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Events for the 4th week of March
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EE Seminar: Achieving Ultra-High Reliability for Emerging Applications in Future Wireless Systems
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Meryem Simsek, TU Dresden, Germany and ICSI Berkeley
Talk Title: Achieving Ultra-High Reliability for Emerging Applications in Future Wireless Systems
Abstract: Wireless communication systems have been evolving since the first generation. With the fifth generation (5G) of wireless systems, the focus is not only on the evolutionary aspect of increased data rate, but also on novel performance metrics for emerging applications, such as autonomous driving, industrial automation, and Tactile Internet applications. In this context, the wireless system design has increasingly turned its focus on guaranteeing extremely high reliability and low latency. Hence, the developments of 5G systems require leveraging novel techniques to cope with the heterogeneity of applications and to achieve their stringent requirements.
This talk focuses on the definition of reliability in wireless systems and on fundamental techniques to achieve reliability requirements in 5G networks. Firstly, definitions and concepts of reliability theory, which provides a mathematical tool to evaluate and improve the reliability and availability of technical components and systems, are applied and extended to wireless networks. Then, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) is identified as a major metric to study the impact of the wireless link quality on high availability. For addressing new requirements imposed on emerging 5G applications, e.g. outage probabilities of 10-7 or less, a highly accurate modelling of the SINR is needed. A stochastic model of the SINR including the shadow fading, noise power, and best server policy is presented as an alternative to highly complex wireless system simulations providing extreme accuracy and a tool to evaluate the outage probability at any position in any given wireless network. As diversity techniques, such as multi-point connectivity which are also supported by the 5G systems, are widely accepted to be key to achieve high reliability, the proposed SINR model is extended to multi-point transmission. Numerical evaluations reveal the applicability of the model to multi-point connectivity. However, unlike the general understanding, it will be shown that ensuring low outage probabilities does not necessarily imply improved reliability in multi-user systems, in which resources are shared. In this regard, a novel matching theory-based algorithm aiming for guaranteeing reliability requirements in a multi-cellular, multi-user system will be presented. The proposed algorithm yields a maximum gain of 150% as compared to fixed multi-point approaches. The talk will be concluded with a research vision for how the results obtained so far can be extended to design highly flexible and autonomous tools for investigating future wireless systems, which simultaneously support multiple services with diverse requirements. These tools will open the new era for studying the feasibility of emerging applications under given conditions and the coexistence of various use cases with diverse and (partially) competing requirements, for developing novel concepts and end-to-end solutions for intelligent and predictive resource management in wireless systems, and for applying and implementing these concepts and solutions into real systems.
Biography: Meryem Simsek is a Principal Investigator at the International Computer Science Institute Berkeley and a senior Research Group Leader at the Technical University Dresden. She earned her Dipl.-Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and her Ph.D. on "Learning-Based Techniques for Intercell-Interference Coordination in LTE-Advanced Heterogeneous Networks" from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Her current research focuses on modelling and optimizing emerging wireless systems, heterogeneous wireless networks, achieving high reliability and low latency in 5G networks and Tactile Internet applications. Further research interests are based on developing novel tools for network management, wireless edge automation, and autonomous wireless networks and implementing these tools into real systems. She is the recipient of the fellowships by the German Physical Society (2004-2005) and the German National Academic Foundation, which is only granted to the outstanding 0.5% students in Germany (2004-2008). She holds the titles of the first electrical engineering student who has graduated before the regular duration of study and the best Diplom-graduate in Electrical Engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen (2008). Meryem Simsek received the IEEE Communications Society Fred W. Ellersick Prize 2015 for IEEE Communications Magazine paper "When Cellular Meets WiFi in Wireless Small Cell Networks". In addition, she has initiated and is chairing the IEEE Tactile Internet Technical Committee and is serving as the secretary of the IEEE P1918.1 standardization working group, which she has co-initiated. She is also holding the position of the "industry and student activities coordinator" in the IEEE Women in Communications Engineering (WICE) committee.
Host: Andreas Molisch, molisch@usc.edu, x04670
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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EE-EP Faculty Candidate - Suhas Kumar, Monday, March 19th at 12:00pm in EEB 132
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Suhas Kumar, Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto, CA
Talk Title: Computing with Chaos
Abstract: As we realize that many profoundly important problems, such as decoding cancerous genes, prime factorization for cryptography, accurate weather prediction, etc., cannot be solved efficiently even with the best of our digital computers, we need look for new computing paradigms beyond the ageing von Neumann architecture, Boltzmann tyranny, and the Turing limit.
Although chaos sounds antithetical to solving problems, many of the finest computers in nature, from neural circuits in the brain, to evolutionary natural selection, operate at the "edge of chaos" within a "locally active" region, to produce "complexity and emergence". Here I will illustrate how these purely mathematical constructs, firmly established less than a decade ago, can be utilized via electronics to construct efficient computing systems. Taking this rather different route also necessitates a completely revamped research into all the building blocks of a computing system, including discovering relevant nonlinear material properties, constructing radically new locally active device models, and designing a device + problem-centric system architecture. I will use an illustrative example, where we discovered a strange thermal property of a material during its Mott transition that exhibited local activity and controlled electronic chaos, an ensemble of which was used to build a transistorless analogue Hopfield neural network. This scalable and programmable non-von Neumann network utilized chaos to find the global minimum (the best solution) of any constrained optimization problem, and was able to solve the NP-hard traveling salesman problem 1000 times faster than the world's best digital supercomputer.
Biography: Suhas Kumar is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Principal Investigator at Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto, CA. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2014. He leads a group that investigates novel physical properties of materials and devices relevant to new forms of physics-driven and bio-inspired computing. His latest work includes a practical demonstration of the idea of using chaos to accelerate solutions to NP-hard problems. His research has been featured in dozens of scientific publications, conferences, patent applications, and popular media. His contributions were recently acknowledged with the Klein Scientific Development award.
Host: EE-Electrophysics
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
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Biomedical Engineering Seminars
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Talk Title: TBA
Host: Professor Qifa Zhou
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Biomedical Engineering Department Guest Speaker
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Aldo Faisal,
Talk Title: Data-Driven Neuroengineering from Action to Cognition
Abstract: Our work centres on non-invasive neuroengineering that combines cross-disciplinary machine learning and robotics approaches together with experimental methods in the field of neuroscience and experimental psychology. Our goal is to achieve a data-driven understanding of human behaviour to infer intentions and translate this into technology that helps people in health and disease. I will illustrate our research program by reviewing our research efforts in, building an Atlas of Behaviour using wearable sensors capturing the vast majority of human perceptual input and motor output in daily lives. The development of novel machine learning methods for the data- driven understanding of human behaviour to decode intention and control robotic interfaces for human augmentation, and clinical translation of our research in patients with neurodegenerative disorders.
Host: Ellis Meng, PhD
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145/145A
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Center for Systems and Control (CSC@USC) and Ming Hsieh Institute for Electrical Engineering
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ali Jadbabaie, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Talk Title: Near-Optimal Sparse Sensor and Actuator Selection
Series: Joint CSC@USC/CommNetS-MHI Seminar Series
Abstract: In this talk, I present our recent efforts in developing rigorous approaches to sparse sensor and actuator selection in large-scale linear dynamical systems. While sparse sensor and actuator selection is known to be NP-Hard, using tools from optimal experiment design and submodular optimization, we develop a framework for near- optimal sensor and actuator selection with provable approximation guarantees using greedy algorithms. We then extend these results to develop a robust variant of the approximations themes, where the optimization of sensor selection is performed in presence of an adversary who can cause a subset of sensors to fail. Next, using recent developments in graph sparsification and column selection literature, we show how to select a sparse subset of sensors or actuators while guaranteeing performance with respect to the fully sensed or actuated system (and not the optimal sparse one). As a corollary we show that by utilizing a time varying sense or actuator selection schedule, one can guarantee near-optimal sensing/control performance by selecting a dimension-independent (constant) number of sensors or actuators. Joint work with Vassilis Tzoumas (Penn), Milad Siami (MIT), and Alex Olshevsky (BU)
Biography: Ali Jadbabaie is the JR East Professor of Engineering and Associate Director of the Institute for Data, Systems and Society at MIT, where he is also on the faculty of the department of civil and environmental engineering and a principal investigator in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS), and the director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center, one of MIT's 13 research laboratories. He received his Bachelors (with high honors) from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, a Masters degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of New Mexico, and his PhD in control and dynamical systems from the California Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral scholar at Yale University before joining the faculty at Penn in July 2002 where he was the Alfred Fitler Moore a Professor of Network Science. He was the inaugural editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, a new interdisciplinary journal sponsored by several IEEE societies. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Career Award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award from the American Automatic Control Council, and the George S. Axelby Best Paper Award from the IEEE Control Systems Society. His students have been winners and finalists of student best paper awards at various ACC and CDC conferences. He is an IEEE fellow and a recipient of the 2016 Vannevar Bush Fellowship from the office of Secretary of Defense, and a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's Intelligence Science and Technology Expert Group (ISTEG). His current research interests are in distributed decision making and optimization, multi-agent coordination and control, network science, and network economics.
Host: Ketan Savla, ksavla@usc.edu
More Information: jadbabaie.jpg (JPEG Image, 711 × 938 pixels) - Scaled (93%).pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
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Sonny Astani Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar
Mon, Mar 19, 2018 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Gabriel Raviv, Lecturer,Technion Israel Institute of Technology
Talk Title: Modeling of Near Misses Related to Crane Work at Construction Sites and
Abstract: See attachment
Host: Dr. Lucio Soibelman
More Information: Raviv Announcement - 3-19-2018.pdf
Location: Ray R. Irani Hall (RRI) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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TBA
Tue, Mar 20, 2018 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: TBA,
Talk Title: TBA
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: TBA
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium. Please note, due to limited capacity, seats will be first come first serve.
Biography: TBA
Host: Muhammad Naveed / David Kempe
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 100 D
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Epstein Institute Seminar, ISE 651
Tue, Mar 20, 2018 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Natashia Boland, Professor, Georgia Tech
Talk Title: Time Discretization in Integer Programming
Host: Dr. Phebe Vayanos/Prof. Suvrajeet Sen
More Information: March 20, 2018.pdf
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 206
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Grace Owh
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CS Distinguished Lecture: Sham Kakade (University of Washington) – Sub-Linear Reinforcement Learning
Tue, Mar 20, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Sham Kakade, University of Washington
Talk Title: Sub-Linear Reinforcement Learning
Series: Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series
Abstract: Suppose an agent is an unknown environment and seeks to maximize his/her long term future reward. We consider the basic question: does the agent need to learn an accurate model of the environment before he/she can start executing a near-optimal long term course of actions?
Specifically, this talk will consider the problem of provably optimal reinforcement learning for (episodic) finite horizon MDPs, i.e., how an agent learns to maximize his/her (long term) reward in an uncertain environment. The talk will present a novel algorithm, the Variance-reduced Upper Confidence Q-learning (vUCQ), which is the first algorithm which enjoys a regret bound that is both sub-linear in the model size and that achieves optimal minimax regret. The algorithm is sub-linear in that the time to achieve epsilon average regret is a number of samples that is far less than that required to learn any (non-trivial) estimate of the underlying model of the environment. The importance of sub-linear algorithms is largely the motivation for algorithms such as "Q-learning" and other "model-free" approaches.
vUCQ is a successive refinement method in which the algorithm reduces the variance in the "Q-value" estimates and couples this estimation scheme with an upper confidence based algorithm. Technically, this coupling of these techniques is what leads to the algorithm's strong guarantees, showing that "model-free" approaches can be optimal.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Sham Kakade is a Washington Research Foundation Data Science Chair, with a joint appointment in the Department of Statistics and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Washington.
From 2011-2015, I was a principal research scientist at Microsoft Research, New England. From 2010-2012, I was an associate professor at the Department of Statistics, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. From 2005-2009, I was an assistant professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago.
I completed my PhD at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit under the supervision of Peter Dayan, and I was an undergraduate at Caltech where I obtained my BS in physics. I was a postdoc in the Computer and Information Science department at the University of Pennsylvania under the supervision of Michael Kearns.
Host: Computer Science Department
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Computer Science Department
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Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, and Engineering Talk
Wed, Mar 21, 2018
Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission
University Calendar
This half day program is designed for prospective freshmen (HS juniors and younger) and family members. Meet USC includes an information session on the University and the Admission process, a student led walking tour of campus, and a meeting with us in the Viterbi School. During the engineering session we will discuss the curriculum, research opportunities, hands-on projects, entrepreneurial support programs, and other aspects of the engineering school. Meet USC is designed to answer all of your questions about USC, the application process, and financial aid.
Reservations are required for Meet USC. This program occurs twice, once at 8:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.
Please make sure to check availability and register online for the session you wish to attend. Also, remember to list an Engineering major as your "intended major" on the webform!
RSVP
Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - USC Admission Office
Audiences: Prospective Freshmen (HS Juniors and Younger) & Family Members
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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EE Seminar: IoT in the CMOS Era and Beyond: Leveraging Mixed-Signal Arrays for Ultra-Low-Power Sensing, Computation, and Communication
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Siddharth Joshi, University of California, San Diego
Talk Title: IoT in the CMOS Era and Beyond: Leveraging Mixed-Signal Arrays for Ultra-Low-Power Sensing, Computation, and Communication
Abstract: Energy efficiencies obtained by analog processing are critical for next-generation "smart" sensory systems that implement intelligence at the edge. Such systems are widely applicable in areas like biomedical data acquisition, continuous infrastructure monitoring, intelligent sensor networks, and data analytics. However, adaptive analog computing is sensitive to nonlinearities induced by mismatch and noise, which has limited the application of analog signal processing to signal conditioning prior to quantization. This has relegated the bulk of the processing to the digital domain, or a remote server, limiting the system efficiency and autonomy. This talk highlights principled techniques to algorithm-circuit co-design to overcome these obstacles, leading to energy-efficient high-fidelity mixed-signal computation and adaptation.
First, I will provide analytical bounds on the energetic advantages derived by alleviating the need for highly accurate and energy-consuming analog-to-digital conversion through high-resolution analog pre-processing. I will then present an embodiment of this principle in a micropower, multichannel, mixed-signal array processor developed in 65nm CMOS. Spatial filtering with the processor yields 84 dB in analog interference suppression at only 2 pJ energy per mixed-signal operation. At the algorithmic level, I will present work on a gradient-free variation of coordinate descent, Successive Stochastic Approximation (S2A). S2A is resilient to the adverse effects of analog mismatch encountered in compact low-power realizations of high-resolution, high-dimensional mixed-signal processing systems. Over-the-air experiments employing S2A in non-line-of-sight demonstrate adaptive beamforming achieving 65 dB of processing gain.
I will conclude with my vision about the impact of mixed-signal processing on the next generation of computing systems and share my recent work spanning across devices (RRAM), architectures (compute-in memory) and emerging applications(neuromorphic computing). Crossing these hierarchies is critical to leverage emerging technologies in realizing the next generation of sensing, computing, and communicating systems.
Biography: Siddharth Joshi is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of Bioengineering at UC San Diego, he completed his PhD in 2017 at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC San Diego where he also completed his M.S. in 2012. His research focuses on the co-design of custom, non-Boolean and non-von Neumann, hardware and algorithms to enable machine learning and adaptive signal processing in highly resource constrained environments. Before coming to UCSD, he completed a B. Tech from Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology in India.
Host: Alice Parker, parker@usc.edu, x04476
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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CS Colloquium: Nithya Sambasivan (Google) - Design for Autonomy and Fairness of New Technology Users in the Global South
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Nithya Sambasivan, Google
Talk Title: Design for Autonomy and Fairness of New Technology Users in the Global South
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: 2017 saw half the world online. As technology penetration and ecosystem maturity increase, there is a growing intent to use technology for socio-economic development for new technology users. However, complex long-standing challenges like affordability, safety, and socio-religious diktats affect people at the cusp of the internet. My work aims to empower new technology users with increased autonomy and fairness through technology. I present my prior work on design and evaluation of a cost transparency tool intended to help new mobile Internet users; design to tackle abuse and safety vectors for women in Internet technologies; and design and deployment of an information broadcasting system for urban sex workers in India. I show how prevailing HCI assumptions of privacy, trust, and user identities need to be challenged as Internet advances to reach all edges of human society. Through these projects, I show how large problems can be practically addressed through a combination of design, policy, and algorithms.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium. Please note, due to limited capacity, seats will be first come first serve.
Biography: Nithya Sambasivan is a researcher focused on technology design for social, economic and political benefits in the Global South. Her research spans the areas of HCI and ICTD, and has won several recognitions at top conferences. She has been a researcher at Google since 2012, where she has co-founded a group to conduct future-facing research on under-represented topics, such as gender equity and new technology users. Her research has influenced several large-scale real-world projects for the next billion users, and has been directly translated to core libraries, metrics, and guidance for Android and Web developers at Build for Billions, design.google/nbu, and Google I/O talks. Nithya has a Ph.D. and MS in information and computer sciences for University of California, Irvine and and MS in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) from Georgia Tech. Her dissertation focused on technology design for the low-income communities of slums, urban sex workers and microentreprises in India. She is a recipient of Google's Anita Borg and UC Irvine Dean's fellowships. She has interned at Microsoft Research India, Nokia Research Center and IBM TJ Watson.
Host: Milind Tambe
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 115
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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INCOSE Webinar 110
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Systems Architecting and Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr, Swaminathan Natarajan, Dr. Anand Kumar, and Subhro Chaudhuri, Chief Scientist, Tata Consultancy, Senior Scientist, TCS Research, and Senior Scientist, TCS Research, respectively
Talk Title: A Conceptual Model of Systems Engineering
Series: INCOSE Speaker Series
Abstract: The Systems Science Working Group has started a new project to devise a conceptual model of systems that is based on key principles and concepts from systems science. This webinar presents an early draft of such a conceptual model. While systems engineering has strong empirical guidance in the form of practices, methods and standards, it is lacking theoretical foundation in comparison to other engineering disciplines. One approach to address this problem is based on the simple insight that solutions in typical engineering disciplines depend on knowledge in their own discipline, but creating a good systems engineering solution depends on bringing together knowledge from many disciplines. As a result, to create theoretical foundations for systems engineering, it is necessary to inquire into how knowledge domains come together in systems.
This inquiry led to a distinction between domains that carry knowledge about types of wholes vs. domains that carry knowledge about aspects. Theoretical knowledge is built up in aspect domains, while type domains carry knowledge about how various aspects come together in a whole, and how wholes relate to each other. In such a case, Systems engineering can be looked at in terms of four worlds: real, system models, types knowledge and aspects knowledge worlds. Creating an engineering solution involves using type world knowledge to synthesize various aspect solutions, using systems knowledge to ensure compositionality, implementing the solution in real world, and closing gaps between model and reality.
We are in the early stages of this exploration, but would appreciate anyone who would like to join us in this journey. Please contact us for more information.
Swaminathan Natarajan, swami.n@tcs.com
Anand Kumar, anand.ar@tcs.com
Subhrojyoti Roy Chaudhuri, subhrojyoti.c@tcs.com
Biography: Dr. Swaminathan Natarajan (Swami) is a Chief Scientist with Tata Consultancy Services Research and has more than 30 years of Industrial experience in Systems architecture, Software architecture and Engineering. He obtained his B.Tech from IIT Madras in 1983 and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Illinois in 1989. His background includes teaching software engineering at Texas A&M University and Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as applied research positions with Xerox and Motorola India. His work with TCS has focused on systems research, engineering and architecture, including a role as control systems architect for the SKA radio telescope project. He is the editor of ISO 30103, a systems engineering standard on product quality achievement and co-chair of the INCOSE systems science working group.
Dr. Anand Kumar is a Senior Scientist with TCS Research and has more than 21 years of Industrial experience in Systems architecture, Software architecture and engineering. Anand is a member of the ISO JTC1 SC7 WG42 working group on architecture. He is the co-editor of ISO-IEC-IEEE 42020 standard on architecture processes and ISO-IEC-IEEE 42030 standard on architecture evaluation. Anand is the co-chair of INCOSE Architecture Working group, chair for INCOSE India Architecture working group and ISSS digital product-service systems working group. Anand has authored more than 40 papers in leading international journals and conferences. Anand has been granted 3 patents by US PTO and 2 patents by India PTO.
Subrojyoti Roy Chaudhuri (Subhro) is a Senior Scientist with TCS research and has around 20 years of experience. He has been instrumental in the research, design and development of many key capabilities produced by TCS such as MasterCraft and Ignio. Subhro represented the Indian team to participate and contribute in design and development of multiple international mega science projects such as the ITER and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). He is a member of Telescope Manager (TM), an International Consortium and provider of one of the key capabilities of SKA. He currently leads the Telescope Management work package on behalf of the SKA TM consortium and is responsible for the overall design of the monitoring and control solution for SKA. His current area of research entails developing the architecture for the next generation of enabling platforms that would automate the realization of domain specific solutions utilizing robotics and IoT.
Host: International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)
More Info: https://incoseevents.webex.com/mw3100/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=incoseevents&service=6&rnd=0.5636237872535654&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fincoseevents.webex.com%2Fec3100%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26%26%26EMK%3D483
Webcast: Event number 599 253 796, Event password INCOSE110Location: Online via WebEX
WebCast Link: Event number 599 253 796, Event password INCOSE110
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: James Moore II
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Automated Geometric Shape Deviation Modeling for Cyber-Physical Additive Manufacturing Systems via Bayesian Neural Networks
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Arman Sabbaghi, Purdue University
Talk Title: Automated Geometric Shape Deviation Modeling for Cyber-Physical Additive Manufacturing Systems via Bayesian Neural Networks
Series: Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things
Abstract: A significant challenge in dimensional accuracy control of a cyber-physical additive manufacturing (AM) system is the comprehensive specification of geometric shape deviation models for different computer-aided design (CAD) inputs on its constituent AM processes. Current deviation model building methods cannot satisfactorily address this challenge in practice because they are unable to leverage previously specified deviation models for different shapes and processes in an automated or rapid manner. We present a new model building methodology based on a class of Bayesian neural networks (NNs) that directly address the challenge of cyber-physical AM systems. Our framework enables automated and computationally efficient deviation modeling of different shapes and/or AM processes without sacrificing predictive accuracy, compared to existing modeling methods on the same samples of manufactured shapes. A fundamental innovation in our framework is the design of new and connectable NN structures that can leverage previously specified models for adaptive and principled model building. The power and broad scope of our method is demonstrated with several case studies on both in-plane and out-of-plane deviations for a wide variety of shapes manufactured under different stereolithography processes. Our Bayesian NN methodology for automated and comprehensive deviation modeling can ultimately be applied to advance fast, flexible, and high-quality manufacturing in a cyber-physical AM system. This talk is based on a paper written by Raquel De Souza Borges Ferreira, Dr. Arman Sabbaghi, and Dr. Qiang Huang.
Biography: Arman Sabbaghi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at Purdue University. His research interests include model building for improved control of complex engineering systems, Bayesian data analysis, experimental design, causal inference, and statistical analysis with missing data.
Host: Prof. Paul Bogdan
More Information: sabbaghi-t.jpg
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia White
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Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Peter Hagedorn, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Talk Title: New Results on Self-Excitation in Circulatory and Parametrically Excited Systems
Abstract: In mechanical engineering systems, self-excited vibrations are in general unwanted and sometimes dangerous. There are many systems exhibiting self-excited vibrations which up to this day cannot be completely avoided, such as brake squeal, the galloping vibrations of overhead transmission lines, the ground resonance in helicopters and others. Most of these systems have in common that in the linearized equations of motion the self-excitation terms are given by non-conservative, circulatory forces and/or parametric excitation. The presentation will discuss some recent results in linear and nonlinear systems of this type.
Self-excited vibrations have of course been mathematically modelled and studied at least since the times of van der Pol. The van der Pol oscillator is a one degree of freedom system; its linearized equations of motion correspond to an oscillator with negative damping. Sometimes also other self-excited systems present negative damping, which can be made responsible for self-excited vibrations. In all the engineering systems mentioned above however, the self-excitation mechanism is mainly related to the interaction between different degrees of freedom (modes), and the linearized equations of motions contain circulatory terms. This together with parametric resonance is the main excitation mechanism discussed in this paper. Destabilization by 'negative damping' will not be considered. Also stick-slip phenomena are not in the focus of this presentation; they also do not seem to play an important role in all the examples given above.
The systems analyzed in this presentation therefore are characterized by the M, D, G, K, N matrices (mass, damping, gyroscopic, stiffness and circulatory matrices, respectively) which may all be time-dependent. In the unstable case, additional nonlinear terms do of course limit the vibration amplitudes. Different types of bifurcations relevant for these systems have recently been studied in the literature.
In the first part, MDGKN-systems with constant coefficients will be discussed. For a long time it has been well known, that the stability of such systems can be very sensitive to damping, and also to the symmetry properties of the mechanical structure. Recently, several new theorems were proved concerning the effect of damping on the stability and on the self-excited vibrations of the linearized systems. The importance of these results for practical mechanical engineering systems will be discussed. It turns out that the structure of the damping matrix is of utmost importance, and the common assumption, namely representing the damping matrix as a linear combination of the mass and the damping matrices, may give completely misleading results for the problem of instability and the onset of self-excited vibrations.
The second case considered deals with MDGKN-systems with time-periodic coefficients. The stability of these systems can be studied via Floquet theory. A typical property of parametric instability behavior is the existence of combination resonances. However, if parametric excitation in the system is simultaneously present in the K and the N matrices and/or there are excitation terms which are not all in phase, an atypical behavior may occur: The linear system may then for example be unstable for all frequencies of the parametric excitation, and not only in the neighborhood of certain discrete frequencies. Such atypical parametric instability happens even for M, D, G constant and zero mean values for the matrices K(t) and N(t). This was recently observed at the linearized equations of motion for a minimal model of a squealing disk brake. It turns out, that an even much simpler example of such a situation was given about 70 years ago by Lamberto Cesari, but seems to have fallen into oblivion. Until recently it was thought that such out of phase terms in the parametric excitation would not occur in engineering systems. In the presentation it is shown that they may indeed occur for example in the model of a squealing brake and probably in many other mechanical engineering systems, as long as there is slip with friction between solid bodies.
In the unstable case, additional nonlinear terms do of course limit the vibration amplitudes. Different types of bifurcations relevant for these systems are studied using normal form theory, in particular for the 'Cesari equations' with additional nonlinearities.
Host: Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ashleen Knutsen
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CAIS Seminar: Dr. Ian Holloway (UCLA) - Social Networking Site Data Mining to Understand Substance Use and HIV Risk Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Ian Holloway, UCLA
Talk Title: Social Networking Site Data Mining to Understand Substance Use and HIV Risk Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men
Series: USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society (CAIS) Seminar Series
Abstract: Dr. Holloway's presentation will outline the development of a culturally congruent data collection and mining module (DCMM) to study the social networking site (SNS) use patterns, substance use and HIV risk and protective behaviors of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Data gathered through the DCMM will be used to inform just-in-time adaptive interventions to prevent incidence of new HIV cases among this population disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Dr. Holloway is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Director of the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center. His applied behavioral health research examines the contextual factors that contribute to heath disparities among sexual and gender minority populations. Dr. Holloway is particularly interested in how social media and new technologies can be harnessed for health promotion and disease prevention. He holds dual master's degrees in social work and public health from Columbia University and a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California.
Host: Milind Tambe
Location: Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Memorial Hall (of Philosophy) (MHP) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Computer Science Department
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CS Colloquium: Mark Bun (Princeton University) - Finding Structure in the Landscape of Differential Privacy
Wed, Mar 21, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Mark Bun, Princeton University
Talk Title: Finding Structure in the Landscape of Differential Privacy
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Differential privacy offers a mathematical framework for balancing two goals: obtaining useful information about sensitive data, and protecting individual-level privacy. Discovering the limitations of differential privacy yields insights as to what analyses are incompatible with privacy and why. These insights further aid the quest to discover optimal privacy-preserving algorithms. In this talk, I will give examples of how both follow from new understandings of the structure of differential privacy.
I will first describe negative results for private data analysis via a connection to cryptographic objects called fingerprinting codes. These results show that an (asymptotically) optimal way to solve natural high-dimensional tasks is to decompose them into many simpler tasks. In the second part of the talk, I will discuss concentrated differential privacy, a framework which enables more accurate analyses by precisely capturing how simpler tasks compose
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium. Please note, due to limited capacity, seats will be first come first serve.
Biography: Mark Bun is a postdoctoral researcher in the Computer Science Department at Princeton University. He is broadly interested in theoretical computer science, and his research focuses on understanding foundational problems in data privacy through the lens of computational complexity theory. He completed his Ph.D. at Harvard in 2016, where he was advised by Salil Vadhan and supported by an NDSEG Research Fellowship.
Host: Aleksandra Korolova
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Biomedical Engineering Department Guest Speaker
Thu, Mar 22, 2018 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Michael Economo, PhD,
Talk Title: TBA
Host: Ellis Meng, PhD
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - DRB 145/145A
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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EE Seminar: Programming Dynamic Behaviors in Molecular Systems and Materials
Thu, Mar 22, 2018 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Elisa Franco, Assistant Professor, University of California, Riverside
Talk Title: Programming Dynamic Behaviors in Molecular Systems and Materials
Abstract: Biological cells can adapt, replicate, and repair in ways that are unmatched by man-made devices. At the core of these complex behaviors are many dynamic processes that are difficult to deconstruct, and lack the modularity of electrical and mechanical systems. For example, shape adaptation in cells arises from the interplay of receptors, gene networks, and self-assembling cytoskeletal scaffolds. While the interplay of elements performing sensing, control, and actuation is apparent, it is not clear how to program similar behaviors in biological or synthetic matter using a minimal number of components and reactions. To address this general challenge, we follow a reductionist approach and we combine a systems-engineering theoretical analysis with experiments on nucleic acid systems. Nucleic acids are versatile molecules whose interactions and kinetic behaviors can be rationally designed from their sequence content; further, they are relevant in a number of native and engineered cellular pathways, as well as in biomedical and nanotechnology applications. I will illustrate our approach with two examples. The first is the construction of self-assembling DNA scaffolds that can be programmed to respond to environmental inputs and to canonical molecular signal generators such as pulse generators and oscillators. The second is the design of molecular feedback controllers to achieve homeostatic behavior and reference tracking. I will stress how mathematical modeling and control theory are essential to help identify design principles, to guide experiments, and to explain observed phenomena.
Biography: Elisa Franco is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at UC Riverside. She received a Ph.D. in Control and Dynamical Systems from the California Institute of Technology in 2011. She also received a Ph.D. in Automation and a Laurea degree (cum laude) in Power Systems Engineering from the University of Trieste, Italy. Prof. Franco's main interests are in the areas of biological feedback and DNA nanotechnology: her research focuses on design, modeling, and synthesis of controllers and responsive materials using nucleic acids and proteins. She is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award and a Hellman Fellowship.
Host: Mihailo Jovanovic, mihailo@usc.edu and Alice Parker, parker@usc.edu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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CS Colloquium: Holly Yanco (University of Massachusetts Lowell) - Designing for Human-Robot Interaction
Thu, Mar 22, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Holly Yanco, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Talk Title: Designing for Human-Robot Interaction
Series: Computer Science Colloquium
Abstract: Robots navigating in difficult and dynamic environments often need assistance from human operators or supervisors, either in the form of teleoperation or interventions when the robot's autonomy is not able to handle the current situation. Even in more controlled environments, such as office buildings and manufacturing floors, robots may need help from people. This talk will discuss methods for controlling both individual robots and groups of robots, in applications ranging from assistive technology to telepresence to search and rescue. A variety of modalities for human-robot interaction with robot systems, including multi-touch devices, software-based operator control units (softOCUs), game controllers, virtual reality headsets, and Google Glass, will be presented.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Dr. Holly Yanco is a Distinguished University Professor, Professor of Computer Science, and Director of the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research interests include human-robot interaction, multi-touch computing, robot autonomy, fostering trust of autonomous systems, evaluation methods for robot systems, and the use of robots in K-12 education to broaden participation in computer science. Yanco's research has been funded by NSF, including a CAREER Award, ARO, DARPA, DOE-EM, NASA, NIST, Microsoft, and Google. Yanco is Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council's Robotics Cluster,served as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the ACM/IEEE Conference on Human-Robot Interaction and Journal of Human-Robot Interaction from 2013-2016, and was a member of the Executive Council of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) from 2006-2009. Yanco has a PhD in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Host: Maja Mataric
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Computer Science Department
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Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, and Engineering Talk
Fri, Mar 23, 2018
Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission
University Calendar
This half day program is designed for prospective freshmen (HS juniors and younger) and family members. Meet USC includes an information session on the University and the Admission process, a student led walking tour of campus, and a meeting with us in the Viterbi School. During the engineering session we will discuss the curriculum, research opportunities, hands-on projects, entrepreneurial support programs, and other aspects of the engineering school. Meet USC is designed to answer all of your questions about USC, the application process, and financial aid.
Reservations are required for Meet USC. This program occurs twice, once at 8:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.
Please make sure to check availability and register online for the session you wish to attend. Also, remember to list an Engineering major as your "intended major" on the webform!
RSVP
Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - USC Admission Office
Audiences: Prospective Freshmen (HS Juniors and Younger) & Family Members
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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Astani Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar
Fri, Mar 23, 2018 @ 03:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Omid Davtalab and Measrainey Meng , Astani CEE Ph.D. Students
Talk Title: High-resolution integration of water, energy, and climate models to assess electricity grid vulnerabilities to climate change
Abstract: See attached abstracts
More Information: Seminar Announcement 3_23_18.pdf
Location: Ray R. Irani Hall (RRI) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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W.V.T. RUSCH ENGINEERING HONORS COLLOQUIUM
Fri, Mar 23, 2018 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Martin Meisler, Sustainability Consultant, Senior Environmental Specialist for Metropolitan Water District, and Founding Member of BiomimicryLA, Metropolitan Water District
Talk Title: How Would Nature Solve That Problem?
Host: Dr. Prata & EHP
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Su Stevens
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EE-EP Faculty Candidate - Limei Tian, Friday, March 23rd @ 2pm in EEB 132
Fri, Mar 23, 2018 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Limei Tian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Epidermal Electronics and Bioplasmonics for Advanced Health Care
Abstract: Remarkable advances in the design and fabrication of soft, flexible electronics over the past decade form the basis of novel classes of skin-interfaced wearable medical devices capable of continuously measuring and wirelessly transmitting biophysical and biochemical information. These new systems are expected to revolutionize healthcare by improving outcomes and reducing costs, as they become integral parts of modern, connected medical infrastructure. In this talk, I will discuss the recent advances in materials, mechanics and manufacturing approaches of such systems designed for electrophysiology and thermophysiology. I will show that large-area, skin-like electrical interfaces enable, via advanced pattern recognition algorithms, control of robotic prosthesis with sensory feedback provided by electrical stimulation. These platforms are also magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-compatible, thereby allowing for the simultaneous measurements of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional MRI.
In the second part of the talk, I will discuss design and implementation of plasmonic biosensors for simple, portable, sensitive, on-chip biodiagnostics in point-of-care and resource-limited settings. While there has been a tremendous progress in the rational design of plasmonic nanotransducers with high sensitivity and the development of hand-held read-out devices, the translation of these biosensors to resource-limited settings is hindered by the poor thermal, chemical, and environmental stability of the biorecognition elements. Degradation of the sensitive reagents and biodiagnostic chips compromises analytical validity, preventing accurate and timely diagnosis. I will present a novel class of plasmonic biosensors that rely artificial antibodies as recognition elements with excellent thermal and chemical stability. Finally, I will discuss my future research efforts in wearable and implantable electronics to facilitate accurate disease diagnosis and personalized medicine.
Biography: Limei Tian is currently a Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Washington University in St. Louis in 2014. Her research interests include the design, synthesis and fabrication of novel materials and devices, which can expand the fundamental understanding of biotic-abiotic interactions at various length scales and foster technologies that enable advanced health care, renewable energy, environmental monitoring and homeland security. She is the recipient of National Science Foundation summer institute fellowship (2011), Materials Research Society graduate student award (2013), Chinese Government Award for outstanding students abroad (2014) and Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship (2015).
Host: EE-Electrophysics
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
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Hack IoTSat, Mar 24, 2018
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
University Calendar
Calling all hackers! We will be having our first hackathon, Hack IoT , on March 24th and 25th. This 24-hour event is centered around the Internet of Things, which is a field of growing interest in industry today! We invite USC students of all skill levels to sign up and have some fun making cool stuff! Even if you know nothing about IoT, we will have workshops to teach you all you need to know to make something amazing!
Applications are NOW AVAILABLE via our website , so gather a team and sign up below!
Event Day: March 24th and 25th
Event Location: Kings Hall, USC
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/807358462799299/
Website: http://hack-iot.orgLocation: Frank L. King Olympic Hall Of Champions (KOH) - Kings Hall - Main Room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
