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SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for the 2nd week of October
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Ph.D. Defense - Eli Pincus
Mon, Oct 05, 2020 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Ph.D. Defense - Eli Pincus 10/05 2:00 pm "An Investigation of Fully Interactive Multi-Role Dialogue Agents"
Ph.D. Candidate: Eli Pincus
Date: Monday, October 5, 2020
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Committee: David Traum (chair), Maja Mataric, Peter Kim
Title: An Investigation of Fully Interactive Multi-Role Dialogue Agents
Abstract:
In the course of their lives human perform multiple roles such as work and social roles. However, current research in human-computer dialogue has focused on dialogue agents that perform only one role of an interaction. For example, Apple's Siri acts mainly as an assistant. In this thesis we helps fill the gap in multi-role dialogue agent research.
We describe an architecture that endows a test-bed agent with core dialogue management capabilities for both roles of a word-guessing game but can be adapted for different embodiments including virtual human, robot, and a non-embodied web-platform that enables use of the test-bed agent in "in the wild" experiments. We incrementally evaluate design decisions for the test-bed agent that decrease the chance that our later experiments, that more directly evaluate the agent's multi-role capabilities, failed to find effects due to confounds stemming from poor design decisions. We establish that multi-role agents, when compared to single-role versions of the same agent, are able to elicit enjoyment from users without negatively impacting user's perceptions. We also use an "in the wild" experiment to prove that a multi-role content sourcing strategy can be superior to other scalable content sourcing strategies.
Meeting Links:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://usc.zoom.us/j/92791499440?pwd=djNKQzMxalJXZTVUR3dTQUp6Ykw2dz09
Meeting ID: 927 9149 9440
Passcode: 281112WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/92791499440?pwd=djNKQzMxalJXZTVUR3dTQUp6Ykw2dz09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Lizsl De Leon
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USC Spatial Sciences Institute Brown Bag Talk
Tue, Oct 06, 2020 @ 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Howard Hu, Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Talk Title: The Global Burden of Disease Pollution
Abstract: This brown bag session which will be held on Tuesday October 6, 2020 from 12:30-1:30 pm PST, RSVP: https://usc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIscuqsqjksG9YnVxO91UU9hXXK-RRaSVOt
Please join the USC Spatial Sciences Institute Brown Bag talk with Dr. Howard Hu, who joined the Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, as its new chair on July 1, 2020.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://usc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIscuqsqjksG9YnVxO91UU9hXXK-RRaSVOt
The Global Burden of Disease Project (GBD), funded for over 2 decades by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is the largest scientific collaboration in the world and now a partnership with the World Health Organization. It describes mortality and morbidity from major diseases, injuries and risk factors to health at global, national and regional levels. Examining trends from 1990 to the present and making comparisons across populations enables understanding of the changing health challenges facing people across the world in the 21st century and provides policy makers with the evidence to make key decisions as they pursue the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2017, the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health used GBD data to demonstrate that outdoor and indoor air pollution, radon, and lead were likely responsible for 3 times the annual deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV AIDS combined. In follow up, Dr. Hu and colleagues initiated the GBD Pollution, Climate and Health Initiative (GBD PCHI), which aims to expand the GBD to include additional top-priority pollutants as well as climate change.
In this talk, Dr. Hu will describe the GBD PCHI, now based at in the Keck USC Department of Preventive Medicine, with a focus on the challenge of estimating human exposure to pollutants in low and middle income countries with little data, and invite a discussion of the potential role of spatial sciences. Dr. Hu will also briefly discuss the Department of Preventive Medicine' nascent Pandemic Population Health Research Center and other collaboration opportunities.
For questions please email Ken Watson, Academic Programs Director, watsonke@usc.edu
Host: USC Spatial Sciences Institute
Location: Online - Zoom
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: USC Computer Science
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Theta Tau Presents Facebook Diversity and Inclusion Event
Tue, Oct 06, 2020 @ 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Student Activity
Join Theta Tau and Facebook on October 6th at 6 PM to meet Facebook Engineers and diversity & Inclusion employees.
This Event will be a great place to:
-Learn more about Facebook's work culture and initiatives to create a more inclusive work environment
-Get a look at first hand experiences working at Facebook from Facebook Engineers
-Meet Facebook employees and ask them about their time at facebook!
To get the Zoom link RSVP here: www.tinyurl.com/thetatauxfb
Location: Online - Zoom
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Theta Tau
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CAIS Seminar: Anna Nagurney (University of Massachusetts Amherst) - Game Theory Network Models for Disaster Relief
Wed, Oct 07, 2020 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Anna Nagurney, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Talk Title: Game Theory Network Models for Disaster Relief
Series: USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society (CAIS) Seminar Series
Abstract: The number of disasters is growing as well as the number of people affected by them with great associated challenges for effective disaster management. In this presentation, Dr. Nagurney will describe her team's research on the development of game theory network models for disaster relief that integrate financial flows from donors as well as the logistics associated with relief item deliveries. Both Generalized Nash Equilibrium as well as Nash Equilibrium constructs will be given and the associated methodologies for the formulation, analysis, and computation to the models outlined. Case studies on Hurricane Katrina as well as the tornados that hit western Massachusetts in 2011 will be presented, which provide surprising insights of relevance to policymakers.
If time permits, Dr. Nagurney will highlight her team's additional recent work on stochastic game theory for disaster relief of relevance to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as game theory models for blood supply chains.
Register in advance for this webinar at:
https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Lm0kfXOeSZaz64kz3CNx2w
After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Anna Nagurney is the John F. Smith Memorial Professor at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks, which she founded in 2001. She holds ScB, AB, ScM and PhD degrees from Brown University in Providence, RI. She is the author of 14 books, more than 200 refereed journal articles, and over 50 book chapters. She presently serves on the editorial boards of a dozen journals and two book series and is the editor of another book series. Professor Nagurney has been a Fulbrighter twice (in Austria and Italy), was a Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and was a Distinguished Guest Visiting Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. She was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College at Oxford University during the 2016 Trinity Term and a Summer Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard in 2017 and 2018. Anna has held visiting appointments at MIT and at Brown University and was a Science Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University in 2005-2006. She has been recognized for her research on networks with the Kempe Prize from the University of Umea, the Faculty Award for Women from the US National Science Foundation, the University Medal from the University of Catania in Italy, and was elected a Fellow of the RSAI (Regional Science Association International), an INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) Fellow, and a Network Science Society Fellow. In 2019, she became the first female recipient of the Constantin Caratheodory Prize from the International Society of Global Optimization. In 2020, she was awarded the Harold Larnder Prize from CORS (only the second female in the award's 35 year history). Anna has also been recognized with several awards for her mentorship of students and her female leadership with the WORMS Award, for example, and the Moving Spirit Award. Anna was one of 44 Women in STEM featured in the STEM Gems book as a role model for young women. Her research has garnered support from the AT&T Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation through its Bellagio Center programs, the Institute for International Education, and the National Science Foundation. She has given plenary/keynote talks and tutorials on 5 continents. She is an active member of several professional societies, including INFORMS, POMS, and RSAI and was the Omega Rho Distinguished Lecturer in 2018 and is a 2020 IFORS Distinguished Lecturer.
Anna's research focuses on network systems from transportation and logistical ones, including supply chains, to financial, economic, social networks and their integration, along with the Internet. She studies and models complex behaviors on networks with a goal towards providing frameworks and tools for understanding their structure, performance, and resilience and has contributed also to the understanding of the Braess paradox in transportation networks and the Internet. She has also been researching sustainability and quality issues with applications ranging from pharmaceutical and blood supply chains to perishable food products and fast fashion to humanitarian logistics and disaster management. She has advanced methodological tools used in game theory, network theory, equilibrium analysis, and dynamical systems. She was a Co-PI on a multi-university NSF grant with UMass Amherst as the lead: Network Innovation Through Choice, which was part of the Future Internet Architecture (FIA) program and was recently a Co-PI on an NSF EAGER grant.
Host: USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society (CAIS)
Location: Online Zoom Webinar
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Computer Science Department
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WiE Negotiation Seminar with Tahl Raz [CANCELLED]
Thu, Oct 08, 2020 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Workshops & Infosessions
This event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
WiE Negotiation Seminar with Tahl Raz
The Graduate Committee of Women in Engineering is excited to host Tahl Raz, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and co-author of the nation's leading publication on negotiation, Never Split the Difference, in our Negotiation Seminar on Thursday, October 8th at 1pm PST.
RSVP to attend!
Learn more about Tahl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahlraz
Zoom Link: https://usc.zoom.us
/j/98308499819?pwd=bVZHeDJRODcrSlFpN3hGZ1dyczU2UT09
RSVP Form: https://forms.gle/mUmuGELEy3jXseVV7
Also, please fill out this brief form if you would like to be added to the Women in Engineering (WiE) mailing list: https://forms.gle/nz81Xj9YFuA67W2y8
Location: Online - Zoom
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us /j/98308499819?pwd=bVZHeDJRODcrSlFpN3hGZ1dyczU2UT09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: USC Computer Science
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HackSConnect (RSVP by Oct 3)
Thu, Oct 08, 2020 @ 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Student Activity
HackSC brings you HackSConnect- a virtually hosted, idea exchange platform for collaboration between companies, teams and ideas. Open to all majors, all are welcome to connect. Expanding your network virtually can be hard but HackSConnect will be a garden of students buzzing and exchanging rad ideas. We'll help you find great new recruits, ideas, and co-founders! Do you have a small startup and want to promote your platform and engage with the USC community? Do you have an idea and are looking to find your dream team? If so, HackSConnect is the event for you!
October 8th
6:00 - 9:00 pm PST OPEN TO ALL
Last day to RSVP: October 3rd at 11.59 pm PST
Want to participate but aren't sure what category of attendee you fall into? Find one of the following categories that best apply to you and sign up!
Seeds: These are ideas with big plans to grow! Do you have a cool idea for a product but are looking to assemble your team? This is a great chance to network and find people who are passionate about the same ideas.
SEEDS RSVP: https://hacksc.typeform.com/to/xZdSvcq6
Sprouts: These are the beginnings of a company that might need a few busy bees to help get it thriving- can be student owned or otherwise. This is if yo're looking to expand, gain user feedback or grow by recruiting bees who have similar interests and ideas.
SPROUTS RSVP: https://hacksc.typeform.com/to/rrtaiY0A
Bees: Bees can buzz around to seeds and sprouts to connect! Register here if you are a student looking to build your network, learn about dope projects and maybe join a team.
BEES RSVP: https://hacksc.typeform.com/to/hfbb6YDj
Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/386471855850897/
See you there,
Location: Online
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: HackSC
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USC MEGA Student Speaker Series
Fri, Oct 09, 2020 @ 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Student Activity
Looking to enhance your visuals in Unity using different shaders? Come join us this Friday, October 9 at 5:00 PM PST for a talk and Q&A by Steph Ng about the basics of using Unity's Shader Graph to create dynamic materials for your objects! While anyone is welcome to join, this talk is primarily for those who already have some Unity programming experience and would like to take their skills even further.
Steph Ng is a senior studying Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation in the USC Iovine and Young Academy. They are also pursuing a minor in Game Design. Steph has experience as a Game Developer Intern at Sony, a VR Product Design Intern at Facebook, and a VR Developer at USC's World Building Media Lab! In addition to this, Steph is currently the AGP Director for Leechbug. Feel free to reach out to them directly if you'd like to help out or playtest for Leechbug!
Check out Steph's work here: https://steph.ng/
Zoom link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96356314342?pwd=dTdsU0JNZTQ3RzVlSVl1dWtPNDZRQT09
Meeting ID: 963 5631 4342
Passcode: 100920 **
**The passcode will always be the date of the event!
For any questions, please email megamesusc@gmail.com or reach out to us via our socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/USCMEGA
Discord: https://discord.gg/4rDUD6H
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEGA_USC
Website: www.uscmega.org
Best,
MEGA
Location: Online - Zoom
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96356314342?pwd=dTdsU0JNZTQ3RzVlSVl1dWtPNDZRQT09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: USC MEGA
