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Events for November 11, 2010

  • Lyman Handy Colloquium

    Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 12:45 PM - 01:50 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Professor David Kisailus, University of California - Riverside

    Talk Title: Structure and Composition Analysis of an Ultra-hard Magnetic Biomineral in Chiton Radular Teeth

    Abstract: Through the course of evolution, nature has evolved efficient strategies to synthesize inorganic materials that demonstrate desirable mechanical properties. These biological systems demonstrate the ability to control nano- and microstructural features that significantly improve mechanical properties of otherwise brittle materials. The fully-mineralized radular teeth of chitons is one of such example of a superior biomineral consisting of a brittle, magnetic iron oxide crystal. Chitons are a group of herbivorous marine mollusks that have evolved ultra-hard and damage-tolerant teeth to graze upon algae growing on and within rocky substrates. Our results from nano-indentation analyses of the teeth of chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri), indicated that it retained largest hardness and stiffness properties of any biomineral. In order to understand the relationship between composition, structure and mechanical properties of the fully mineralized radular teeth, we further conducted detailed structural and compositional analyses of this magnetic biomineral using various microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses revealed the rod-like orientation of the magnetite crystallites in the teeth. Furthermore, chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exocuticles of many insects, was detected from the teeth by infrared and raman spectroscopic analyses. We believe that the combination of this organic matrix and hard mineral, constructed in a unique microstructure, yields a damage-tolerant, ultra-hard, magnetic biomineral.

    Host: Professor Nutt

    More Info: http://chems.usc.edu/academics/colloquia.htm

    Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 159

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petra Pearce

    Event Link: http://chems.usc.edu/academics/colloquia.htm

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  • Ming Hsieh Dept of Electrical Engineering-Systems Distinguished Lecturer Series

    Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 04:00 PM - 05:15 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Andrew J. Viterbi, Presidential Chair Professor- USC, President- Viterbi Group LLC, Professor Emeritus- UCSD

    Abstract: A.A. Markov proposed and developed a statistical concept which suggests that future action should depend only on the current state of the system or process. Exploitation of the statistical properties of Markov processes has produced important results in optimum linear (Wiener) filtering, with principal applications to navigation, tracking, orbit determination and even economics; and in finite-state sequence determination, with applications to information (Shannon) theory, digital communication, voice and optical character recognition, data recording, search engines, and DNA sequence analysis. Both areas will be discussed and compared, as well as the merits of any societal implications of the Markov concept.

    Biography: Andrew J. Viterbi received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from USC, and is co-founder, retired vice chairman and chief technical officer of Qualcomm Incorporated. He also co-founded Linkabit Corporation, and served as professor in the Schools of Engineering at UCLA and UCSD. He is currently president of the Viterbi Group, a technical advisory and investment company, and is also Presidential Chair Professor at USC. He and his wife Erna are the naming donors of the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC.

    His principal research contribution, the Viterbi Algorithm, is used in most digital cellular phones and digital satellite receivers, and in diverse fields such as magnetic recording, voice recognition and DNA sequence analysis. More recently, he has concentrated on establishing code-division-multiple-access (CDMA) as the multiple access technology of choice for cellular telephony and wireless data communications.

    Viterbi has received numerous honors, including honorary doctorates from the Technion and Universities of Waterloo, Rome, and Notre Dame, as well as memberships in the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008 he received the National Medal of Science, and was a Millennium Technology Laureate. He has also received the Marconi International Fellowship Award, the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell and Claude Shannon Awards, the NEC C&C Award, the Eduard Rhein Foundation Award and the Christopher Columbus Medal. He recently received the 2010 Medal of Honor from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the highest award of that professional society.

    Host: Dr. Alexander A. Sawchuk

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mayumi Thrasher

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  • Alumni Panel

    Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Join us for a panel of Viterbi Alumni and hear about their job search strategies and their on the job advice.

    Companies being represented a/o 11/3 include:
    Parsons, Northrop Grumman, Xerox and Turner Construction

    Dinner will be served.

    There is limited space for this event; RSVP is required
    To RSVP e-mail vcareers@usc.edu by Monday, November 8th.
    -In the subject write RSVP- Alumni Panel

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

    Audiences: All Viterbi Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

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  • Chinatown with Robert Towne and Kevin Starr

    Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM

    USC Viterbi School of Engineering

    Receptions & Special Events


    Admission is free.

    Screenwriter and director Robert Towne mined the bitter conflicts over land and water rights that raged in Southern California during the early twentieth century to fashion Chinatown, an American cinema classic for which he won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film will be screened as part of a two-part series entitled "It’s All True?," which will explore how filmmakers have translated true stories into feature films and how those films have impacted our sense of history, events and politics. Following the screening, Towne and USC university professor Kevin Starr, the preeminent historian of California, will join cinematic-arts professors Mark J. Harris and Ted Braun to discuss the interplay between fact and fiction and Chinatown’s complex relationship to our sense of Los Angeles as a place.

    In addition to Chinatown, Towne has written numerous film scripts, including Chinatown’s sequel, The Two Jakes; the Oscar-nominated screenplays The Last Detail and Shampoo; and the first two Mission: Impossible films. Towne also wrote and directed Personal Best, Without Limits and Tequila Sunrise, starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer.

    Organized by Ted Braun and Mark J. Harris (Cinematic Arts).

    For further information on this event:
    visionsandvoices@usc.edu

    Location: School of Cinematic Arts 108

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Daria Yudacufski

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  • 1st HOPE GM: Join us on 11/11 to help bring HOPE to the L.A. Community!

    Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 08:30 PM - 09:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    Student Activity


    Join us on 11/11 to help bring HOPE to the L.A. Community!

    The HOPE Funding Board, dedicated to supplying student Writing 340 projects with manpower and funding, has selected their target project for the 2010 Fall Semester, and we would like YOUR help in implementing it in the community! We will be focusing on a small non-profit after school care program whose goal is to get students interested in math, science, the arts, technology, and literature. We are looking for students who are willing to participate for a couple of hours on one or two days to help re-invent the after-school care center. Come out to HOPE’s 1’st General Meeting from 8:30 to 9:30pm on Thursday, November 11th to find out more information and grab DINNER!

    Location TBA, but if you are interested in attending, please fill out the following form: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHBJT21oa1JNdWRxaGZCQ1NDeTdjUWc6MQ

    Location: TBA (fill out the survey to find out more info)

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: HOPE

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