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Events for the 2nd week of June

  • Repeating EventVirtual First-Year Admission Information Session

    Tue, Jun 09, 2020 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Our virtual information session is a live presentation from a USC Viterbi admission counselor designed for high school students and their family members to learn more about the USC Viterbi undergraduate experience.Our session will cover an overview of our undergraduate engineering programs, the application process, and more on student life.Guests will be able to ask questions and engage in further discussion toward the end of the session.

    Please register here!

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

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    Contact: Viterbi Admission

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  • Haptics Research and the Science of Touch

    Wed, Jun 10, 2020 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Alumni

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Heather Culbertson, USC Assistant Professor - Computer Science

    Talk Title: Viterbi Live

    Abstract: Dr. Heather Culbertson and her team explores how humans interact with the world, robots, and technology through touch, and the impact it has on increasing multiple elements of human productivity and positivity. The goal of her research is to create natural and intuitive interactions that realistically mimic the touch sensations experienced during interactions with the physical world. Join us as Dr. Culbertson leads a presentation and live Q&A session.

    Please sign up here: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_277SAJceTaeoPfGW8R1LYA

    Host: Viterbi Advancement

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Kristy Ly

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  • USC-IISc Faculty Research Mini Online Symposium on COVID-19

    Thu, Jun 11, 2020 @ 08:00 AM - 10:30 AM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Alumni

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dean Yannis Yortsos, Dean Narahari, and several faculty from both campuses, Deans and Faculty from USC Viterbi and Indian Institute of Science

    Talk Title: USC-IISc Faculty Research Mini Online Symposium on COVID-19

    Abstract: Coordinated by Professor Cauligi Raghavendra (USC) and Professor Vijay Kumar (IISc), this online symposium of faculty research showcases recent advances in COVID-19 breakthroughs from both campuses.

    Join us on Thursday, June 11, 2020 8:00 AM PDT/8:30 PM IST as we begin the symposium with Dean Yannis Yortsos and Dean Narahari.

    Host: Viterbi Advancement

    More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9CC5hZfXQQeKOQpOxhKXtQ

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Kristy Ly

    Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9CC5hZfXQQeKOQpOxhKXtQ

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  • Prospective Students: Chat with a USC Rep

    Thu, Jun 11, 2020 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Graduate Admission

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Interested in Master's or PhD programs in engineering or computer science?

    You are cordially invited to meet representatives from the Viterbi School of Engineering on an online webinar.

    Students who have earned or are in the process of earning a Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, mathematics, or a hard science (such as physics, biology, or chemistry) are welcome to attend to learn more about applying to our graduate programs.

    The session will include information on the following topics:

    - Master's & PhD programs in engineering and computer science
    - How to Apply
    - Scholarships and funding
    - Student life at USC and in Los Angeles

    There will also be sufficient time for questions.

    We look forward to seeing you there.
    Event Password: Fighton1

    Location: Webex

    WebCast Link: https://uscviterbi.webex.com/uscviterbi/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9e29442916bf6bf967baa2bd97b6c06d

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: camila tabar

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  • Ph.D. Defense - Michael Tsang 6/11 2:00 pm

    Thu, Jun 11, 2020 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Ph.D. Defense - Michael Tsang 6/11 2:00 pm "Interpretable Machine Learning Models via Feature Interaction Discovery"

    Ph.D. Candidate: Michael Tsang
    Date: Thursday, June 11, 2020
    Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    Committee: Yan Liu (Chair), Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Xiang Ren
    Title: Interpretable Machine Learning Models via Feature Interaction Discovery

    Abstract:
    The impact of machine learning prediction models has created a growing need for us to understand why they make their predictions. The interpretation of these models is important to reveal their fundamental behavior, to obtain scientific insights into data, and to help us trust automatic predictions. In this dissertation, we examine how to explain black-box prediction models via feature interaction detection and attribution, i.e. if features influence each other and how these interactions contribute to predictions, respectively.
    We first discuss how feature interaction detection leads to model interpretations of diverse domains such as image/text classification and automatic recommendation. Here, we focus on the special case of recommendation where interaction detection improves not only model interpretability but also prediction performance. We then discuss how to attribute predictions to feature interactions in a way that is simultaneously interpretable, model-agnostic, principled, and scalable. Our discussion culminates in the unification of interaction detection and attribution to yield general prediction visualizations that are both intuitive and insightful.


    Meeting Links:
    Zoom Meeting:
    https://usc.zoom.us/j/5669704161
    Meeting ID: 566 970 4161


    Google Meet (ONLY A BACKUP - IF WE EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH ZOOM):
    https://meet.google.com/brt-fjya-ykd
    Phone Number:
    (US) +1 720-439-6997
    PIN:455 863 061

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/5669704161

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

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  • Repeating EventVirtual First-Year Admission Information Session

    Thu, Jun 11, 2020 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Undergraduate Admission

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Our virtual information session is a live presentation from a USC Viterbi admission counselor designed for high school students and their family members to learn more about the USC Viterbi undergraduate experience.Our session will cover an overview of our undergraduate engineering programs, the application process, and more on student life.Guests will be able to ask questions and engage in further discussion toward the end of the session.

    Please register here!

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    View All Dates

    Contact: Viterbi Admission

    Add to Google CalendarDownload ICS File for OutlookDownload iCal File
  • WEBINAR SERIES: Digital Technologies for COVID-19

    WEBINAR SERIES: Digital Technologies for COVID-19

    Fri, Jun 12, 2020 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    USC Viterbi School of Engineering

    University Calendar


    This week our webinar will feature talks by Dean Yannis Yortsos, Vice Dean Assad Oberai, and Prof. Urbashi Mitra from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Please find more details of our speakers and their talks below.

    Talk 1: A spatiotemporal SIR model for modeling the spread of an infectious disease - by Yannis Yortsos, Assad Oberai and Harisankar Ramaswamy

    Abstract: A continuum model for the spread of an infectious disease is developed by drawing an analogy with the interaction of multiple reacting chemical species. The resulting set of partial differential equations is analyzed and insights are drawn by considering several limiting states. Finally, a simple finite-element scheme is developed to solve these equations and to make predictions corresponding to several what-if scenarios.


    Bio: Dr. Yannis Yortsos is the Dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the Zohrab Kaprielian Chair in Engineering, a position he has held since 2005. He received a BS (Diploma) degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and MS and PhD degrees from the California Institute of Technology -- all in chemical engineering. His research area is in fluid flow, transport and reaction processes in porous media with specific application to the subsurface. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2008, where he has also served as Secretary, Vice Chair and Chair of Section 11. Since July 2017, Dr. Yortsos has served as a member of the NAE Council. Along with colleagues at Duke University and Olin College, he co-founded in 2009 the Global Grand Challenges Scholars Program, now adopted by many universities in the U.S. and overseas. He organized and hosted at USC in Fall 2010 the NAE Second Grand Challenges Summit, which spurred in 2013 the Global Grand Challenges Summits. Between 2012 and 2017, Dr. Yortsos was the Chair of the Diversity Committee of the Engineering Deans Council, in which capacity he spearheaded an engineering diversity initiative, now adopted by more than 210 engineering deans nationwide. In recognition of these initiatives, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering received in 2017 the ASEE President's Award, and was one of the four engineering schools nationwide that received the ASEE Award for Excellence in Veterans in Engineering. Dr. Yortsos is the PI of the NSF I-Corps Innovation Node Los Angeles, established in 2014 as a partnership between USC, Caltech and UCLA.


    Bio: Assad Oberai is Hughes Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Interim Vice Dean of Research at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Prior to joining USC, he was a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the School of Engineering, and the Associate Director of the Scientific Computation Research Center (SCOREC). Assad was an Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Boston University from 2001 to 2005, and joined the Rensselaer faculty in 2006. He received a PhD from Stanford University in 1998, an MS from the University of Colorado in 1994, and a Bachelor's degree from Osmania University in 1992, all in Mechanical Engineering. Assad is on the Editorial Board of three journals, including PlosOne.


    Talk 2: Group Testing for Efficient SARS-CoV-2 Assessment - by Urbashi Mitra

    Abstract: Several challenges to wide-scale virus testing have emerged during the course of the pandemic within the United States. There have been insufficient tests, a lack of key testing elements as well as widely varying accuracies amongst the tests. We review group testing which was introduced in the 1940s by Dorfman, and, more generally, our recent work on active hypothesis testing. Our research focus has been on making decisions with maximized accuracy within a finite amount of time versus minimizing the average stopping time which has been the classical approach. Prior approaches have investigated the asymptotic accuracy of the strategies, whereas we can assess performance for a finite number of observations for our method. We compare and contrast other group testing methods that have been suggested by other research teams. Our numerical results show that one can effectively combine tests of differing accuracies with re-testing to strongly reduce the number of tests needed to test a population. Thoughts on how to extend these ideas to different kinds of testing goals (testing for the virus versus testing for antibodies) will also be provided.


    Bio: Urbashi Mitra received the B.S. and the M.S. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and her Ph.D. from Princeton University. Dr. Mitra is currently the Gordon S. Marshall Professor in Engineering at the University of Southern California. She was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-scale Communications. Dr. Mitra is a Fellow of the IEEE. She is the recipient of: the 2017 IEEE Women in Communications Engineering Technical Achievement Award, a 2015 UK Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Professorship, a 2015 US Fulbright Scholar Award, a 2015-2016 UK Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorship, IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer, 2012 Globecom Signal Processing for Communications Symposium Best Paper Award, 2012 US National Academy of Engineering Lillian Gilbreth Lectureship, the 2009 DCOSS Applications & Systems Best Paper Award, Texas Instruments Visiting Professorship (Fall 2002, Rice University), 2001 Okawa Foundation Award, 2000 Ohio State University's College of Engineering Lumley Award for Research, 1997 Ohio State University's College of Engineering MacQuigg Award for Teaching, and a 1996 National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She has been an Associate Editor for multiple IEEE Transactions.

    Dr. Mitra has held visiting appointments at: King's College, London, Imperial College, the Delft University of Technology, Stanford University, Rice University, and the Eurecom Institute. Her research interests are in: wireless communications, communication and sensor networks, biological communication systems, detection and estimation and the interface of communication, sensing and control.



    Co-hosted by:

    Craig Knoblock, Executive Director, USC Information Sciences Institute
    Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Director, USC Viterbi Center for CPS and IoT

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bS2IGZDMTw2aymiLaBAzIw

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Bhaskar Krishnamachari

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