Events Calendar

CS Colloquium: Lydia E. Kavraki (Rice University) - Reasoning for Complex Physical Systems

Speaker: Lydia E. Kavraki, Rice University

Talk Title: Reasoning for Complex Physical Systems

Series: CS Colloquium

Abstract: Robots are rapidly evolving from simple instruments for repetitive tasks to increasingly sophisticated machines capable of performing challenging operations in our daily environment. As they make their way out of custom-made workspaces in factories, algorithms that integrate task and motion planning are needed to enable robots to autonomously execute high-level tasks. This talk will describe a novel framework for the synthesis of motion plans using specifications expressed in temporal logics and sampling-based motion planners. The power and extensibility of the framework has led to algorithmic advances for analyzing the motion and function of proteins, the worker molecules of all cells. The talk will conclude by discussing robotics-inspired methods for computing the flexibility of proteins and large macromolecular complexes with the ultimate goals of deciphering molecular function and aiding the discovery of new therapeutics.

The lecture will be available to stream HERE.

Biography: Lydia E. Kavraki is the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and Bioengineering at Rice University. Kavraki received her B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Crete in Greece and her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University. Her research contributions are in physical algorithms and their applications in robotics, as well as in computational structural biology and biomedicine. Kavraki has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and a co-author of the popular robotics textbook "Principles of Robot Motion" published by MIT Press. She is heavily involved in the development of The Open Motion Planning Library, which is used in industry and in academic research in robotics and medicine. Kavraki is a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. She was recently recognized with the Women in Science Award from BioHouston.

Host: Computer Science Department

Webcast: https://bluejeans.com/889544076

Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 132

WebCast Link: https://bluejeans.com/889544076

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Assistant to CS chair