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Events for March 16, 2021
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CS Colloquium: Dhanya Sridhar (Columbia University) - Beyond prediction: NLP for causal inference
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dhanya Sridhar, Columbia University
Talk Title: Beyond prediction: NLP for causal inference
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Why do some misleading articles go viral? Does partisan speech affect how people behave? Many pressing questions require understanding the effects of language. These are causal questions: did an article's writing style cause it to go viral or would it have gone viral anyway? With text data from social media and news sites, we can build predictors with natural language processing (NLP) techniques but these methods can confuse correlation with causation. In this talk, I discuss my recent work on NLP methods for making causal inferences from text. Text data present unique challenges for disentangling causal effects from non-causal correlations. I present approaches that address these challenges by extending black box and probabilistic NLP methods. I outline the validity of these methods for causal inference, and demonstrate their applications to online forum comments and consumer complaints. I conclude with my research vision for a data analysis pipeline that bridges causal thinking and machine learning to enable better decision-making and scientific understanding.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Dhanya Sridhar is a postdoctoral researcher in the Data Science Institute at Columbia University. She completed her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz. Her current research is at the intersection of machine learning and causal inference, focusing on applications to social science. Her thesis research focused on probabilistic models of relational data.
Host: Fei Sha
Audiences: By invitation only.
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Wenjing (Angela) Zhang, Associate Professor, Executive MBA in Management of Technology, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark
Talk Title: Shaping our water technology by functional materials and electrospinning
Abstract: With the ever-increasing growth of population and advancements in medical treatments, a growing number of contaminants are entering the aqueous environment from human activity. In particular, for industrialized countries, the concerns for public health and environmental impact are exemplified by the widespread use of pharmaceuticals and their significance as contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs). Some of CECs with highly persistent could lead to detrimental effects on survival and growth of aquatic organisms. Conventional municipal wastewater treatment technologies based on activated sludge remains ineffective. Thus, there is an urgent need for a sustainable and effective wastewater treatment technology to remediate water.
In this talk, I would like to introduce the research projects where we combine functional material synthesis and electrospinning to structure the adsorbents/catalysts into a hiarchiary 3-dimentional reactor. By harvesting solar or mechanical energies, we are able to capture and degrade the contaminants while the clean water flows through.
Biography: Dr. Wenjing (Angela) Zhang is an Associate Professor and leader of Advanced material and membrane research group in the Department of Environmental Engineering at Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Currently she has 9 Postdoc/PhD students in her research group with state-of-art facilities in the fields of catalyst synthesis, electrospinning, solution plasma, electrochemistry, photocatalytic chemistry and membrane filtration. She received her MSc in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2009 at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Prior to joining DTU, she was a Research Associate at Vanderbilt University in the United States for 3 years, where she obtained substantial experience in conducting independent award-winning research, mentoring PhD and undergraduate students, writing successful government subsidy proposals (US Department of Energy) and collaborating on research projects with renowned global companies (3M Corporation and Merck KGaA).
Host: Dr. Amy Childress
Location: Zoom: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97228056404; Meeting ID: 972 2805 6404: Passcode: 864779
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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CS Colloquium: Aloni Cohen (Boston University) - Bridging the Divide Between Computer Science and Law
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Aloni Cohen , Boston University
Talk Title: Bridging the Divide Between Computer Science and Law
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Seriously engaging with law and policy exposes new computer science research directions that also have policy consequences. My work aims to understand and resolve the tensions between the theory of privacy and cryptography on the one hand and the privacy laws that govern its eventual real-world context. In this talk, I'll describe work that tackles three broad questions: How can we bridge the basic concepts of data privacy in computer science and law? How can privacy theory have a positive impact on policy? How can we incorporate legal powers and constraints into our cryptographic threat models for better cryptography?
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Aloni Cohen a Postdoctoral Associate at Boston University, with a joint appointment at the Hariri Institute for Computing and the School of Law. His research explores the interplay between theoretical cryptography, privacy, law, and policy. Aloni earned his PhD in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT where he was advised by Shafi Goldwasser and supported by a Facebook Fellowship and an NSF Graduate Student Fellowship. Aloni is a former affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and a Fellow at the Aspen Tech Policy Hub.
Host: Aleksandra Korolova
Audiences: By invitation only.
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
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Undergraduate Advisement Drop-in HoursTue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Workshops & Infosessions
Do you have a quick question? The CS advisement team will be available for drop-in live chat advisement for declared undergraduate students in our four majors during the spring semester on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1:30pm to 2:30pm Pacific Time. Access the live chat on our website at: https://www.cs.usc.edu/chat/
Location: Online
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: USC Computer Science
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ISE 651 - Epstein Seminar
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Suvrajeet Sen, Professor
Talk Title: TBD
Host: Prof. Jong-Shi Pang
Location: Online/Zoom
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Grace Owh
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Virtual First-Year Admission Information Session
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 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
Contact: Viterbi Admission
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How to Guide: Informational Interviews
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Are you unsure which career path to take or how to connect with employers? Interested in learning how to create meaningful connections? Attend the "How To Guide: Informational Interviews" workshop to learn tips on how to request informational interviews, best practices for preparing, and how to follow-up and create meaningful relationships.
To RSVP: Log into Viterbi Career Gateway > Events > WorkshopsAudiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Connections
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VIP Workshop: Choosing STEM Activities for Online Learning
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Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs, Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Join your fellow peers in the Viterbi Impact Program (VIP) at the upcoming workshop: Choosing STEM Activities for Online Learning on Tuesday, March 16th from 5:00 - 6:00 pm PST. This interactive workshop focuses on how to identify high-quality online STEM activities using easily available resources and tools. Attendees will go on virtual scavenger hunts to find high-quality STEM activities. In small groups, attendees will also explore how they would modify the STEM activity for online learning. Open to all students!
Please email Viterbi.UnderGradProg@vsoe.usc.edu for the Zoom link/more information. See you then!
More Information: Choosing stem activities for online learning (1).png
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Viterbi Undergraduate Programs
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