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Events for the 5th week of August

  • Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, and Engineering Talk

    Mon, Aug 27, 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: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Viterbi Admission

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  • PhD Defense - Sara Marie McCarthy

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar



    Title: Hierarchical Planning in Security Games; A Game Theoretic Approach to Strategic, Tactical and Operational Decision Making

    Ph.D. Candidate: Sara Marie Mc Carthy

    Date and Time: Monday August 27th 2018, 10:00 AM EEB 132

    Committee: Milind Tambe, Phebe Vayanos, Eric Rice, Jonathan Gratch, Jelena Mirkovic

    Abstract:

    In the presence of an intelligent adversary, game theoretic models such as security games, have proven to be effective tools for mitigating risks from exploitable gaps in protection and security protocols, as they model the strategic interaction between an adversary and defender, and allow the defender to plan the use of scarce or limited resources in the face of such an adversary. However, standard security game models have limited expressivity in the types of planning they allow the defender to perform, as they look only at the deployment and allocation of a fixed set of security resources. This ignores two very important planning problems which concern the strategic design of the security system and resources to deploy as well as the usability and implementation of the security protocols. When these problems appear in real world systems, significant losses in utility and efficiency of security protocols can occur if they are not dealt with in a principled way.

    To address these limitations, in this thesis I introduce a new hierarchical structure of planning problems for security games, dividing the problem into three levels of planning (i) Strategic Planning, which considers long term planning horizons, and decisions related to game design which constrain the possible defender strategies, (ii) Tactical Planning, which considers shorter term horizons, dealing with the deployment of resources, and selection of defender strategies subject to strategic level constraints and (iii) Operational Planning, dealing with implementation of strategies in real world setting.

    First, focusing on Strategic Planning, I address the design problem of selecting a set of resource and schedule types. I introduce a new yet fundamental problem, the Simultaneous Optimization of Resource Teams and Tactics (SORT) which models the coupled problem of both strategic and tactical planning, optimizing over both game design with respect to selection of resource types, as well as their deployment actual in the field. I provide algorithms for efficiently solving the SORT problem, which use hierarchical relaxations of the optimization problem to compute these strategic level investment decisions. I show that this more expressive model allows the defender to perform more fine grained decision making that results in significant gains in utility. Second, motivated by the relevance and hardness of security games with resource heterogeneity, I also address challenges in tactical planning by providing a framework for computing adaptive strategies with heterogeneous resources. Lastly I look at the problem of operational planning, which has never been formally studied in the security game literature. I propose a new solution concept of operationalizable strategies, which randomize over an optimally chosen subset of pure strategies whose cardinality is selected by the defender. I show hardness of computing such operationalizable strategies and provide an algorithm for computing ε-optimal equilibria which are operationalizable.

    In all of these problems, I am motivated by real world challenges, and developing solution methods that are usable in the real world. As such much of this work has been in collaboration with organizations such as Panthera, WWF and other NGOs, to help protect the national parks and wildlife against deforestation and poaching, and the TSA, to protect critical infrastructure such as our airports from terrorist attacks. Because of this, in addressing these three levels of planning I develop solutions which are not only novel and academically interesting but also deployable with a real world impact.

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

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  • Seminars in Biomedical Engineering

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM

    Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Yang Yang, University of Southern California

    Talk Title: 3D Printing for Biomedical Applications

    Host: Qifa Zhou

    Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta

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  • Internship/Job Search Open Forum

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Increase your career and internship knowledge on the job/internship search by attending this professional development Q&A moderated by Viterbi Career Connections staff or Viterbi employer partners.

    For more information about Labs & Open Forums, please visit viterbicareers.usc.edu/workshops.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211

    Audiences: All Viterbi Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • CSC@USC/CommNetS-MHI Seminar Series

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Jason Lee, University of Southern California

    Talk Title: Towards Theoretical Understanding of Over-Parametrization in Deep Learning

    Series: Fall 2018 Joint CSC@USC/CommNetS-MHI Seminar Series

    Abstract: We provide new theoretical insights on why over-parametrization is effective in learning neural networks. For a k hidden node shallow network with quadratic activation and n training data points, we show that as long as k >= sqrt(2n) over-parametrization enables local search algorithms to find a globally optimal solution for general smooth and convex loss functions. Further, despite that the number of parameters may exceed the sample size, we show that with weight decay, the solution also generalizes well.

    Next, we analyze the implicit regularization effects of various optimization algorithms. In particular we prove that for least squares with mirror descent, the algorithm converges to the closest solution in terms of the Bregman divergence. For linearly separable classification problems, we prove that the steepest descent with respect to a norm solves SVM with respect to the same norm. For over-parametrized non-convex problems such as matrix sensing or neural net with quadratic activation, we prove that gradient descent converges to the minimum nuclear norm solution, which allows for both meaningful optimization and generalization guarantees.

    This is a joint work with Suriya Gunasekar, Mor Shpigel, Daniel Soudry, Nati Srebro, and Simon Du.

    Biography: Jason Lee is an assistant professor in Data Sciences and Operations at the University of Southern California. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley working with Michael Jordan. Jason received his PhD at Stanford University advised by Trevor Hastie and Jonathan Taylor. His research interests are in statistics, machine learning, and optimization. Lately, he has worked on high dimensional statistical inference, analysis of non-convex optimization algorithms, and theory for deep learning.



    Host: Mihailo Jovanovic, mihailo@usc.edu

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos

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  • CCI hosted event - ObEN will present "Personal AI on the Blockchain"

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Receptions & Special Events


    Please join CCI today, Monday, August 27th, 2018 from 5-7pm in the Michelson Building, MCB 101.

    ObEN will be presenting "Personal AI on the Blockchain."
    To RSVP and for more details, please register here: https://obenatusc.eventbrite.com/

    Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - MCB 101

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Brienne Moore

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  • Theta Tau Informational Session

    Mon, Aug 27, 2018 @ 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Learn what Theta Tau is all about in this informative presentation where you'll get the chance to ask any questions and talk to some of our actives. Food will be provided.

    Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 352

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Theta Tau

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  • Internship/Job Search Open Forum

    Tue, Aug 28, 2018 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Increase your career and internship knowledge on the job/internship search by attending this professional development Q&A moderated by Viterbi Career Connections staff or Viterbi employer partners.

    For more information about Labs & Open Forums, please visit viterbicareers.usc.edu/workshops.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Epstein Institute Seminar - ISE 651

    Tue, Aug 28, 2018 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Professor Suvrajeet Sen, USC, Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Talk Title: Learning Enabled Optimization (LEO)

    Host: Professor Julie Higle

    More Information: August 28, 2018.pdf

    Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 206

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Grace Owh

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  • AOE Info Session #1

    Tue, Aug 28, 2018 @ 08:00 PM - 09:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    University Calendar


    Informational session for potential new members! Pizza will be served, and you will be able to ask questions from our active members, as well as hear some of their personal experiences.

    Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 213

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Alpha Omega Epsilon USC

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  • Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, and Engineering Talk

    Wed, Aug 29, 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: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Viterbi Admission

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  • PhD Defense - Elizabeth Cha

    Wed, Aug 29, 2018 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Title: Nonverbal Communication for Non-Humanoid Robots
    Ph.D. Candidate: Elizabeth Cha
    Date and Time: Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at 10:00 AM in RTH 406
    Committee: Maja Matarić (Chair), Gaurav Sukhatme, and Panayiotis Georgiou

    Abstract:

    Robots are increasingly required to operate with and alongside humans in dynamic, unstructured environments. To facilitate the high levels of coordination and collaboration necessary for this goal, robots must communicate information about their state and actions. This information enables humans to predict a robot's future behavior and to plan their own actions accordingly. In human-human communication, this information is often exchanged through nonverbal cues. Non-humanoid robots, such as drones and autonomous cars, lack the anthropomorphic channels to replicate these cues. In this thesis, we primarily address two of the research challenges for human-robot communication for non-humanoid robots. First, we present experiments exploring the systematic design and application of nonverbal signals in different human-robot interaction scenarios. Second, we propose a framework for planning robot communication under uncertainty that employs our results in signal design to improve human-robot collaboration. We present results from an application and validation of this communication framework. Finally, we discuss the implications of this thesis work on the field of HRI and its impact on non-humanoid robots deployed in the real world.


    Location: 406

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

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  • Internship/Job Search Open Forum

    Wed, Aug 29, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Increase your career and internship knowledge on the job/internship search by attending this professional development Q&A moderated by Viterbi Career Connections staff or Viterbi employer partners.

    For more information about Labs & Open Forums, please visit viterbicareers.usc.edu/workshops.

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Micron Info Session

    Wed, Aug 29, 2018 @ 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations

    Workshops & Infosessions


    You are cordially invited to join Micron for an Info Session on August 29, 2018. The Non-Volatile Engineering group will be speaking about "Innovations in 3D NAND Memory Technologies." Food will be provided.

    When: Wednesday, Aug 29, 2018, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
    Where: Seeley G. Mudd (SGM) 101

    Micron is currently reviewing resumes for internship and new college graduate openings in the Non-Volatile Engineering team. Please apply directly through the links below in order to be considered. Directly after the Info Session, there will be a short assessment of candidates qualified for the open roles, and some candidates will be invited to participate in interviews on August 30.

    Reviewing resumes for:

    New College Graduate opening
    Intern opening

    For the full range of openings at Micron, please go to https://www.micron.com/jobs.

    Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

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  • Resume Lab - Bring your Laptop!

    Thu, Aug 30, 2018 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Labs are an activity where you can work on your resume in the presence of a career advisor to get tips on the spot.

    Bring your Laptop!

    For more information about Labs & Open Forums, please visit viterbicareers.usc.edu/workshops.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections

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  • Meet USC: Admission Presentation, Campus Tour, and Engineering Talk

    Fri, Aug 31, 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: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Viterbi Admission

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  • W.V.T. RUSCH ENGINEERING HONORS COLLOQUIUM

    Fri, Aug 31, 2018 @ 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM

    USC Viterbi School of Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Lisa Thomas, Project Manager, Exploration Technologies Group, Honeybee Robotics

    Talk Title: Engineering is a Team Sport

    Host: Engineering Honors Program & Dr. Prata

    Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Su Stevens

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  • PhD Defense - Zhengping Che

    Fri, Aug 31, 2018 @ 02:30 PM - 04:30 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    University Calendar


    Title: Deep Learning Models for Temporal Data in Health Care
    Date, Time, and Location: Friday, August 31, 2018, at 2:30 PM in SAL 322

    Ph.D. Candidate: Zhengping Che

    Committee:
    Professor Yan Liu (chair)
    Professor Kevin Knight
    Professor Shinyi Wu (outside member)

    Abstract:
    The national push for electronic health records has resulted in an exponential surge in volume, detail, and availability of digital health data which offers an unprecedented opportunity to solve many difficult and important problems in health care. Clinicians are collaborating with computer scientists by using this opportunity to improve the state of data-driven and personalized health care services. Meanwhile, recent success and development of deep learning is revolutionizing many domains and provides promising solutions to the problem of prediction and feature discovery on health care data, which have made us closest ever towards the ultimate goal of improving health quality, reducing cost, and most importantly saving lives. However, the recent rise of this research field with more available data and new applications has also introduced several challenges which have not been answered well. Our work focuses on providing deep learning-based solutions to three major challenges in this field from data heterogeneity, data availability, and the difficulty of applying deep learning in healthcare applications in practice. In this talk, we will first introduce a hierarchical deep generative model for multi-rate multivariate time series which can capture multi-scale temporal dependencies and complex underlying generation mechanism of temporal healthcare data. Then we will introduce a semi-supervised learning framework with modified generative adversarial networks to boost prediction performance with a limited amount of labeled data. Finally, we will describe our deep learning solutions to opioid usage and addiction study on a large-scale dataset and demonstrate how deep learning can be applied to important and urgent healthcare tasks in the real world.

    Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Lizsl De Leon

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