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Events for October 23, 2007
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Locating and Quantifying Sources of Air Pollution by Nonparametric Trajectory Analysis
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Oral Defense by:Babak Pazokifard
Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Engineering, USC Abstract:
In order to improve air quality, it is necessary to identify the sources of airborne pollution. Local emissions are more controllable compared to regional emissions which may not even be in the same city or state as the impacted area. By knowing and reducing local emissions, even without completely eliminating them, air quality may be greatly improved.
There are generally two types of air quality models used to evaluate the impact of emissions on air quality on a local, regional, and global scale: traditional source-oriented models and receptor models. Source-oriented models require detailed information on emission composition and rates and also meteorological data. On the other hand, receptor models use chemical fingerprints to quantify sources affecting the monitoring site. This type of model does not consider the meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction, which reduces the accuracy of locating the sources of air pollution. Receptor models cannot be used for some simple pollutants such as SO2 due to the lack of chemical fingerprints. Therefore, these models have some shortcomings in quantifying the emission sources on smaller scales. This is especially true when there are changes in emission rate and composition of sources and also for some hard to identify sources such as windblown dust and construction activities due to lack of chemical analysis.
This study proposes a new hybrid receptor model. Unlike source-oriented models, this model uses short time average observations of pollutant concentrations. And unlike conventional receptor models, this model uses meteorological data such as wind speed and wind direction. The goal is identification and quantification of local sources of emissions.
In order to identify the location of emission sources, back trajectories are calculated by using wind speed and wind direction from one or more monitoring sites. The points on each back trajectory are associated with the pollutant concentration when the trajectory arrives at the monitor. The average value of the pollutant at the monitor, given that air has passed near a geographical point on a grid, is calculated by nonparametric regression of the pollutant concentrations over all the back trajectories passing near the point for the period of interest. Using multiple monitors increases the reliability of back trajectories by combining metrological data. This will help expanding the range of back trajectories and reduced the error if one set of data is not available or unreliable.
The method is illustrated by application to 1-minute SO2 data from Long Beach, CA and 1-minute PM10 data from Rubidoux, CA along with meteorological data from 29 sites. The results identify the location of a refinery around the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles with high emission of SO2. Using the Rubidoux data, emission sources are located at aggregate, ready mix, and asphalt factory and also at excavation and construction sites.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - reilian Hall 444
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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CS Colloquia: Filtering Spam with Behavioral Blacklisting
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Title: Filtering Spam with Behavioral BlacklistingSpeaker: Prof. Nick Feamster(GATECH)ABSTRACT:
Spam filters often use the reputation of an IP address (or IP address
range) to classify email senders. This approach worked well when most
spam originated from senders with fixed IP addresses, but
spam today is also sent from IP addresses for which blacklist
maintainers have outdated or inaccurate information (or no information
at all). Spam campaigns also involve many senders, reducing the amount
of spam any particular IP address sends to a single domain; this method
allows spammers to stay ''under the radar''. The dynamism of any
particular IP address begs for blacklisting techniques that
automatically adapt as the senders of spam change.We present SpamTracker, a spam filtering system that uses a new technique
called behavioral blacklisting to classify email senders based on their
sending behavior rather than their identity. Spammers cannot evade
SpamTracker merely by using ''fresh'' IP addresses because blacklisting
decisions are based on sending patterns, which tend to remain more invariant.
SpamTracker uses fast clustering algorithms that react quickly to changes in
sending patterns. We evaluate SpamTracker's ability to classify spammers using
email logs for over 115 email domains; we find that SpamTracker can correctly
classify many spammers missed by current filtering techniques.BIO:
Nick Feamster is an assistant professor in the College of Computing at Georgia
Tech. He received his Ph.D. in Computer science from MIT in 2005, and his S.B.
and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in
2000 and 2001, respectively. His research focuses on many aspects of computer
networking and networked systems, including the design, measurement, and
analysis of network routing protocols, network security, anonymous
communication systems, and adaptive streaming media protocols. His honors
include award papers at SIGCOMM 2006 (network-level behavior of spammers), the
NSDI 2005 conference (fault detection in router configuration), Usenix
Security 2002 (circumventing web censorship using Infranet), and Usenix
Security 2001 (web cookie analysis). He is also the recipient of an IBM
Faculty Award.Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Colloquia
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Fall New Transfer Student Dinner
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 05:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Student Activity
Sponsored by Viterbi Student Affairs, all fall 2007 undergraduate engineering transfer students are invited to the 1st Annual Viterbi Transfer Student Dinner. Students will have a chance to meet other transfer students, department advisors and other continuing transfer students in Viterbi!
Location: Viviane Hall (VHE) Breezeway in E-Quad
Audiences: Fall 2007 Ugrad Transfer Students
Contact: Monica De Los Santos
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VSC General Meeting
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Want to get involved with Viterbi? Interested in knowing about upcoming events for engineering students? Attend the Viterbi Student Council general meeting to learn about the activities that Viterbi student organization leaders are planning for YOU!
Location: Norman Topping Student Activities Center (TSC) - 205
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Viterbi Student Council
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Kiewit Pacific Co
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available work opportunities.
Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 124
Audiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
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Career Paths for ISEs
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University Calendar
Hello fellow ISER-ers!Hope your midterms and job searches are going well! Next Tuesday we are having ISE/IIE alumni Kevin Zhang (Abbott Vascular) come to answer all you've ever wanted to know about: - how to get a job as an Industrial & Systems Engineer- career paths for ISE's, including ISE work at Abbott Vascular- life after ISE- and more sagaciousa advice that you don't want to miss!When: Oct 23, 2007, 6:00 pmWhere: KAP 145 There will be food! So hope to see you there!Sincerely, IIE Board 2007-086:
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 145
Audiences: Undergrad/Department Only/
Contact: Georgia Lum
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IIEs 2nd General Meeting: Presentation by USC ISE Alum (Abbott Vascular)
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Have you ever wondered what job opportunities are open to ISEs? Never thought an ISE could work in the medical field? Want to learn more about job/internship search strategies? Come and join us for an evening with USC ISE Alum Kevin Zhang who now works for Abbott Vascular.
Location: TBA
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
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Washington D.C. - Admission Reception
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 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. Matthew O'Pray, Director of Admission, 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
Audiences: Prospective Undergraduate Students and Family Members
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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Las Vegas- Admission Reception
Tue, Oct 23, 2007 @ 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. Paul Ledesma, Associate Director of Admission, 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: Green Valley Ranch Resortbr>42300 Paseo Verde Drive<br>Henderson, NV 89052
Audiences: Prospective Undergraduate Students and Family Members
Contact: Viterbi Admission
