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Technology for Business LeadersThu, May 01, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Thu, May 01, 2025 @ 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Feng Yan, M.D. , Chief Neurosurgeon at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Associate Professor at Zhejiang University
Talk Title: CAR-T Cell Therapy in Glioma: Clinical Insights and Challenges."
Abstract: Glioblastoma(Glioma) is one of the most aggressive primary brain tumors, with a medianoverall survival of less than two years despite standard treatments. Theimmunosuppressivetumor microenvironment, antigen heterogeneity, and the bloodbrain barrier are significant hurdles that limit the efficacy of CAR-T cells in GBM. Innovative strategies, including multi-antigen targeting and combination therapies, are being explored to enhance CAR-T cell persistence and function within the tumor milieu. In this presentation, I will delve into the current state of CAR-T therapy for gliomas, share insights from recent clinical cases, and discuss the challenges that lie ahead. Our goal is to shed light on the path forward, aiming to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients battling these formidable tumors.
Biography: Dr. Feng Yan is Chief Neurosurgeon at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Ph.D. advisor, and Associate Professor at Zhejiang University. He also serves as Vice President of Huzhou Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University. Dr. Yan specializes in the surgical management of brain tumors, including gliomas, meningiomas, and vestibular schwannomas, with expertise in advanced microsurgical and minimally invasive techniques. His research currently centers on CAR-T therapy and related clinical trials, and he is the recipient of numerous grants from China’s National Natural Science Foundation, which are equivalent to R01 awards from the NIH in the US. He has completed visiting scholar fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and UCLA. His work has been published in leading journals such as Theranostics, Journal of Advanced Research, and J Neuroinflammation. Dr. Yan is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeonsï¼ÂAANSï¼Âand several national neurosurgical societies.
Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
NL Seminar -LLMs Do Not Have Human-Like Working Memories
Thu, May 01, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jen-Tse (Jay) Huang, Johns Hopkins University
Talk Title: LLMs Do Not Have Human-Like Working Memories
Abstract: Meeting hosts only admit on-line guests that they know to the Zoom meeting. Hence, you’re highly encouraged to use your USC account to sign into Zoom. If you’re an outside visitor, please inform us at (nlg-seminar-host(at)isi.edu) to make us aware of your attendance so we can admit you. Specify if you will attend remotely or in person at least one business day prior to the event. Provide your: full name, job title and professional affiliation and arrive at least 10 minutes before the seminar begins. If you do not have access to the 6th Floor for in-person attendance, please check in at the 10th floor main reception desk to register as a visitor and someone will escort you to the conference room location. Join Zoom Meetinghttps://usc.zoom.us/j/93233836050?pwd=cCKn1GHZ6XeCK1sZa9ZL1h3ahyyf5h.1 Meeting ID: 932 3383 6050 Passcode: 804448 Human working memory is an active cognitive system that enables not only the temporary storage of information but also its processing and utilization. Without working memory, individuals may produce unreal conversations, struggle with tasks requiring mental reasoning, and exhibit self-contradiction. In this presentation, we demonstrate that Large Language Models (LLMs) lack this human-like cognitive ability, posing a significant challenge to achieving artificial general intelligence. We validate this claim through three experiments: (1) Number Guessing Game, (2) Yes or No Game, and (3) Math Magic. Experimental results on several model families indicate that current LLMs fail to exhibit human-like cognitive behaviors in these scenarios. By highlighting this limitation, we aim to encourage further research in developing LLMs with improved working memory capabilities.
Biography: Jen-Tse (Jay) Huang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Language and Speech Processing (CLSP) at Johns Hopkins University, working with Mark Dredze. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his B.Sc. from Peking University. His research explores the evaluation of large language models (LLMs), both as individual agents and as collectives in multi-agent systems, through the lens of social science. His work has been published in top-tier AI venues, including an oral presentation at ICLR 2024. He actively serves as a reviewer for major conferences and journals such as ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, ACL, CVPR, TMLR and Nature Human Behaviour, and has been recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer at NeurIPS 2024 and EMNLP 2024.
Host: Jonathan May and Katy Felkner
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93233836050?pwd=cCKn1GHZ6XeCK1sZa9ZL1h3ahyyf5h.1
Webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-au0tvDJbILocation: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Conf Rm#689
WebCast Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-au0tvDJbI
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Pete Zamar
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93233836050?pwd=cCKn1GHZ6XeCK1sZa9ZL1h3ahyyf5h.1
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CSC/CommNetS-MHI Seminar: Na Li
Thu, May 01, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Na Li, Winokur Family Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics, Harvard University | Visiting Researcher in Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL)
Talk Title: Representation-based Control and Reinforcement Learning for Dynamical Systems
Series: CSC/CommNetS-MHI Seminar Series
Abstract: The explosive growth of machine learning and data-driven methodologies have revolutionized numerous fields. Yet, the translation of these successes to the domain of dynamical physical systems remains a significant challenge. Closing the loop from data to actions in these systems faces many difficulties, stemming from the need for sample efficiency and computational feasibility, along with many other requirements such as verifiability, robustness, and safety. In this talk, we bridge this gap by introducing innovative representations to develop nonlinear stochastic control and reinforcement learning methods. Key to the representation is to represent the stochastic, nonlinear dynamics linearly onto a nonlinear feature space. We present a comprehensive framework to develop control and learning strategies that achieve efficiency, safety, robustness, and scalability with provable performance. We also show how the representation could be used to close the sim-to-real gap, to improve data efficiency in imitation learning, and to find localized policies efficiently for large-scale nonlinear network systems. Finally, if time permits, I will briefly present our recent work on training diffusion policy using online reinforcement learning for the policy representation.
Biography: Na Li is a Winokur Family Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University and a visiting researcher in Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL). She received her Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Zhejiang University in 2007 and Ph.D. degree in Control and Dynamical Systems from California Institute of Technology in 2013. She was a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013-2014. She has held a variety of short-term visiting appointments including the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, MIT, and Google Brain. Her research lies in the control, learning, and optimization of dynamical systems, including theory development, algorithm design, and applications to real-world cyber-physical societal systems. She has been an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Systems & Control Letters, IEEE Control Systems Letters, and served on the organizing committee for a few conferences. She received the NSF career award, AFSOR Young Investigator Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, Donald P. Eckman Award, McDonald Mentoring Award, IFAC Distinguished Lecture, IFAC Manfred Thoma Medal, Ruberti Young Researcher Prize, along with other awards.
Host: Dr. Mihailo Jovanovic, mihailo@usc.edu
More Information: 2025.05.01 CSC Seminar - Na Li.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Miki Arlen
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Planetary Orbits and Gravity Fields
Thu, May 01, 2025 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Astronautical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Ryan Park, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Talk Title: Planetary Orbits and Gravity Fields
Abstract: The orbit and gravity of planetary bodies play a crucial role in both spacecraft operation and planetaryscience. Precise knowledge of the orbital paths of celestial objects is essential for accurate guidance andtargeting of spacecraft at millions of miles away from Earth. It also enables predicting the orbital evolution ofour solar system as well as assessing the potential Earth impact of hazardous near-Earth objects forplanetary defense. Understanding the gravity field of planetary objects allows for precision spacecraftnavigation and provides insights into the planetary interior structure and geophysical processes.
The orbit and gravity field are typically computed through an orbit determination process, which involvesvarious topics in engineering and science, such as orbital mechanics, estimation, relativity, signal processing,and others. Various observables, including radiometric ranging, Doppler, Very Long Baseline Interferometry,astrometry, and onboard optical imagery, are used to compute the orbit and gravity field. The dataacquisition process and analysis methods for predicting the trajectories of celestial objects will be discussed.In addition, how the recovered gravity field data can be used to probe the interior structure of planetarybodies will be discussed, providing an understanding of the geophysical processes at work.
In summary, this presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the complex process of orbitdetermination, emphasizing the fundamental role of orbit and gravity in spacecraft operation and planetaryscience
Biography: Dr. Ryan Park is a Principal Engineer, Senior Research Scientist, and supervisor of the Solar SystemDynamics group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His group is responsible for predicting the orbits ofall natural planetary bodies, including planets, planetary moons, asteroids, and comets. Dr. Park also servesas the Associate Directorate Scientist of JPL’s Interplanetary Network Directorate, responsible for overseeingresearch activities involving NASA’s Deep Space Network. He has contributed to numerous space missionsand studies, including the GRAIL, Dawn, Juno, Psyche, Europa Clipper, and Hera missions. Dr. Park is anAdjunct Professor at USC, a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society, and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Host: Dr. Ryan Park
More Information: ASTE-Seminar-RyanPark.pdf
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 526
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Shanya Olivares
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Fri, May 02, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - Rajrup Ghosh
Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title of Thesis Proposal: Enabling Volumetric Video Conferencing and Live Streaming
Date and Time: May 2 2025 (Monday), 8:30 am - 10:00 am PST
Location: 202C, GCS, Floor 2
Committee Members: Ramesh Govindan (Chair), Barath Raghavan, Yue Wang, Harsha V. Madhyastha, Antonio Ortega
Abstract: Volumetric video streaming represents the next frontier in media communication, enabling highly immersive experiences by capturing and transmitting dynamic 3D scenes in real-time. However, significant challenges remain before widespread adoption is possible, including managing substantial bandwidth demands, achieving low-latency, supporting multi-party interactions, and maintaining high visual realism. This thesis explores novel methods to overcome these barriers. To enable immersive two-party conferencing, I introduce LiVo, a system that efficiently streams full-scene volumetric videos by extending 2D video encoding techniques, adaptive bandwidth allocation, and real-time view prediction and culling. LiVo significantly reduces bandwidth usage while maintaining an end-to-end latency of approximately 250 ms at 30 frames per second. Extending these capabilities to multi-party scenarios, I propose LiVo++, which must address challenges in synchronization, computation overhead, and changing network conditions. It proposes dynamic strategies to adapt video quality levels according to participants' device capabilities and available bandwidth, enabling robust and scalable interactive experiences. Finally, I propose to improve visual quality through LiVoGS, a system leveraging Gaussian Splatting. LiVoGS will explore integrating Gaussian Splatting with motion-compensated encoding inspired by traditional 2D codecs, to achieve photorealistic visual quality and significantly improved bandwidth efficiency. Collectively, these innovations enable practical, efficient, and visually realistic volumetric video conferencing and streaming, paving the way toward the future of immersive multimedia communication.
Zoom Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/92046695163?pwd=PcSYsbDor5695TXOC9en6H6ByMPwbW.1Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Rajrup Ghosh
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
4th Annual Symposium USC-Amazon Center
Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 09:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Workshops & Infosessions
More Information: 2025 USC-Amazon Symposium Flyer.pdf
Location: 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ariana Perez
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AI Seminar-Harnessing Autonomous Vehicles for Smarter Traffic Management
Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ruolin Li, USC
Talk Title: Harnessing Autonomous Vehicles for Smarter Traffic Management
Series: AI Seminar
Abstract: Meeting hosts only admit on-line guests that they know to the Zoom meeting. Hence, you’re highly encouraged to use your USC account to sign into Zoom. If you’re an outside visitor, please inform us at (nlg-seminar-host(at)isi.edu) to make us aware of your attendance so we can admit you. Specify if you will attend remotely or in person at least one business day prior to the event. Provide your: full name, job title and professional affiliation and arrive at least 10 minutes before the seminar begins. If you do not have access to the 10th Floor for in-person attendance, please check in at the main reception desk to check in as a visitor and someone will escort you to the conference room location. You are required to register for this event. https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_koeiKjLnTveQ06NAHEkIwA https://usc.zoom.us/j/93611391909?pwd=995rTEdKQwrDjObtL3amUojQXGYISL.1 Meeting ID: 936 1139 1909 Passcode: 172658 Autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer new opportunities to improve traffic flow, enhance system-wide coordination, and maximize societal benefits through their increased controllability and adaptability. However, their effective integration into transportation systems requires a comprehensive understanding of AV-human interactions and the development of strategic control mechanisms to prevent potential negative consequences, such as the exploitation of AVs’ cooperative behaviors by selfish drivers. This talk examines a series of representative transportation scenarios—highway on-ramps, vehicle routing in networks, and toll lane usage—to explore how AVs can be leveraged to improve traffic efficiency and overall system performance. The presentation introduces innovative models that capture the complex interplay between human-driven and autonomous vehicles and demonstrates control strategies that optimize AVs' potential while mitigating the risks of adverse exploitation. The discussion highlights the importance of well-designed AV deployment and control policies to ensure that autonomous mobility serves broader societal interests.
Biography: Ruolin Li is a Gabilan Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on the active control and management of autonomous vehicles in mixed-autonomy environments, leveraging game theory, multi-agent systems, and optimization to enhance the societal benefits of intelligent transportation systems. She explores how AVs can be strategically integrated to foster more adaptive and cooperative mobility networks. Prior to joining USC, Ruolin was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2023 and 2018, respectively. She is recognized as a Rising Star in Civil and Environmental Engineering by MIT and a Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering by Stanford. If speaker approves to be recorded for this seminar, it will be posted on the USC/ISI YouTube page within 1-2 business days: https://www.youtube.com/user/USCISI Subscribe here to learn more about upcoming seminars: https://www.isi.edu/events/
Host: Eric Boxer and Peter Zamar
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_koeiKjLnTveQ06NAHEkIwA
Webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmdfKHx8rt8Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual and ISI-Conf Rm#1014
WebCast Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmdfKHx8rt8
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Pete Zamar
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_koeiKjLnTveQ06NAHEkIwA
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Amy Herr, Ph.D., Professor of Bioengineering, and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator University of California, Berkeley
Talk Title: Design of microanalytical tools to understand single-cell biology
Abstract: My lab is interested in design of microanalytical tools to address cellular-resolution questions that are difficult (or impossible) to answer with existing approaches. Our research spans from questions in cancer biology and developmental biology to symbiotic cellular systems and cell biology. We tackle questions where protein expression, state, and function play important biological roles, and we are particularly interested in questions where proteoforms (e.g., protein isoforms) are key molecular players. In this talk, I will focus on two areas where precision microfluidic tools for molecular and cellular measurements are accelerating biological understanding. First, single-cell genomics and transcriptomics tools have radically changed the biological sciences and biomedicine. Further, microfluidic tools have radically expanded the capabilities of these sequencing tools (e.g., sequencing flow cells and droplet systems). Our aim is to bring the power of single-cell understanding to proteomics (targeted & discovery) by leveraging the precision of microfluidic design. Second, I will describe recent research from my lab that physically links together multiple, independent measurement modalities in a ‘single-cell, same-cell’ paradigm. Our long-term vision is to create tools that allow researchers to ex-post query a unique originating cell for protein-level information, as informed by a priori sequencing-based discovery. Taken together, we strive to introduce tools uniquely equipped to measure both cellular and molecular heterogeneity as a means to more comprehensively understand cellular form and function.
Biography: Dr. Herr is Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. She received a BS degree in Engineering & Applied Science from the California Institute of Technology and MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Professor Herr is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and an elected member of the National Academy of Inventors. Her research interests include bioinstrumentation innovation to advance quantitation in the biosciences & biomedicine, in particular the study and application of electrokinetic phenomena in single-cell and sub-cellular analyses. She has been recognized as a: Sciex Microscale Separations Innovation Medalist (2018), Visionary Awardee by the City of Berkeley (2017; one of three), Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator (2017-2022), 2016 Mid-Career Achievement Award from the American Electrophoresis Society (AES), 2015 Georges Guiochon Faculty Fellow from HPLC (inaugural), 2012 Young Innovator Award from Analytical Chemistry/CBMS, 2011 NSF CAREER award, 2010 NIH New Innovator Award, 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in chemistry, 2010 New Investigator Award in Analytical Chemistry from Eli Lilly & Co., 2009 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award, 2009 Hellman Family Faculty Fund Award from UC Berkeley.
Host: Maral Mousavi
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Amy Herr, Ph.D. , Professor of Bioengineering, and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator University of California, Berkeley
Talk Title: âÂÂDesign of microanalytical tools to understand single-cell biology
Abstract: My lab is interested in design of microanalytical tools to address cellular-resolution questions thatare difficult (or impossible) to answer with existing approaches. Our research spans from questionsin cancer biology and developmental biology to symbiotic cellular systems and cell biology. Wetackle questions where protein expression, state, and function play important biological roles, andwe are particularly interested in questions where proteoforms (e.g., protein isoforms) are keymolecular players. In this talk, I will focus on two areas where precision microfluidic tools formolecular and cellular measurements are accelerating biological understanding. First, single-cellgenomics and transcriptomics tools have radically changed the biological sciences andbiomedicine. Further, microfluidic tools have radically expanded the capabilities of thesesequencing tools (e.g., sequencing flow cells and droplet systems). Our aim is to bring the powerof single-cell understanding to proteomics (targeted & discovery) by leveraging the precision ofmicrofluidic design. Second, I will describe recent research from my lab that physically linkstogether multiple, independent measurement modalities in a ‘single-cell, same-cell’ paradigm. Ourlong-term vision is to create tools that allow researchers to ex-post query a unique originating cellfor protein-level information, as informed by a priori sequencing-based discovery. Taken together,we strive to introduce tools uniquely equipped to measure both cellular and molecularheterogeneity as a means to more comprehensively understand cellular form and function.
Biography: Dr. Herr is Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and a ChanZuckerberg Biohub Investigator. She received a BS degree in Engineering & Applied Science fromthe California Institute of Technology and MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering fromStanford University. Professor Herr is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical andBiological Engineering (AIMBE) and an elected member of the National Academy of Inventors. Herresearch interests include bioinstrumentation innovation to advance quantitation in the biosciences& biomedicine, in particular the study and application of electrokinetic phenomena in single-celland sub-cellular analyses. She has been recognized as a: Sciex Microscale SeparationsInnovation Medalist (2018), Visionary Awardee by the City of Berkeley (2017; one of three), ChanZuckerberg Biohub Investigator (2017-2022), 2016 Mid-Career Achievement Award from theAmerican Electrophoresis Society (AES), 2015 Georges Guiochon Faculty Fellow from HPLC(inaugural), 2012 Young Innovator Award from Analytical Chemistry/CBMS, 2011 NSF CAREERaward, 2010 NIH New Innovator Award, 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in chemistry,2010 New Investigator Award in Analytical Chemistry from Eli Lilly & Co., 2009 Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award, 2009 Hellman Family Faculty FundAward from UC Berkeley.
Host: Maral Mousavi
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Hacker, Teledyne Scientific Company
Talk Title: Teledyne Scientific 3DHI SLIC Foundry Process
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: Teledyne Scientific offers an innovative 3D-Heterogenous Integration (3D-HI) Packaging Technology as a foundry process though the CA DREAMS hub. The SMART Laminated Interposer with CMOS (SLIC) technology enables a new generation of transceiver arrays that integrate all required functionality from rf beamforming RFIC electronics to III-V front-end MMICs, low-loss transmission lines, dc power distribution, and aperture feeds into a compact, rugged, micromachined three-dimensional structure. Teledyne’s SLIC 3DHI process is particularly suitable for the fabrication of low-cost batch fabricated millimeter-wave phased arrays and has been used to demonstrate phased arrays operating at 44, 94, and 220 GHz.
Biography: Jonathan Hacker is a department head at Teledyne Scientific Company, involved in research and development efforts in low-cost batch-fabricated phased-array sensors using 3DHI, Indium phosphide millimeter-wave monolithic microwave integrated circuits, Charge-Enhanced GaN MMICs, and Vanadium Dioxide ultra-low loss RF switches. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Caltech in 1994. Hacker is a Fellow of the IEEE.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5770/teledyne-scientific-3dhi-slic-foundry-process/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonMore Information: image-400x400 (17).jpg
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5770/teledyne-scientific-3dhi-slic-foundry-process/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, May 02, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Hacker, Teledyne Scientific Company
Talk Title: Teledyne Scientific 3DHI SLIC Foundry Process
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: Teledyne Scientific offers an innovative 3D-Heterogenous Integration (3D-HI) Packaging Technology as a foundry process though the CA DREAMS hub. The SMART Laminated Interposer with CMOS (SLIC) technology enables a new generation of transceiver arrays that integrate all required functionality from rf beamforming RFIC electronics to III-V front-end MMICs, low-loss transmission lines, dc power distribution, and aperture feeds into a compact, rugged, micromachined three-dimensional structure. Teledyne’s SLIC 3DHI process is particularly suitable for the fabrication of low-cost batch fabricated millimeter-wave phased arrays and has been used to demonstrate phased arrays operating at 44, 94, and 220 GHz.
Biography: Jonathan Hacker is a department head at Teledyne Scientific Company, involved in research and development efforts in low-cost batch-fabricated phased-array sensors using 3DHI, Indium phosphide millimeter-wave monolithic microwave integrated circuits, Charge-Enhanced GaN MMICs, and Vanadium Dioxide ultra-low loss RF switches. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Caltech in 1994. Hacker is a Fellow of the IEEE.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5770/teledyne-scientific-3dhi-slic-foundry-process/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonMore Information: image-400x400 (17).jpg
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5770/teledyne-scientific-3dhi-slic-foundry-process/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Mon, May 05, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Bingjie Tang
Mon, May 05, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: From simulation to reality: advancing policy learning for fine-grained manipulation
Date/Time: 05/05/2025 - 11am-1pm.
Venue: 302C in GCS Floor 3
Names of the Dissertation Defense Committee Members:
Gaurav Sukhatme
Jesse Thomason
Erdem Biyik
Feifei Qian
Yashraj Narang
Abstract: Fine-grained manipulation broadly refers to the capability of robots to handle and manipulate objects with high precision, adaptability and robustness. It remains a long-standing challenge in robotics as it includes high-dimensional control, contact-rich dynamics, and robustness towards environment uncertainty. Simulation is a powerful computational tool that has been used for decades to test and optimize safety-critical designs and algorithms in multiple industries. We discuss how we can leverage simulation to enable fast and effective policy learning for fine-grained manipulation and robust transfer to real-world deployment.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 302C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Bingjie Tang
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Tue, May 06, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Sasha Volokh
Tue, May 06, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Dissertation Title: Using Program Analysis to Determine Actions for Video Game Testing
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 6th, 10:00am-12:00pm
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C - 4th Floor
Committee: William G.J. Halfond (chair), Nenad Medvidovic, Chao Wang, Mukund Raghothaman, Andrew Nealen
Abstract: In the competitive video game market, the quality of games released to consumers is crucial to their success. However, modern games often release with significant bugs, causing consumer dissatisfaction and a loss of business and reputation for the companies involved. Testing is a key mechanism by which such issues can be caught and addressed during the development process. Many testing approaches require a model of the game rules, which is not available by default for games built with typical game development practices. This poses a barrier to the adoption of more advanced testing techniques, requiring either an expert to model the game or a reliance upon imprecise generic models. At a minimum, knowledge of the possible player actions is crucial for thorough manual and automated testing, but determining a precise and complete model of the game actions is challenging for games built with typical game development practices. In my dissertation, I address these challenges through novel program analysis techniques capable of determining precise and complete models of the game actions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, I adapted them to specify the action spaces of automated game testing agents, as well as to generate instructions for assisting human testers. The results show that the action models determined via program analysis enable effective automated testing agent performance and are also capable of improving the exploratory testing performance of human testers.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Sasha Volokh
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
ECE Seminar: Dipankar Dasgupta
Tue, May 06, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dipankar Dasgupta, William Hill Professor in Cybersecurity | Director, Center for Information Assurance (CflA) | University of Memphis
Talk Title: Generic LLMs in Cybersecurity
Abstract: Generic Large Language Models (GLLMs) are continuously being released with increased size and capabilities, promoting the abilities of these tools as universal problem solvers. While the reliability of GLLMs' responses is questionable in many situations, these are augmented/ retrofitted with external resources for different applications including cybersecurity.
The talk will discuss major security concerns of these pre-trained models: first GLLMs are prone to adversarial manipulation such as model poisoning, reverse engineering and side-channel cyberattacks. Second, the security issues related to LLM-generated codes using open-source libraries/codelets for software development can involve software supply chain attacks. These may result in information disclosure, access to restricted resources, privilege escalation, and complete system takeover.
This talk will also cover the benefits and risks of using GLLMs in cybersecurity, particularly, in malware detection, log analysis, intrusion detection, etc. I will highlight the need for diverse AI approaches (non-LLM-based smaller models) trained with application-specific curated data, fine-tuned for well-tested security functionalities in identifying and mitigating emerging cyber threats including zero-day attacks.
Biography: Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Memphis since January 1997. He has extensively worked on the applications of bio-inspired and machine learning approaches to cyber defense. His groundbreaking works, including digital immunity, negative authentication, cloud insurance model, and auth-spectrum, have earned recognition in Computer World Magazine and other media outlets. He received research funding from different federal agencies including NSF, DARPA, IARPA, NSA, NAVY, ONR, DoD and DHS/FEMA. At the National Cyber Leap Year Summit in 2009, Dr. Dasgupta served as a Co-Chair for the Health-Inspired Network Defense working group (see the report, section 6, starting page 46), the results of which have led to a new research program within the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology. With over 300 publications (including 4 patents), 22000+ citations, and an h-index of 68, Dr. Dasgupta's multidisciplinary research is highly acclaimed. He has received numerous awards, including the 2012 Willard R. Sparks Eminent Faculty Award and the 2014 ACM SIGEVO Impact Award. He also received five best paper awards in different international conferences and has organized Symposia on Computational Intelligence in Cyber Security at IEEE SSCI during 2007-2023. Dr. Dasgupta is an IEEE Fellow, AIIA Fellow and NAI Fellow, an ACM Distinguished Speaker (2015-2020), an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer (2022-2024) and 2024 NSF-Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. He regularly serves as a panelist and keynote speaker and offers tutorials in leading computer science conferences and has given more than 350 invited talks in different universities and industries.
Host: Viktor Prasanna, prasanna@usc.edu
More Information: 2025.05.06 ECE Seminar - Dipankar Dasgupta.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Miki Arlen
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Jesse Zhang
Tue, May 06, 2025 @ 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Scaling Robot Adaptation with Large Model Guidance
Date: Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Time: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Location: RTH (Ronald Tutor Hall), room 306
Defense Committee Members: Erdem Biyik (Chair), Jesse Thomason, Joseph J. Lim, Feifei Qian, Gaurav Sukhatme
Abstract: General-purpose robots deployed in the real world must respond to dynamic environments and continuously learn new tasks. However, existing methods struggle to support such adaptation at scale—that is, without substantial human supervision. In this talk, I present an approach to scalable robot adaptation by leveraging the general knowledge encoded in Large Pre-trained Models (LPTMs). I show how integrating LPTMs with robot learning frameworks can: (1) enhance robot pre-training to better prepare for unfamiliar tasks and settings, (2) adapt to new tasks and environments with human feedback, and (3) ultimately enable autonomous adaptation with minimal human input. Together, these contributions outline a path toward generalizable algorithms that empower robots to learn novel tasks in real-world, unstructured environments.Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 306
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ellecia Williams
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Wed, May 07, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Thu, May 08, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Alexander Bisberg
Thu, May 08, 2025 @ 02:15 AM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Modeling Competitive and Social Success in Multiplayer Online Games
Date and Time: Thursday, May 8th, 2025 | 2:15pm
Location: GCS 502C
Committee Members: Emilio Ferrara (Chair), Luca Luceri, Dmitri Williams
Abstract:
This dissertation examines the continuum from competitive to social success in online multiplayer games, employing quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze player behavior and performance across diverse virtual environments. Beginning with a framework for systematically comparing skill rating models in competitive contexts (FRAGEM-S), the research progresses to novel applications of graph neural networks for win prediction, demonstrating improved accuracy and cross-league generalizability. At the intersection of competitive and social domains, analysis of communication patterns in World of Tanks clan networks reveals that high-performing teams exhibit distinctive communication structures characterized by distributed connectivity rather than mere volume. Moving toward the social end of the spectrum, a quasi-experimental study in Sky: Children of Light provides compelling evidence for both generalized reciprocity and third-party influence in virtual worlds, showing that experiencing or witnessing generosity significantly increases future prosocial behavior and game engagement. Finally, unsupervised learning techniques identify persistent behavioral archetypes—including Lone Wolves, Newbies, and Socialites that remain consistent across different time periods and game genres. Together, these findings provide a comprehensive framework for understanding competitive and social success in online games, with implications extending to virtual teams and online communities more broadly.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 502C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Alex Bisberg
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Emily Chen
Thu, May 08, 2025 @ 09:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Human Behavior in Systems that Undergo Change
Date and Time: Thursday, May 8th, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: GCS 202C
Committee Members: Emilio Ferrara (Chair), Dmitri Williams, Fred Morstatter
Abstract: In an increasingly digital world, understanding human behavior requires looking at both what people say and what they do online. This dissertation bridges these two dimensions by examining how individuals express themselves on social media and how they behave in virtual game environments.
I first focus on explicit expression, analyzing Twitter data from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. presidential election to explore how misinformation spreads and how political polarization shapes discourse. These studies show how crises intensify misinformation, particularly within echo chambers.
My research then turns to behavior, using data from two games -- League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics -- to investigate how players respond to different structural incentives. Despite the games rewarding different strategies, individual behavior remains surprisingly stable, highlighting the persistent influence of agency.
Together, these studies offer a multi-modal perspective on online behavior, contributing to computational social science and informing the design and governance of sociotechnical platforms.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Emily Chen
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Elan Markowitz
Thu, May 08, 2025 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Integrating Knowledge Graphs and Large Language Models to Improve Factuality and Reasoning
Date and Time: Thursday, May 8th, 2025 | 2:30p Location: GCS 202C
Committee Members: Aram Galstyan, Greg Ver Steeg, Bistra Dilkina, Antonio Ortega
Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) have rapidly emerged as the dominant paradigm in AI due to their powerful understanding of unstructured text, strong reasoning abilities, and highly general task completion capabilities. However, they also have limitations in terms of how they use knowledge. They are black boxes with internal reasoning that is hard to analyze; they hallucinate incorrect facts as if they are true; and they suffer from knowledge cutoffs based on when their training ends. Knowledge graphs naturally complement these weaknesses through providing vast, structured, up-to-date, information over both general and specific domains. At the same time, knowledge graphs have limitations, such as incompleteness and limited reasoning, that can be complemented by Large Language Models. Ultimately, through better integrating these approaches, we will deliver more reliable and trustworthy AI systems.
In this dissertation, I present a body of research on combining Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs to address many of their individual weaknesses. This includes topics such as addressing knowledge graph incompleteness through combining language models and more structured graph neural networks; Integrating LLMs and external knowledge graphs with advanced reasoning capabilities; Measuring how presentation and other factors impact Large Language Models' understanding of in-context Knowledge Graphs; and using Knowledge Graphs to improve model editing approaches for updating an LLM’s internal knowledge.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Elan Markowitz
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Fri, May 09, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
This course is designed for current and aspiring business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and drive organizational change effectively. The course consists of five modules, each containing multiple lessons, and is designed to be completed as an asynchronous course, offering flexibility for busy professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a University of Southern California Continuing Education Certificate.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Zhaoxu Zhang
Fri, May 09, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Dissertation Title: Automated Reproduction of Bug Reports for Mobile Applications
Date/Time: Friday, May 9th, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C - 2nd Floor Location: GCS 202C
Committee: William G.J. Halfond (chair), Nenad Medvidovic, Chao Wang, Jesse Thomason, and Sandeep Gupta.
Abstract:Mobile app developers need to reproduce the failures described in bug reports submitted by app users in order to fix the bug. However, due to the often low quality of bug reports and the complexity of modern applications, this manual reproduction process can be challenging and time-consuming. As a result, there is a significant demand for automated solutions that can assist in reproducing mobile app bug reports. Unfortunately, existing methods for reproducing mobile app bug reports have several limitations. They typically handle only limited forms of natural language text in the bug report, struggle to reproduce bugs when the report lacks accurate and complete reproduction steps, and are unable to reproduce non-crash bugs. In my dissertation, I developed and implemented several techniques to address the limitations of existing approaches and enhance the automated reproduction process for mobile app bug reports. First, I developed an approach that leverages a set of Natural Language Processing analyses to extract step information from bug reports, handling a wider variety of text than existing methods. Second, I introduced two algorithms designed to identify UI events to reproduce the reproduction steps, specifically aimed at addressing the challenges posed by incomplete and inaccurate steps. Third, I designed an approach that automatically recognizes buggy behaviors based on bug reports, enabling the automated reproduction of non-crash bug reports. I evaluated the effectiveness of each technique using real-world bug reports and assessed the overall reproduction performance by integrating them into end-to-end reproduction approaches. The results demonstrated that each individual technique achieved high accuracy, and the combined reproduction approach significantly outperformed state-of-the-art approaches in reproducing mobile app bug reports.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Zhaoxu Zhang
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
ECE Seminar: Naifeng Zhang
Fri, May 09, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Naifeng Zhang, PhD Candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Talk Title: Code generation for cryptographic kernels using multi-word modular arithmetic
Abstract: Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are emerging as solutions for data security in distributed environments. However, the widespread adoption of these encryption techniques is hindered by their significant computational overhead, primarily resulting from core cryptographic operations that involve large integer arithmetic. This paper presents a formalization of multi-word modular arithmetic (MoMA), which breaks down large bit-width integer arithmetic into operations on machine words. We further develop a rewrite system that implements MoMA through recursive rewriting of data types, designed for compatibility with compiler infrastructures and code generators. We evaluate MoMA by generating cryptographic kernels, including basic linear algebra subprogram (BLAS) operations and the number theoretic transform (NTT), targeting various GPUs. Our MoMA-based BLAS operations outperform state-of-the-art multi-precision libraries by orders of magnitude, and MoMA-based NTTs achieve near-ASIC performance on commodity GPUs.
Biography: Naifeng Zhang is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Professor Franz Franchetti. He received bachelor's degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Southern California, advised by Professor Viktor K. Prasanna. His research interests include high-performance code generation, programming languages, compilers, and algorithms. His webpage can be found at https://naifeng.github.io/
Host: Dr. Viktor Prasanna, prasanna@usc.edu
More Information: 2025.05.09 ECE Seminar - Naifeng Zhang.pdf
Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - MCB 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Miki Arlen
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, May 09, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Subramanian Iyer, Professor, UCLA
Talk Title: Strategic Directions for Electronics Packaging
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: Recent advances in electronics packaging have come to the rescue as CMOS scaling has stalled making possible the incredible advances in AI/ML and many other fields, that promise to transform our lives. This journey, however, has only just begun and much more is yet to come. The key features that will drive this transformation can be described with the simple strategy of “scale-down and scale-out” that has characterized monolithic CMOS scaling for several decades, the drive to chiplets with higher yields, and the ability to assemble a diversity of technologies on the same substrate allowing us to blur the lines between monolithic chip and a large heterogeneous assembly of chips. In this talk we will describe our approach to simplify packaging at all levels: from design, architecture, process and manufacturing that have the potential to take packaging to the next level including the ability to scale packaging systematically. If time permits, we will outline how to meet those challenges through a broad and organic Industry-Academia Coalition called ÆPeX America – the Advanced Electronics Packaging eXchange for America. We will outline how companies (small and large), research establishments and Universities can join ÆPeX America and benefit and contribute to our progress.
Biography: Subramanian S. Iyer (Subu) is Distinguished Professor and holds the Charles P. Reames Endowed Chair in the Electrical Engineering Department and a joint appointment in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of California at Los Angeles. In 2023-4, he was on assignment to the US Department of Commerce as Director of the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, where he laid the foundational strategy for the national packaging imperative. He is the founding Director of the Center for Heterogeneous Integration and Performance Scaling (UCLA CHIPS). Prior to that he was an IBM Fellow. His key technical contributions have been the development of the world’s first SiGe base HBT, Salicide, electrical fuses, embedded DRAM and 45nm technology node used to make the first generation of truly low power portable devices as well as the first commercial interposer and 3D integrated products. Since joining UCLA, he has been exploring new packaging paradigms and device innovations that may enable wafer-scale architectures, in-memory analog compute and medical engineering applications. He is a fellow of IEEE, APS, iMAPS and NAI as well as a Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE EDS and EPS. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay and received the IEEE Daniel Noble Medal for emerging technologies in 2012 and the 2020 iMAPS Daniel C. Hughes Jr Memorial award and the iMAPS distinguished educator award in 2021. Professor Iyer was also Professor Ramakrishna Rao Visiting Chair Professor at IISc, Bengaluru.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5776/strategic-directions-for-electronics-packaging/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonWebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5776/strategic-directions-for-electronics-packaging/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - James Huang
Fri, May 09, 2025 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Collaborative Decision-Making of Language Models
Date and Time: Friday, May 9th, 2025 | 3:00p - 4:30p
Location: GCS 502C
Committee Members: Muhao Chen, Fred Morstatter, Laurent Itti, Robbin Jia, Dan O'Leary
Abstract: While general-purpose language models have demonstrated strong performance on a wide range of tasks, they still have their own weaknesses such as biases, misalignment, lack of task-specific knowledge, etc. One promising way of addressing these challenges is to combine the strengths of different language models. In this proposal, I will outline my research exploring various strategies to facilitate collaborative decision making of language models. Specifically, I will present 1) a shortcut mitigation method via ensemble-based attention debiasing, 2) a decoding-time alignment framework that uses model-based reward functions to guide model generation, and 3) an unlearning method that removes sensitive knowledge by learning a logit offset. Finally, I will discuss future directions for language model collaboration.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 502C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: James Huang
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
TIEHub YCombinator Application Workshop & Mixer
Fri, May 09, 2025 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Viterbi Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
University Calendar
Meet other USC YC applicants & get feedback on your application over pizza!
Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Viterbi TIE
Event Link: https://cglink.me/2nB/r404355
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - Christina Shin
Tue, May 13, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Harnessing Vehicular 3D Primitives for Networked Scene Operation and Manipulation
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 | 11am-12:30pm
Location: GCS 402C
Committee Members: Ramesh Govindan (Advisor), Laurent Itti, Harsha V. Madhyastha, Antonio Ortega, Barath Raghavan
Abstract: This proposal explores a cloud-centric framework for managing 3D data as a networked and shared resource in vehicular systems. Fueled by 3D sensors like LiDARs, 3D data enables new ways of perceiving and interacting with the physical world with high spatial fidelity. With the rise of vehicular communication, 3D data can now be streamed, fused, and interpreted beyond local on-board devices enabling new forms of collaborative scene understanding and immersive content delivery.
The proposal introduces two systems: RECAP, which reconstructs traffic scenes by aggregating 3D data from moving vehicles, and CIP, which performs collaborative perception using multiple infrastructure sensors. These works demonstrate how cloud processing can support real-time, accurate, and scalable 3D scene operations. Looking ahead, the proposed system MARS aims to deliver 3D video to vehicles for immersive passenger experiences, expanding the use of 3D data beyond machine perception to human-centered applications.
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Christina Shin
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Paul Chiou
Tue, May 13, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Automated Detection of Keyboard Accessibility Issues in Web Applications
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 13th, 2025. 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) Floor L5 - Room 502C
Committee Members: William G.J. Halfond (Chair), Nenad Medvidovic, Mukund Raghothaman, Gisele Ragusa, and Chao Wang
Abstract: The internet has become an important part of our daily lives, enabling us to complete everyday and essential tasks online. For the 15% of the global population with disabilities, accessing the internet is critical and can provide access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable. Many people with different disabilities rely on the keyboard interface to access the internet; however, studies found that web applications today largely remain inaccessible to keyboard users. Testing keyboard accessibility is a labor-intensive task currently done manually by skilled practitioners. In my research, I used program analysis techniques to automate the keyboard accessibility testing process to alleviate the manual effort involved. I developed a novel approach to automatically detect keyboard accessibility issues that negatively affect disabled users' ability to navigate web pages' user interface. The approach implements a dynamic crawler to build a model that captures a web page's interactivity from a keyboard user's perspective. The approach then analyzes the model to identify the inaccessible behaviors per accessibility guidelines. Finally, I conducted evaluations to show the accuracy of the approach in detecting keyboard accessibility issues in real-world web applications.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 502C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Paul Chiou
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94969307418?pwd=tEEvSPznMZgr7DBEvP4T5vREfBCYD0.1
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Hsien-Te Kao
Tue, May 13, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Cold Start Prediction in Personalizd Health
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 | 2:00p - 4:00p
Location: GCS 202C
Committee Members: Emilio Ferrara (Chair), Kristina Lerman, Maryam M. Shanechi
Abstract: Mobile health (mHealth) has transformed healthcare delivery by using mobile technologies, wearable sensors, and machine learning to expand access, especially for populations facing geographic, economic, or clinical barriers. By enabling passive and continuous data collection, mHealth systems support early detection, real-time prediction, and proactive management of a wide range of health conditions through sensor-driven machine learning. Personalized mHealth extends these capabilities by integrating individual-level modeling and multi-source health records to improve model performance and support deeper understanding of individual health in their life contexts. Despite this progress, real-world deployment remains constrained by user reluctance, privacy concerns, and strict regulations that severely limit the availability of labeled individual health data. This dissertation presents a personalized mHealth framework designed to achieve mHealth predictions without health labels, addressing the cold-start problem. The work identifies key temporal segments that most influence model performance, introduces a cognitive appraisal-based similarity metric linking individuals through physiological signals and health labels, and demonstrates that five labels are sufficient for assigning users into their appraisal cohorts. It further shows that promising mHealth predictions can be achieved under cold-start conditions and uncovers how sociodemographic factors are associated with latent physiological and health patterns. The research contributes to foundational advances in theory-driven, label-efficient modeling for individualized health prediction. It also supports the development of practical mHealth systems capable of improving everyday health management beyond clinical settings.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 202C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hsien-Te Kao
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Tue, May 13, 2025 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chwee Teck Lim, NUS Society Chair Professor National University of Singapore, Singapore
Talk Title: From Cells to Tissues: Collective Dynamics of Multicellular Assemblies
Abstract: Collective multicellular migration plays a vital role in processes such as embryonic development, wound healing, epithelial maintenance, and cancer metastasis. Unlike isolated cells, cell cohorts exhibit coordinated behaviors influenced by their physical and geometrical environments. Understanding these collective dynamics is essential not only for advancing fundamental biology, but also for engineering applications involving living systems. In this talk, I will present our recent works on the migration of epithelial cell sheets under well-defined mechanical and geometrical constraints. Using custom-designed platforms, we investigate how cells migrate across both flat and curved substrates, including microtubes that mimic physiologically relevant topographies. These studies reveal how mechanical features such as confinement and curvature affect collective migration patterns, including alignment, force generation, and directional persistence. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how multicellular systems respond to external cues and have important implications for the design of biohybrid systems—integrated platforms that combine living cells with engineered components. Such insights can inform the development of biomaterials and scaffolds that promote desired cell behaviors, enhancing outcomes in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biomedical device design. This work bridges cell biology and engineering, offering new directions for building adaptive, multiscale living systems.
Biography: Professor Chwee Teck Lim is the NUSS Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore. He is also the Founding Director of the Singapore Health Technologies Consortium, a national initiative. He conducts research in human disease mechanobiology and develops innovative medical technologies for healthcare applications. Prof Lim has co-authored over 500 journal articles and delivered over 530 invited talks. He is also a serial entrepreneur having cofounded six startups with one IPO in 2018. Prof Lim is globally recognized for his distinguished achievements by the over 100 research awards and honors including the Nature Lifetime Achievement Award for Mentoring in Science, Highly Cited Researcher, Asia’s Most Influential Scientist Award, ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award, Asian Scientists 100, Credit Suisse Technopreneur of the Year Award, Wall Street Journal Asian Innovation Award and the President's Technology Award. He is also an Elected Fellow of 9 academies including the UK Royal Society, US National Academy of Inventors, IUPESM, IAMBE, AIMBE, ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology, Singapore National Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering, Singapore.
Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Viterbi School Undergraduate Commencement Reception
Fri, May 16, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Student Activity
Join us in celebrating your incredible accomplishments and a chance to connect with fellow graduates, faculty, and staff at the Viterbi School Undergraduate Commencement Reception!
Registration is required for all attendees. Graduates may register themselves and up to 10 guests.
Please note: Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided for registered guests. While we are happy to offer celebratory bites and beverages, this is not a full meal, and refreshments will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Viterbi Commencement Website
https://viterbi.usc.edu/commencement
Location: Sign into EngageSC to View Location
Audiences:
Contact: Melissa Medeiros
Event Link: https://engage.usc.edu/viterbi/rsvp?id=404216
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, May 16, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chee Wei Wong, Professor, UCLA
Talk Title: Precision Chip-scale Laser Frequency Microcombs at the Fundamental Limits
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: Chip-scale laser frequency microcombs has achieved equidistant coherent frequency markers over a broad spectrum, advancing frontiers in time-frequency standards, analog-digital conversion, dense communications, qubit spectroscopy, and precision metrology. In this talk we will describe coherent mode-locking in frequency microcombs, verified by interferometric phase-resolved ultrafast spectroscopy at sub-100-attojoule sensitivities. Normal dispersion sub-100-fs mode-locking is observed, supporting by first-principles nonlinear modeling and analytical predictions. Secondly, we will describe the noise limits in full stabilization of frequency microcombs, locking down both the high-frequency repetition rate and one of the comb lines against a reference. Active stabilization improves the long-term stability by six orders of magnitude, reaching a record instrument-limited residual instability of 3.6 mHz per root tau and a tooth-to-tooth relative frequency uncertainty down to 50 mHz and 2.7×10^(−16). Thirdly, we will describe the femtosecond timing jitter metrology of the microcombs at the thermodynamical and quantum noise limits. Self-heterodyne linear interferometer circumvents the amplitude-to-phase noise conversion and improves the shot noise limits. Fourthly, with 1-Hz resolution on our optical 200-THz carriers, measurements of a compact reference laser at sub-10-Hz/root-Hz spectral densities will be described. Our examinations support the modular implementations of field-deployed next-generation frequency metrology, timing clocks and communications.
Biography: Professor Chee Wei Wong examines ultrafast, precision, and quantum measurements in mesoscopic systems. He serves as a faculty member at the University of California and, prior to that, a tenured faculty member at Columbia University. He is elected a member of the National Academy of Inventors and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of APS, IEEE, OSA, ASME and SPIE. He is a recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award, NSF CAREER Award, Google Faculty Award, NIH Early Scientist Trailblazer Award, and 3M Faculty Award among others. He completed his Sc.D. (2003) and M.Sc. (2001) from MIT, and his B.Sc. and B.A. from UC Berkeley in 1999. His work has appeared in more than 430 journals and conferences, including Nature, Science and Phys. Rev. Lett. series. He delivered 135+ plenary and invited talks at universities and industry, published 4 book chapters, and has worked with 65 PhD students and research scientists, about a third are now in their own professorships including full professors in leading universities.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5752/precision-chip-scale-laser-frequency-microcombs-at-the-fundamental-imits/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonWebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5752/precision-chip-scale-laser-frequency-microcombs-at-the-fundamental-imits/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Semiconductors and Microelectronics Technology Seminar - Taro Hitosugi, Friday, May 16th at 1:30pm PST in EEB 248
Fri, May 16, 2025 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Taro Hitosugi, Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo
Talk Title: Autonomous experiments for thin films and solid materials
Series: Semiconductors & Microelectronics Technology
Abstract: Autonomous experiments, integrating machine learning and robotics, are revolutionizing materials science research. This approach accelerates the discovery and optimization of novel materials by automating the experimental process and enabling the exploration of vast parameter spaces. We present an autonomous experimental system for thin-film materials research. This system automates all stages of the experimental process, including sample handling, thin-film deposition, optimization of growth conditions, and comprehensive data acquisition (X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy, etc.). By combining robotic control with Bayesian optimization, our system autonomously explores the parameter space and identifies optimal conditions. We demonstrate this approach by synthesizing and maximizing the electrical conductivity of Nb-doped TiO2 thin films. Furthermore, this autonomous system has enabled the discovery of new ionic conductors. This work highlights the potential of autonomous experimentation for accelerating materials science research, particularly for solid-state materials. We are currently developing an autonomous experimental system for synthesizing bulk materials.
Biography: Taro Hitosugi is a Professor of Chemistry at The University of Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo in 1999 and began his career at Sony Corporation. In 2003, he transitioned to academia, holding positions as an Assistant Professor at The University of Tokyo and Associate Professor at Tohoku University before becoming a full professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2015. He returned to The University of Tokyo in 2022. An expert in solid-state chemistry, thin film, and surface and interface science, Professor Hitosugi's research focuses on materials for electronics and energy applications. His work includes the development of autonomous material synthesis using machine learning and robotics to accelerate materials science research. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in leading academic journals. He serves on the editorial advisory board of APL Materials and as an associate editor for Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (STAM). Professor Hitosugi contributes his expertise to the Cabinet Office's "Materials Strategy" and the Science Council of Japan.
Host: Joshua Yang, Chongwu Zhou, Steve Cronin and Wei Wu
More Information: Taro Hitosugi_2024-05-16.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Dissertation Defense - Soumya Sanyal
Fri, May 16, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Demystifying and Improving Large Language Models on Consistent Reasoning
Date and Time: Friday, May 16th, 2025 | 2:00p - 4:00p
Location: GCS 402C
Committee Members: Xiang Ren (Chair), Robin Jia, Morteza Deghani
Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance on various language tasks. However, their reasoning processes often lack consistency, a fundamental requirement for trust, reliability, and interpretability. In this talk, I define reasoning consistency as a multi-faceted concept that requires logical coherence, non-contradiction, and robustness to semantic and structural perturbations. My research focuses on three core areas: (1) benchmarking the consistency of LLMs on deductive reasoning tasks, (2) detecting inconsistencies in LLMs' internal reasoning across different language tasks, and (3) developing techniques to enhance the consistency and reliability of LLM reasoning. The findings aim to understand the behavior of LLMs and enhance their reliability in real-world applications where consistent reasoning is critical.Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Somuya Sanyal
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Viterbi School Masters Commencement Reception
Fri, May 16, 2025 @ 02:30 PM - 04:30 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Student Activity
Join us in celebrating your incredible accomplishments and a chance to connect with fellow graduates, faculty, and staff at the Viterbi School Masters Commencement Reception!
Registration is required for all attendees. Graduates may register themselves and up to 10 guests.
Please note: Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided for registered guests. While we are happy to offer celebratory bites and beverages, this is not a full meal, and refreshments will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Viterbi Commencement Website
https://viterbi.usc.edu/commencement
Location: Sign into EngageSC to View Location
Audiences:
Contact: Melissa Medeiros
Event Link: https://engage.usc.edu/viterbi/rsvp?id=404215
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
USC Fullbright US Student Program - Recipient Panel & Writing Breakouts
Fri, May 23, 2025 @ 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
In this session, youâll hear directly from recent USC Fulbright recipients as they share their experiences, insights, and advice on the application process. Learn what made their applications stand out and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to become a Fulbright grantee.
After the panel, weâll break into grant-specific writing workshops once again, giving you the chance to further develop your application essays with guidance from USC Writing Center faculty. This session will help you refine your materials and prepare for one-on-one advising appointments in the summer. Donât miss this opportunity to strengthen your application with expert support!
USC has been named a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Students and Scholars and is one of only 19 institutions named as top producers for both of the prestigious programs for 2024-2025.As you begin to define your postgraduate plans, we would like to personally invite you to explore the Fulbright U.S. Student Program (https://us.fulbrightonline.org/). Fulbright is a U.S. government-funded program that supports an academic year of research, English teaching, graduate study, and other opportunities outside of the United States once your undergraduate degree is completed. While it may seem early to be thinking about an opportunity post-USC, it is necessary to plan well-in advance to meet campus and national deadlines. *U.S. citizenship is required
As a first step, we recommend that you watch a Fulbright U.S. Student Program General Information Session hosted by the Fulbright national team (https://vimeo.com/930424149?share=copy#t=0).Location: Online Event
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Noe Mora
Event Link: https://engage.usc.edu/viterbi/rsvp?id=403941
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
ECE Seminar - Prof. Saif Khan Mohammed, Friday, May 30th at 10am in EEB 132
Fri, May 30, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Saif Khan Mohammed, EE - Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
Talk Title: Zak-OTFS ⓠThe Waveform for Next Generation Communication Systems
Series: ECE Seminar
Abstract: In this talk we present our work based on signal representation in the delay-Doppler (DD) domain which gives rise to pulsones. The DD domain representation of any time-domain/frequency-domain signal is given by its Zak transform. Pulsones are simply quasi-periodic pulses in the DD domain whose interaction with a doubly-spread channel is stationary and non-fading when the pulse period along the delay axis is greater than the channel delay spread and the pulse period along the Doppler axis is greater than the channel Doppler spread, a condition we refer to as the crystallization condition. In Zak-OTFS modulation, information is carried by pulses in the DD domain. Due to the stationary input-output (I/O) relation of Zak-OTFS modulation, the effective DD domain channel can be acquired/estimated with negligible overhead, and the performance is robust to channel delay and Doppler spread.
Zak-OTFS modulation is therefore ideally suited for ubiquitous communication (e.g., satellite communication, aircraft communication, high speed train, where we encounter high Doppler spread). Machine learning (ML) can revolutionize wireless communication only if the interaction of the carrier waveforms with the channel varies very slowly in both time and frequency. Since Zak-OTFS renders a stationary I/O relation, it enables learning algorithms to achieve better resource allocation/precoding etc. Zak-OTFS waveforms are also suited for radar sensing. Appropriate DD domain signal processing allows for co-existence of communication and sensing signals with little cross-interference, i.e., integrated sensing and communication.
Our pioneering work on this new waveform is a paradigm shift in the way communication systems are designed and is expected to play a decisive role in the future of wireless communication. This work is presented in detail in our book titled “OTFS Modulation: Theory and Applications”, Wiley and IEEE Press, Nov. 2024.
Biography: Saif Khan Mohammed is a Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi). He currently holds the Jai Gupta Chair at IIT Delhi. He received the B.Tech. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India, in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical Communication Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, in 2010. From 2010 to 2011, he was a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Communication Systems Division (Commsys), Electrical Engineering Department (ISY), Linkoping University, Sweden. He was an Assistant Professor at Commsys, from September 2011 to February 2013. His main research interests include waveforms for sixth generation (6G) communication systems, wireless communication using large antenna arrays, coding and signal processing for wireless communication systems, information theory, and statistical signal processing.
Host: Andreas Molisch
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96943734400
More Information: 2025 Ming Hsieh ECE Seminar .pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96943734400
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, May 30, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Minh Nguyen, HRL Laboratories
Talk Title: Antimonide-based Narrow Bandgap Semiconductors for Infrared Technology and Quantum Information Science
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: Antimonide-based III-V semiconductors are a unique group of narrow bandgap materials with the maturity level to yield industrial-scale, high-quality devices while also serving as a platform for basic science investigations. Heterostructures made from these compounds feature small energy gaps, less than 0.3 eV, corresponding to optical transitions in the infrared and terahertz regimes. As a result, they have tremendous potential in applications such as detectors, lasers, photovoltaic cells, and spectroscopy. In the field of infrared detection and imaging, antimonide-based materials have emerged as a serious alternative to the incumbent state-of-the-art Mercury Cadmium Telluride due to its superior “–ilities”: uniformity, stability, scalability, manufacturability, affordability. Significant investment in the field of infrared detection over the past three decades has established a sustainable ecosystem for narrow bandgap III-Vs. This in turn provides a technological boost for the advancement of quantum information science with the realization of higher quality materials and better fabrication protocols for micro/nano quantum devices. These narrow bandgap compound semiconductors, comprised of heavy constituent atoms with large spin orbit coupling strengths, offer many advantages in spintronics and semiconductor-based qubit technologies. This talk will summarize HRL’s research and development activities in antimondide-based semiconductors for infrared and quantum applications.
Biography: Dr. Binh-Minh (Minh) Nguyen is a Senior Scientist/Group Manager in the Sensors and Electronics Laboratory at HRL Laboratories where he manages an R&D portfolio on antimonide-based semiconductor for infrared sensing technology and quantum materials. Nguyen received his Diplôme de l’Ecole Polytechnique and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University. His expertise includes device modeling/design, epitaxial growth, device fabrication and testing. Nguyen has authored/co-authored six book chapters and over 90 technical papers with over 4000 citations and an h-index of 41. He is a Fellow of SIPE and Senior Member of IEEE.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5781/antimonide-based-narrow-bandgap-semiconductors-for-infrared-technology-and-quantum-information-science/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonWebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
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