INFORMS fellow.
Host: Prof. Rahul Jain
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
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Intel Info Session
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available opportunities.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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Robust Simulation and Catastrophe Diagnostic for Accounting for Uncertainty in Catastrophe Risk Analysis
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Craig Taylor, Director, Research for Baseline Management Company, Inc. and Research Professor, Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering
Abstract:
The speaker has given two previous seminars in the USC CEE Department:
⢠2000: On Acceptable Risk Procedures for Ports and
Airports
⢠2008: On A Non-Parametric Approach to Evaluating
Catastrophe Risk and Decisions: Financial and
Infrastructure Systems
In these seminars, the speaker outlined catastrophe risk procedures for infrastructure systems and showed how the uncertainties in the models involved could be accounted for in the overall loss distribution. Methods were outlined to manage the uncertainties in the parameters that are explicitly considered within each part of the model (e.g., hazards, response of components, systems response). These are the ânominalâ or âendogenousâ uncertainties. With the introduction of alternative models, based on different assumptions, parameters, or data, one may begin to account for the remaining âexogenousâ uncertainties that lie within the bounds of current knowledge. Of course, no domain of science is or should be ever âsettled,â so exogenous elements will persist, contributing to some residual uncertainty.
In past CEE seminars, the speaker described the weakness of one conventional approach that parses uncertainty into âaleatoryâ and âepistemicâ elements. Robust simulation provides an alternative approach to the management of uncertainty in catastrophe risk analysis, as well as overcome severe weaknesses that may occur in the use of logic trees and weighting systems. The speaker will further reiterate briefly weaknesses that can arise through the numerous smoothing techniques that can arise. These have arguably contributed significantly to the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management and to the recent severe recession resulting in part from the egregiously high ratings of mortgage-backed securities containing sub-prime loans.
The previous seminars assumed that the endogenous uncertainties âvanishâ as numerous simulations are performed. Thus, topics of âinfinite varianceâ or âinfinite meanâ were ignored. To a very large extent, a priori modeling of exposures subject to catastrophes may postulate âunstableâ distributions (ignoring here for instance alpha-stable distributions). The speaker instead has devised a very simple method for evaluating the âstabilityâ or âdangerâ of a distribution with a simple one-parameter Pareto. Comparison of the âtailâ (99th centile in the severity distribution) of the Pareto distribution with the simulated catastrophe loss distribution can provide a diagnostic (similar to a modified QQ diagnostic) helpful in testing how the degree of âdangerâ of a catastrophe loss distribution. Typically there will be limits (e.g., limits on the amount of capital at stake, limits on the magnitude of an earthquake, limits on the total loss for a specific property) that will render a catastrophe loss distribution more stable than might be modeled if extreme value distributions are postulated in advance of such considerations.
Robust simulation then begins with a preferred set of models and a test of the âdangerâ of the loss distribution given an extremely large number of simulations. The âexogenousâ uncertainties in the catastrophe loss distribution are illustrated in ongoing research as in missile risk analysis, global climate change, climate conditioning for hurricanes and other severe weather events, and alterative seismicity. Each model is rendered as coherent as possible; mixing models as through âweightsâ may produce less than coherent results. If weighting is required, as for âofficialâ results, this should be performed at the end of the process. The result of this process yields âbounds of uncertainty.â Unless one imposes a distribution on these outcomes, these uncertainties do not represent confidence intervals.
This procedure is not altogether felicitous, but represents a mature viewpoint. Many models that were once disregarded because they were not good enough for some reason or other now come into play to assist in defining bounds of uncertainty. In the selection of alternative credible models, merits begin to count as well as demerits. Encouraging competition among models is salutary in science and engineering. In this probabilistic realm, selection of one model over another often involves tradeoffsâwith pros and cons of various fitting criteria, parameters, assumptions, and the like.
Biography:
Dr. Craig E. Taylor has had over thirty years of experience in catastrophe risk analysis with an emphasis on infrastructure systems, finance, policy, and earthquakes. Currently Director of Research for Baseline Management Company, Inc. and Research Professor at the University of Southern California, he has taught an advanced Civil Engineering course on risk and decision analysis for infrastructure systems. His 200 or so publications and over sixty papers include as contributor and editor four monographs for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and major reports on earthquake mitigation for a federal earthquake insurance program, should one be established. Belonging to four professional organizations, and previous chair of the ASCE Council on Disaster Risk Management (CDRM) as well as past chair of several committees, he has received several awards including a lifetime achievement award from the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE). In October 2008 he served as an ASCE representative to look at impacts of the Wenchuan earthquake and to participate at a Tongji University workshop on reconstruction alternatives. In September 2010 he returned to Tongji University to give a plenary presentation at the International Symposium on Reliability Engineering and Risk Management (ISRERM 2010). He earned his doctorate at the University of Illinois.
Host: Prof. Jean-Pierre Bardet
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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From the other side of the desk: Career fairs from a recruiter's point of view
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Come hear from Garrett Long, Program Director, SanDisk.
Location: Gwynn Wilson Student Union (STU) - B3
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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AME Seminar
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Juergen Biener , Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Talk Title: Nanoscale Materials for Energy Applications
Abstract: Enrico Fermi reputedly said, "God made the solid state. He left the surface to the devil" to describe the fact that surfaces and interfaces are difficult to treat theoretically due to their complex nature. In this talk I will show that one can exploit this complexity to design tunable interface-controlled high-surface-area materials for energy applications. Although the influence of surfaces on the bulk of the material is generally considered to be small, the presence of surfaces and interfaces can start to dominate the overall material behavior. This allows one to create new, tunable materials with mechanical, physical and chemical properties that are no longer determined by the bulk material, but by their nanoscale architectures. In this talk, I will focus on monolithic nanoporous materials to demonstrate the tuneability of nanoporous solids for sustainable energy applications.
Host: Dr. A. Hodge
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcomingLocation: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcoming
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Viterbi Industry Networking Event
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 05:30 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Receptions & Special Events
Juniors and Seniors: Grow your network at VINE, an event that will help you prepare for Career Expo. Get face-to-face time with top engineering companies in a "speed-networking" activity.Practice your networking skills with engineering recruiters who are looking to fill internship and full-time positions. After the activity, talk to reps informally during a casual networking hour; beverages and appetizers will be served.
Location: University Club
Audiences: Juniors & Seniors Only
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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San Diego Admission Reception
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission
Receptions & Special Events
Hosted by the Admission Office, the reception will include a general discussion about the University. You will also be able to ask questions about your areas of academic interest, explore co-curricular options and learn more about life and opportunities at USC. A representative from our Admission and Student Affairs staff, will be there on behalf of the Viterbi School of Engineering along with other representatives from the University.RSVP online at http://www.usc.edu/admevents
Location: Hyatt Regency La Jolla<br> 3777 La Jolla Village Dr<br> San Diego, CA 92122
Audiences: Prospective Freshmen and their families
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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ASBME Big E/Smalls Week: You, Your Sib, and Yogurtland!!
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 07:45 PM - 08:45 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Take a break from studying and come get to know other BME students, socialize, and have yogurt on us!!
On October 13th ASBME will host Yogurtland BigE/Smalls Pairing--Find out who your Big/Small is! 7:45-8:45PM at Yogurtland. Come see us after attending VINE!
To RSVP: Please fill out this form (https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dE5qaGNzdmZ0Skw4cWxzcWJXM3d4U0E6MQ#gid=0) whether or not you can attend all the events.Location: The new Yogurtland on Figueroa
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering
