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Events for the 1st week of December
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Communications Hub: Writing and Speaking for PhD Students - Drop In HoursMon, Nov 27, 2023 @ 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
Viterbi Ph.D. Students!
Need help with academic and professional writing and speaking tasks? Viterbi faculty at the Hub provide one-on-one help with journal and conference articles, dissertations, fellowship applications, and career communications!
Drop by RTH 222A on MWF 10am-1pm or make an online appointment via email at eishub@usc.edu.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 222A
Audiences: Graduate
Contact: Helen Choi
Event Link: https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/eishub/home
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CS Teaching Faculty Meeting
Mon, Nov 27, 2023 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Meeting for invited full-time Computer Science teaching faculty only. Event details emailed directly to attendees.
Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 322
Audiences: Invited Faculty Only
Contact: Melissa Ochoa
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PhD Thesis Defense - Taina Coleman
Mon, Nov 27, 2023 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
PhD Thesis Defense - Taina Coleman
Committee members: Dr. Aiichiro Nakano (chair), Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, and Dr. Rafael Ferreira da Silva, Dr. Jyotirmoy Deshmuhk
Title: Scientific Workflow Generation and Benchmarking
Abstract: Scientific workflows are an essential tool in modern scientific computing. They are used to describe complex computational applications that often demand significant computational power, storage capacity, and communication capabilities. As a result, scientific workflows are processed on a wide variety of large-scale platforms, including local clusters, cloud systems, and (exascale) High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems. Addressing the needs of ever-more complex and large contemporary workflow applications requires research and development in Workflow Management Systems (WMS) algorithms, systems, and user interfaces. The literature in this area is rich but fragmented due to its rapid expansion. This thesis introduces the WfCommons framework, which offers foundational, standardized, general-purpose, and WSM-agnostic tools for analyzing, generating, and benchmarking scientific workflowsLocation: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 306
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Melissa Ochoa
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Thesis Proposal (Sasha Volokh)
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Thesis Proposal Committee Members:
William G.J. Halfond (Chair)
Nenad Medvidovic
Andrew Nealen
Mukund Raghothaman
Chao Wang
Abstract:
Modern computer games often release with significant bugs, causing consumer dissatisfaction and a loss of business and reputation for the companies involved. Testing is a key mechanism by which these issues can be caught and addressed during development. A key requirement for thorough manual and automated testing of games is knowledge of the possible player actions and their associated device inputs. In this thesis I propose novel program analysis techniques to inform both automated testing agents and human testers of the possible game actions. First, I propose a symbolic analysis technique that automatically analyzes the user input handling logic present in games to determine a discrete action space, along with the conditions under which the actions are valid, and the device inputs associated with each action. I then demonstrate how this technique can be adapted to enable effective performance in agents that automatically explore game functionalities. Next, I propose adapting this technique for game playing reinforcement learning agents. Finally, I propose methods to automatically generate in-game instructions for human testers based on the outcome of the action analysis.Location: Charles Lee Powell Hall (PHE) - 325
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Events
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Thesis Proposal (Han Zhang)
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Thesis Proposal Committee Members:
Sven Koenig (Chair)
Satish Kumar Thittamaranahalli
Lars Lindemann
Satyandra Kumar Gupta
Ariel Felner
Title: Speeding-up Multi-Objective Search Algorithms
Abstract: In the Multi-Objective Search problem, given a graph in which each edge is annotated with a cost vector, a start state, and a goal state, a typical task is to compute a Pareto frontier. State-of-the-art multi-objective search algorithms conform to the same best-first algorithmic framework. These algorithms are similar to best-first search algorithms, such as A*, but, most differently, they need to consider multiple nodes (with costs that do not dominate each other) for the same state. Due to the similarity between multi-objective and single-objective search algorithms, I hypothesize that one can speed up multi-objective search algorithms by applying insights gained from single-objective search. More specifically, I propose to speed up multi-objective search algorithms by (1) sacrificing solution optimality, (2) using preprocessing techniques, and (3) using efficient data structures for dominance checks.Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 110
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Events
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SERC Seminar
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Astronautical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: David Miller, NASA-JPL
Talk Title: If You Cannot Create Space in Your Lab, Create Your Lab in Space
Abstract: Experimentation is an essential step in maturing technology. Whether it is to measure new phenomena, assess the repeatability and reliability of components, calibrate simulations, determine performance limits, identify operational drivers, or to demonstrate to a decision-maker that the technology works in an operational environment, those experiments must be conducted in an operationally authentic environment. For space, those environments include thermal, radiation, vacuum, lighting conditions, orbital dynamics, the “view,” and long-duration micro-gravity. The first four can be tested to some fidelity in ground-based chambers but the latter three require testing in space.
Analogous to a wind tunnel, testing in long duration micro-gravity allows a formative technology to be tested, under nominal and (more importantly) off-nominal conditions, without harm to the technology, the operator and the platform. This talk will illustrate the use of Shuttle, Mir and the International Space Station as research platforms for maturing space technology whose behavior is dependent upon long duration micro-gravity. This will be done through the lens of three evolvable research facilities that the presenter’s laboratory at MIT developed over the past three decades.
Biography: David W. Miller is the former Director of the Space Systems Laboratory and the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor (Post Tenure) in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at M.I.T. Prof. Miller has played an engineering role in the development of space-based apertures. He has built and operated a dozen space flight experiments spanning Shuttle, Mir, ISS, and free flyers. He was a member of the JWST Product Integrity Team and the Vice Chair and S&T Chair of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. He served two and a half years as NASA's Chief Technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC and three years as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at the Aerospace Corporation. He is currently the Chief Technologist for the Astronomy and Fundamental Physics Directorate at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and an AIAA Fellow and member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Host: ASTE Department
Location: Hedco Pertroleum and Chemical Engineering Building (HED) - 116
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Dell Cuason
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VLP Writing Workshop
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Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 02:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Student Activity
Need help with WRIT 150, WRIT 340, or writing for any other Undergrad course? Looking to get feedback on a final essay, project, application or other writing? Then join the VLP for snacks & expert feedback from our Writing Consultant! The Writing Consultant is available for one-on-one writing consultations from 2-6PM during this event. Take advantage of the study space and snacks to power through your final essays!
RSVP Today: https://cglink.me/2nB/r393526Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 222
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Alex Bronz
Event Link: https://cglink.me/2nB/r393526
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SERC Seminar
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Astronautical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Charles L. Gustafson, UC Berkeley
Talk Title: Transformational Communications Satellite, Lessons Learned
Abstract: The Transformational Communications Satellite Program (TSAT) was an ambitious military program that existed from 2003-2009. It looked to combine existing frequency hopped communications methods with internet protocols and laser communications to provide military users with significant new capabilities. It was ultimately canceled in 2009 prior to fully entering development. This talk will provide an overview of intended capabilities and lessons learned from the program.
Biography: Charles L. Gustafson is the former Senior Vice President of the Engineering and Technology Group at The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit consulting company working on government satellite and launch systems. His entire career was spent at Aerospace, during which he worked on a number of communication and remote sensing satellites, launch systems, and intelligence community programs. He served as a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board for four years, including one year overseeing the science and technology review process. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
Host: ASTE Department
Location: Hedco Pertroleum and Chemical Engineering Building (HED) - 116
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Dell Cuason
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Thesis Proposal (Hejia Zhang)
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Thesis Proposal Committee members:
Stefanos Nikolaidis
C.C.-Jay Kuo
Jyo Deshmukh
Jesse Thomason
Daniel Seita
Title: Understanding, Learning and Planning for Long-horizon Collaborative Manipulation Tasks
Abstract: Robots that assist humans in their daily activities have to perform long-horizon manipulation tasks, such as cooking, table setting tasks, effectively and collaboratively. To successfully perform these tasks, robots have to address the problem of generating both high-level task action sequences and low-level executable motion trajectories, which is known as the Task-and-Motion Planning (TAMP) problem. In this thesis, we first explore how robots can understand and imitate human collaborative manipulation task plans by watching YouTube videos. We then study the problem of robots executing specified high-level task goals in any unstructured environments. We specifically focus on a subclass of the TAMP problem, namely the Geometric Task-and-Motion Planning (GTAMP) problem. We present a framework that allows robots to perform GTAMP tasks collaboratively. Finally, we discuss the proposed work that will potentially allow robots to collaborate with humans to perform long-horizon collaborative manipulation tasks in the real world.Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 110
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Events
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Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 03:50 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Paul Grigas, Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, University of California, Berkeley
Talk Title: A Margin Theory for Contextual Stochastic Linear Optimization: From Generalization to Active Learning
Host: Dr. Meisam Razaviyayn
More Information: November 28, 2023.pdf
Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - SOS Building, B2
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Grace Owh
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CS Colloquium: Niloufar Salehi (UC Berkeley) - Designing Reliable Human-AI Interactions
Tue, Nov 28, 2023 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Niloufar Salehi, UC Berkeley
Talk Title: Designing Reliable Human-AI Interactions
Abstract: How can users trust an AI system that fails in unpredictable ways? Machine learning models, while powerful, can produce unpredictable results. This uncertainty becomes even more pronounced in areas where verification is challenging, such as in machine translation or probabilistic genotyping. Providing users with guidance on when to rely on a system is challenging because models can create a wide range of outputs (e.g. text), error boundaries are highly stochastic, and automated explanations themselves may be incorrect. In this talk, I will focus on the case of health-care communication to share approaches to improving the reliability of ML-based systems by designing actionable strategies for users to gauge reliability and recover from potential errors.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Niloufar Salehi is an assistant professor in the School of Information at UC, Berkeley and faculty member of Berkeley AI Research (BAIR). Her research interests are in social computing, human-centered AI, and more broadly, human-computer interaction (HCI). Her research is in close collaboration with partners and domain experts spanning education to healthcare to restorative justice. Her work has been published and received awards in premier venues including ACM CHI and CSCW and has been covered in VentureBeat, Wired, and the Guardian. She is a W. T. Grant Foundation scholar. She received her PhD in computer science from Stanford University in 2018.
Host: Souti Chattopadhyay
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 136
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Faculty Affairs
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Communications Hub: Writing and Speaking for PhD Students - Drop In Hours
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
Viterbi Ph.D. Students!
Need help with academic and professional writing and speaking tasks? Viterbi faculty at the Hub provide one-on-one help with journal and conference articles, dissertations, fellowship applications, and career communications!
Drop by RTH 222A on MWF 10am-1pm or make an online appointment via email at eishub@usc.edu.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 222A
Audiences: Graduate
Contact: Helen Choi
Event Link: https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/eishub/home
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CSCI 591 Colloquium: Prof. Yisen Wang (Peking University) - Theoretical Understanding of Self-Supervised Learning
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Yisen Wang, Peking University
Talk Title: Theoretical Understanding of Self-Supervised Learning
Abstract: Self-supervised learning (SSL) is an unsupervised approach for representation learning without relying on human-provided labels. It creates auxiliary tasks on unlabeled input data and learns representations by solving these tasks. SSL has demonstrated great success on various tasks. The existing SSL research mostly focuses on improving the empirical performance without a theoretical foundation. While the proposed SSL approaches are empirically effective on benchmarks, they are not well understood from a theoretical perspective. In this talk, I will introduce a series of our recent work on theoretical understanding of SSL, particularly on contrastive learning and masked autoencoders. This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Yisen Wang is an assistant professor at Peking University. His research interests include machine learning theory and algorithms, focusing on adversarial robustness, graph learning, and weak/self-supervised learning theory. He has published more than 50 top academic papers in the field of machine learning, including ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, etc., and many of them have been selected as Oral or Spotlight. He has won the ECML 2021 Best Paper Award.
Host: Yue Zhao
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97892066727?pwd=LytmZmltbDk5aWZtZHdKTjZyclI1QT09
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Chair's Assistant
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97892066727?pwd=LytmZmltbDk5aWZtZHdKTjZyclI1QT09
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Computer Science General Faculty Meeting
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Receptions & Special Events
Bi-Weekly regular faculty meeting for invited full-time Computer Science faculty only. Event details emailed directly to attendees.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 526
Audiences: Invited Faculty Only
Contact: Assistant to CS Chair
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Trojan Talk: Unraveling the Path to Your PhD Journey at TikTok
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Unveiling the Path to Your PhD Journey at TikTok: Join Us for an Exclusive Session!
Desired majors: PhD in Machine Learning, AI, Computer Vision, or a quantitative field such as statistics, economics, political science, physics, information science, or mathematics
When: Wednesday, November 29th, 12-2 pm
Where: GFS 106 RSVP on Viterbi Career Gateway > Events - here!
Join us at the upcoming TikTok Ph.D. Expo, is a groundbreaking event that brings together the brightest minds in the fields of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and more. Hosted on your campus, this expo is a unique opportunity for current Ph.D. candidates to engage directly with prolific researchers who have made waves in the industry. Discover the forefront of research and innovation as these distinguished Ph.D. researchers discuss their latest findings and cutting-edge publications. But that is not all – the TikTok Ph.D. Expo opens doors to a realm of possibilities for you to delve into the industry through our internships and full-time positions within our research teams. Don't miss this exceptional opportunity to engage with leading researchers, explore groundbreaking ideas, and open doors to your future!Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106
Audiences: All Viterbi Students w/ RSVP
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
Event Link: https://shibboleth-viterbi-usc-csm.symplicity.com/sso
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AME Seminar
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chinedum (Chi) Okwudire, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Talk Title: Smart Additive Manufacturing
Abstract: There is a lot of excitement about the potential of smart manufacturing (involving the use of information, automation, computation, software, sensing, and networking technologies) to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, e.g., by boosting manufacturing quality and productivity at low cost. An excellent application for such “smart” technologies is additive manufacturing (AM), another area of manufacturing that is gaining a lot of traction but is plagued by quality, productivity and cost issues. In this talk, I will share some of my research results in smart AM, aimed at enhancing AM quality and productivity at low cost using smart technologies. Specifically, I will discuss our work on speeding up 3D printers at low cost using advanced controls and cloud computing. I will also discuss our new research on intelligent optimization of scan sequence to minimize thermal induced defects in laser powder bed fusion AM. Finally, I will give a brief overview of efforts I am leading at the University of Michigan to integrate smart AM into our educational curriculum.
Biography: Chinedum (Chi) Okwudire is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Miller Faculty Scholar at the University of Michigan. His research is focused on exploiting knowledge at the intersection of machine design, control and computing to boost the performance of manufacturing automation systems at low cost. Chi has received a number of awards including the NSF CAREER Award; SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award; and UC Berkeley’s Russell Severance Springer Visiting Professorship. He was recently selected by SME as one of the 25 leaders transforming manufacturing. He has co-authored a number of best-paper-award-winning papers in the areas of manufacturing automation, control and mechatronics.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98121141178?pwd=VGEyaXVWYnRaazFYWUVhbVAycGVWQT09Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 202
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98121141178?pwd=VGEyaXVWYnRaazFYWUVhbVAycGVWQT09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
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TEAM- Athletes Mindset for Engineers with USC Men's Rowing
Wed, Nov 29, 2023 @ 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
University Calendar
This event features USC Mens Rowing Coach John Kaitz and team in a panel discussion on building confidence, improving focus, and performing under pressure.
T.E.A.M. (Teaching Engineers Athletes Mindset) brings engineers and athletes together to promote human excellence across physical and mental domains. Events cultivate high-performance mindset skills such as deep focus, trust, recovery, personal sustainability, and energy management- essential to functioning and thriving in rigorous environments- as well as performance virtues such as confidence, motivation, teamwork, determination, perserverance, courage, and resilience- integral aspects of character development.Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Elisabeth Arnold Weiss
Event Link: https://cglink.me/2nB/r393704
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PhD Thesis Defense - Yunhao Ge
Thu, Nov 30, 2023 @ 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
PhD Thesis Defense - Yunhao Ge
Committee Members: Laurent Itti (chair), Yan Liu, Greg Ver Steeg, Nicolas Schweighofer
Title: Learning Controllable Data Generation for Scalable Model Training
Abstract: As machine learning models grow in complexity and power, the demands on training datasets surge correspondingly, necessitating both greater volume and enhanced quality. Harnessing real data, however, brings to the fore several challenges, including the hefty costs and sluggishness of human annotations—particularly in the fields of vision and robotics. Further obstacles include biases, spurious correlations, privacy concerns, and copyright constraints.In this talk, I will explore the potential of controllable automatic data generators as a solution to these data-related challenges. We will delve into harnessing learning techniques to control different data generation properties, culminating in photorealistic quality and significantly enhancing the training and performance of downstream models. Key insights include: ·
Methods to learn control over varying attributes, categories, distributions, and physical properties to bolster both 2D and 3D model training.
The transition of control from humans to downstream models, and how it paves the way for on-demand data generation, forging a symbiotic loop between the data generator and the downstream models.
A look ahead: The promise and challenges of generating intricate 3D and video data, underpinned by vision-language foundation models. We chart the frontier of controllable data generation and explore its vast potential in shaping the future of scalable model training.
Zoom Meeting ID: 222 662 0525Location: Hedco Neurosciences Building (HNB) - B15
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Melissa Ochoa
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ECE Seminar: Safe Autonomous Systems through Neurosymbolic Reasoning
Thu, Nov 30, 2023 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Jyotirmoy V. Deshmukh, Associate Professor, Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Talk Title: Safe Autonomous Systems through Neurosymbolic Reasoning
Abstract: Huge strides have made in the widespread adoption of autonomous and human-in-the-loop cyber-physical systems (CPS), partly fueled by dramatic improvements in learning-based techniques. An important aspect of many such CPS applications is that they are safety-critical; any undesirable behavior by such systems can cause serious harm to human lives or property. The formal methods community has been an advocate of using logic and automata as specifications for safety-critical CPSs, and the past few decades have seen significant strides in algorithms for their verification, testing, and automated synthesis. A new challenge now is the presence of learning-enabled components (LECs) in CPSs. In this talk, we will review some recent work on using logic and learning-based techniques to provide guarantees for CPS applications using LECs. Such techniques are neurosymbolic in nature; they rely on infusing symbolic knowledge in neural network-based learning algorithms, as well as using symbolic techniques to reason about such neural systems. We will discuss the applicability and scalability of these techniques to real-world systems, discussing some success stories, as well as lay out some of the challenge problems that would need to be solved.
Biography: Jyotirmoy V. Deshmukh (Jyo) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, and the co-Director of the Center for Autonomy and AI. Before joining USC, Jyo worked as a Principal Research Engineer at Toyota R&D. He got his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010. He was the 2010-12 Computing Innovation Postdoctoral research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of the 2021 NSF Career Award and the 2021 Amazon Research Award.
Host: Dr. Richard M. Leahy, leahy@usc.edu
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93509653910?pwd=QjVaQUhPOWVHVHFibXE3VjRkRXN4dz09Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93509653910?pwd=QjVaQUhPOWVHVHFibXE3VjRkRXN4dz09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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NL Seminar
Thu, Nov 30, 2023 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kawin Ethayarajh, Stanford University
Talk Title: Machine Learning with Human Fault-Tolerance
Abstract: REMINDER: This talk will be a live presentation only, it will not be recorded. Meeting hosts only admit guests that they know to the Zoom meeting. Hence, you’re highly encouraged to use your USC account to sign into Zoom. If you’re an outside visitor, please provide your: Full Name, Title and Name of Workplace to (nlg-seminar-host(at)isi.edu) beforehand so we’ll be aware of your attendance. Also, let us know if you plan to attend in-person or virtually. More Info for NL Seminars can be found at: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/ In machine learning, we have long recognized the need to build systems that can tolerate hardware faults and software faults. In this talk, I propose the need for a third kind of fault-tolerance: human fault-tolerance. The methods used to develop, evaluate, and deploy machine learning systems today assume that the humans that build and use them are rational actors making highly-informed decisions based on consistent preferences—this is far from true in practice. We can address the failures of these assumptions by drawing from economics, a field that has long been aware of how unfounded beliefs about human behavior can go wrong. Specifically, I will cover how we can develop theoretically grounded tools that discover human mistakes, design algorithms and methods for robustly eliciting and incorporating human feedback, and implement end-to-end platforms that make ML and NLP more transparent and reproducible. This line of work has led to the creation of datasets, models, and platforms that have been widely adopted by industry giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta.
Biography: Kawin Ethayarajh is a 5th year PhD student at Stanford University, where he works on bringing human fault-tolerance to machine learning. His research draws from economics to make machine learning and NLP more robust to the irrational, inconsistent, and uninformed human decisions made at every step. His work has been supported by a Facebook Fellowship and an NSERC PGS-D, and he has received an Outstanding Paper Award at ICML 2022. He co-created the Stanford Human Preferences dataset and the Dynaboard platform (behind Dynabench).
Host: Jon May and Justin Cho
More Info: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/99484520082Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual and ISI-Conf Rm#689
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/99484520082
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Pete Zamar
Event Link: https://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/
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Quantum Science & Technology Seminar - Chaitali Joshi, Thursday, Nov. 30th at 2pm in EEB 248
Thu, Nov 30, 2023 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chaitali Joshi, Google, Santa Barbara
Talk Title: A chiral light-matter interface with superconducting qubits
Series: Quantum Science & Technology Seminar Series
Abstract: Noise Improving qubit connectivity in quantum networks is crucial for distributed information processing, and for reducing resource overheads in certain error correction protocols. While superconducting circuits have shown great promise for large-scale quantum processors, controlling the flow of light in complex qubit networks has remained a challenge. In this talk, I will discuss our recent work on realizing nonreciprocal light-matter interactions in the microwave domain using a transmon qubit strongly coupled to a 1D waveguide. By modulating the atom-waveguide coupling using magnetic fields, we gain control over the direction of photon emission from the qubit, with the ratio of forward-to-backward coupling rates exceeding 100. I will discuss applications of this platform, including photon-mediated gates between distant qubits and the preparation of many-body dark states in chiral atom arrays. In the second part, I will discuss our exploratory work on using disordered superconducting materials for nonlinear devices suitable for quantum links operating in the millimeter-wave frequency regime. Work based on: Phys. Rev. X 13, 021039 (2023), Phys. Rev. Applied 18, 064088 (2022)
Biography: Chaitali is currently a quantum research scientist at Google Santa Barbara. Previously, she was an IQIM/AWS Postdoctoral scholar in Electrical Engineering at Caltech, where she worked on waveguide quantum electrodynamics with superconducting qubits. She obtained her PhD from Cornell University in 2020, where she worked on nonlinear and integrated photonics for time-frequency manipulation of quantum states of light.
Host: Quntao Zhang, Wade Hsu, Mengjie Yu, Jonathan Habif & Eli Levenson-Falk
More Information: Chaitali Joshi Flyer.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
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VLP Meditation and Mandalas De-stress Event
Thu, Nov 30, 2023 @ 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Student Activity
Relax and unwind before the end of the semester and stressful finals with the Viterbi Learning Program (VLP) through light channeling, meditation, coloring mandalas, and hot chocolate! There are special snacks for the attendees :)
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 206
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Alex Bronz
Event Link: https://cglink.me/2nB/r393852
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Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, Dec 01, 2023 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Jin Zheng, Ph.D., Professor and Chair - Department of Pharmacology- UC San Diego
Talk Title: Illuminating the Biochemical Activity Architecture of the Cell
Abstract: The complexity and specificity of cellular processes require spatial microcompartmentation and dynamic modulation of the underlying biochemical activities, such as dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation catalyzed by specific protein kinases and phosphatases, respectively. We hypothesize that cellular biochemical activities are spatially organized into an activity architecture and reorganization and restructuring of this activity architecture lead to disease. In this talk, I will introduce a series of genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors that we have developed to monitor biochemical events in living cells, and then present a couple of studies where we combine quantitative fluorescence imaging with targeted perturbations as well as biochemical and functional assays to probe the subcellular regulation of cAMP/PKA and ERK signaling pathways.
Biography: Dr. Jin Zhang received her PhD in Chemistry from University of Chicago in 2000. After completing her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Roger Tsien at UC San Diego, she joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2003. She was promoted to Professor of Pharmacology in 2013. In 2015 she moved back to UC San Diego and is currently Professor and vice Chair in Department of Pharmacology. Research in her lab focuses on developing enabling technologies to probe the active molecules in their native environment and characterizing how these active molecules change in diseases including cancer. Dr Zhang is a recipient of the Biophysical Society Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award (2009), NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (2009), John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology (2012), Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (2012), NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (2015 and 2022), Robert R. Ruffolo Career Achievement Award in Pharmacology (2022), Protein Society Christian B. Anfinsen Award (2022) and Biophysical Society Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award from (2023). She was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2014, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2019 and a Fellow of American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 2021. Dr. Zhang also received UC San Diego Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring in 2019 and UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2022.
Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
More Info: zoom link available upon request
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 136
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
Event Link: zoom link available upon request
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ASTE Seminar
Fri, Dec 01, 2023 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Astronautical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Arun Viswanathan, NASA-JPL
Talk Title: From Rockets to Routers: Navigating the Cybersecurity Challenges of Space Exploration
Biography: Dr. Arun Viswanathan is a senior cybersecurity researcher and leads the Cyber DefenseEngineering and Research group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His work at JPL is primarilyconcerned with making mission-critical capabilities cyber resilient, with an emphasis on buildingcybersecurity solutions that can be deployed in operational environments such as spacecraft,spacecraft ground data systems, and autonomous systems. He has led teams on severalcybersecurity projects within JPL, with the DoE, NSA, and various industry partners, and haspublished in premier cybersecurity venues on topics of cyber situational awareness, model-basedcyber risk assessment, AI techniques for cybersecurity, and security of autonomous andintelligent systems. He is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics andAstronautics (AIAA), and chair of the Aerospace Cybersecurity Working Group (ACWG). Healso participates in the development of an international IEEE standard on space systemscybersecurity as chair of the ground systems subgroup. Prior to JPL, Arun received his M.S. andPh.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, where he exploredmodel-driven approaches for cyber situational awareness and explored the impact of cyberattackson the Smart Grid.
Host: ASTE Department
Location: Thomas & Dorothy Leavey Library (LVL) - LVL 17 (Parsons Auditorium, Leavey Library Basement)
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Dell Cuason
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CS Colloquium: Yuto Nakanishi, Ph.D. (GITAI USA, Inc.) - Challenge to Develop Space Robots for Building a Moonbase
Fri, Dec 01, 2023 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Yuto Nakanishi, Ph.D., GITAI USA, Inc.
Talk Title: Challenge to Develop Space Robots for Building a Moonbase
Abstract: GITAI is a space robotics start-up developing tools to reduce the risk and cost of labor in space. Our robots are capable of autonomous operations including structure assembly and handling tools in a vacuum. We are working towards a robotics space labor force that could reduce space labor costs by 100-fold.GITAI is unique among space start-ups in developing all the mechatronics, electronics, and software of the robot in-house to achieve a tight integration of the best technologies.In this talk, I will talk about why GITAI focuses on developing space robots with my robotics experiences at the University of Tokyo, SCHAFT, and Google and will introduce GITAI’s latest challenge of space robot development, especially our new inchworm modular arms, and rovers for future lunar exploration.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Chief Robotics Officer of GITAI. Former Founder & CEO of SCHAFT. After retiring as an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Information Science and Technology (JSK Lab), he founded the bipedal robot startup, SCHAFT, the champion of DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials in 2013. He later sold the company to Google in 2013, and had led Tokyo biped platforms development team under Google X for 5 years. Now, he joined GITAI to develop space robots to build moon base.
Host: Stefanos Nikolaidis
Location: Hedco Pertroleum and Chemical Engineering Building (HED) - 116
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: CS Events
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