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Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for September

  • Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Tue, Sep 03, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Yao Xie, Coca-Cola Foundation Chair and Professor, H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech

    Talk Title: Connecting the Dots: Learning Point Processes via Monotone Variational Inequalities

    Host: Dr. Qiang Huang

    More Information: Dr. Yao Xie .jpg

    Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - B2

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Casi Jones/ ISE

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  • MFD Distinguished Lecture Series: Leslie Abdul-Aziz

    Tue, Sep 03, 2024 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Leslie Abdul-Aziz, USC WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Talk Title: How to Make Carbon Capture Smarter: A Deep Dive Into Materials Chemistry for Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilization

    Series: Mork Family Department Distinguished Lecture Series

    Abstract: The conventional carbon capture and utilization (CCU) process involves separating CO2 from waste streams,transporting it through a pipeline, and then converting it into fuels and chemical commodities. On the other hand,Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilization (ICCU) or thermocatalytic reactive capture offers a more efficient approachwith lower energy requirements. This method directly transforms captured CO2 into methanol, synthesis gas, andcarbon monoxide.
    At the heart of an ICCU scheme are dual-functional materials comprised of a catalyst affixed to a solid sorbent,enabling the selective capture and conversion of CO2 within the same reactor. This seminar will delve into efforts toenhance these materials, beginning with the example of Zr-modified Ni/CaO DFMs, which exhibit improved CO2 capture and conversion capabilities. Additionally, there will be a discussion on multifunctional materials such as self-regenerative Ni-doped CaTiO3/CaO nanocomposites, explored for CO2 capture and subsequent dry reforming of methane (ICCDRM). These materials have demonstrated stable CO2 capture capacity and syngas productivity overmultiple cycles, with reduced coke deposition due to small exsolved Ni nanoparticles and their strong interaction withthe host material.

    Biography: Dr. Kandis Leslie Gilliard-AbdulAziz is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She joined theUSC faculty in January 2024. Before joining the Viterbi School of Engineering, Dr. Gilliard-AbdulAziz was anAssistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, where shedirected the Sustainable Lab at the University of California, Riverside, between 2018 – 2023. She earned her Ph.D. inChemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017 and was a Provost postdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of Pennsylvania from 2017-2018. She worked previously as a Forensic scientist for the Philadelphia policedepartment and as a Refinery chemist at Sunoco Chemicals in Philadelphia. She currently directs the Sustainable Lab,which primarily focuses on developing novel materials for sustainable catalytic processes for low-carbon chemicalproduction. Her primary research focus is novel materials development for CO2 sequestration and utilization using aninterdisciplinary toolset from bioengineering, chemistry, material science, chemical, and environmental engineering. Dr.Gilliard-AbdulAziz is the recipient of several awards and recognitions, including the Material Science of ExtremeEnvironments Young Investigator Award (2022), the National Science Foundation Career Award (2022), the Departmentof Energy Early Career Award (2023), and the Sloan Research Fellowship (2024).

    Host: Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    More Information: 9_3 Leslie Abdul- Aziz Abstract.pdf

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: William Wences

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  • ECE Seminar: From Single-agent to Federated Reinforcement Learning

    ECE Seminar: From Single-agent to Federated Reinforcement Learning

    Wed, Sep 04, 2024 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Yuejie Chi, Sense of Wonder Group Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in AI Systems, Carnegie Mellon University

    Talk Title: From Single-agent to Federated Reinforcement Learning

    Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL) has garnered significant interest in recent years due to its success in a wide variety of modern applications. Q-learning, which seeks to learn the optimal Q-function of a Markov decision process (MDP) in a model-free fashion, lies at the heart of RL practices. However, theoretical understandings on its non-asymptotic sample complexity remain unsatisfactory, despite significant recent efforts. In this talk, we first show a tight sample complexity bound of Q-learning in the single-agent setting, together with a matching lower bound to establish its minimax sub-optimality. We then show how federated versions of Q-learning allow collaborative learning using data collected by multiple agents without central sharing, where an importance averaging scheme is introduced to unveil the blessing of heterogeneity.

    Biography: Dr. Yuejie Chi is the Sense of Wonder Group Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in AI Systems at Carnegie Mellon University, with courtesy appointments in the Machine Learning department and CyLab. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. from Princeton University, and B. Eng. (Hon.) from Tsinghua University, all in Electrical Engineering. Her research interests lie in the theoretical and algorithmic foundations of data science, signal processing, machine learning and inverse problems, with applications in sensing, imaging, decision making, and generative AI. Among others, Dr. Chi is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), NSF CAREER Award, ONR YIP Award, AFOSR YIP Award, the inaugural IEEE Signal Processing Society Early Career Technical Achievement Award for contributions to high-dimensional structured signal processing, and multiple paper awards including the SIAM Activity Group on Imaging Science Best Paper Prize and IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award. She is an IEEE Fellow (Class of 2023) for contributions to statistical signal processing with low-dimensional structures.

    Host: Drs. Richard M. Leahy (leahy@usc.edu) and Mahdi Soltanolkotabi (soltanol@usc.edu)

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/91569704176?pwd=zHQIlJ6vFqFmWPQYbARB8J3pXRbRiV.1

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

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/91569704176?pwd=zHQIlJ6vFqFmWPQYbARB8J3pXRbRiV.1

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Mayumi Thrasher

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  • AME Seminar

    Wed, Sep 04, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Daniel Chung, University of Melbourne

    Talk Title: Modeling drag and heat transfer on riblets and roughness

    Abstract: Riblets are a surface texture that reduce skin-friction drag in turbulent flow, and can now be found on in-service aircraft. Riblet features are smaller than the smallest vortices of turbulence. On the fuselage of a passenger aircraft, riblet spacing is about 100 microns. Riblet performance is notoriously sensitive to the fine details of their micro-structure, with optimal performance thought to require sharp tips, which are impossible to manufacture and maintain in practice. Thus, their successful application requires careful lifetime management of performance benefits, balanced against manufacturing, installation and maintenance costs. Key to this balancing act is our ability to accurately predict riblet performance given the inevitable micro-structure imperfections. To this end, I will discuss our group’s flow-physical modeling of the interaction between detailed riblet shapes and the near-wall vortices of turbulence; the outcome is a consistent improvement in accuracy of performance predictions across diverse riblet shapes.
     
    Predicting rough-wall heat transfer has been a longstanding challenge, especially when new surface topographies are encountered. The heat-transfer coefficient of accreted ice on aircraft is different from that of engineered heat-exchanger surface textures. The best we can do are empirical correlations, which are not reliable. It is widely known that rough-wall heat transfer is not analogous to skin friction, i.e. not Reynolds analogy, but, then, what is it? With access now to the detailed temperature and flow fields near roughness features, I will show that heat transfer peaks at regions of the surface that are exposed to the oncoming flow, and, at these regions, a local version of Reynolds analogy survives. These insights allow us to develop a simple physics-based model of heat transfer that accounts for topography and working-fluid variations.

    Biography: Daniel is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He obtained his bachelor's degree in engineering and computer science from the University of Melbourne in 2003, and his PhD in aeronautics from Caltech in 2009. He was a postdoc at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before joining the University of Melbourne in 2012. Daniel's research is in computational fluid mechanics, where he tries to distil turbulent flows into simplified problems and to build physics-based models for prediction. Recently, he has been interested in turbulent flow and thermal convection over rough surfaces, riblets and sea waves, including control. Daniel is currently on a sabbatical at USC until the end of November, hosted by Prof Mitul Luhar, and is keen to explore collaborations.

    More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

    Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 202

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Tessa Yao

    Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

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  • Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

    Fri, Sep 06, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Dennis Discher, Ph.D., Robert D. Bent Professor, and Director, Physical Sciences Oncology Center/Project University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

    Talk Title: From Anti-Tumor Macrophages to Nuclear Mechanobiology

    Abstract: Acquired immunity against tumors can in principle exploit the genetic differences that always drive cancers. Myeloid-type innate immune cells typically initiate immunity, but the cohesiveness and microenvironment of solid tumors tends to oppose such functions. We engineer tumoricidal macrophages that engulf cancer cells to initiate acquired immunity, and have discovered a cooperative mechanism for overcoming tumor cohesion. Nucleus mechanosensing has a role in model systems and helps clarify a broader landscape mechano-regulation that extends to trends for mutations across different liquid and solid tumors.  

    Biography: The Discher lab at Penn has contributed across cell and molecular bioengineering, biophysics, and materials biology. The lab discovered matrix elasticity effects on stem cell differentiation (Cell 2006) and nucleus mechanosensing (Science 2013). Recent efforts have focused on the mechanbiology of genetic changes in cancer and engineering of macrophages against solid tumors (Nat BME 2023). The latter followed molecular studies of ‘foreign’ versus ‘self’ recognition (Science 2013) and were motivated by delivery studies of block copolymer nano-assemblies (Science 2002). Discher is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, the US National Academy of Engineering, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he serves on Editorial Boards of Science, Molecular Biology of the Cell, and PNAS Nexus, among other journals.      

    Host: Peter Wang

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Carla Stanard

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  • Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Tue, Sep 10, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Brad Sturt Ph.D., Department of Information & Decision Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

    Talk Title: Improving the Security of United States Elections with Robust Optimization

    Host: Dr. Johannes Royset

    More Information: Brad Sturt 651 Flyer 9.10.24.png

    Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - B2

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Casi Jones/ ISE

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  • AME Seminar

    Wed, Sep 11, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Jian Lin, University of Missouri

    Talk Title: Laser Induced Graphene: 2D-to-3D Transformation

    Abstract: Since disclosed in 2014, laser induced graphene (LIG) has been explored for applications in various fields, ranging from materials science, environment to sensor and electronics. Despite much progress, due to limitation of the technology advances, the reports are quite restricted to planar (2D) device fabrication capability. To tackle this challenge, in this talk, we will discuss new strides in advancing the capability from 2D to 3D to unlock LIG potential in multifunctional 3D devices. The first technological advance is to develop a 5-axis laser processing platform in 2023. With the two additional two degrees of freedom, the laser beam can be focused on any arbitrary surfaces so that freeform laser induction (FLI) of representative LIG, metals, and metal oxides as high-performance sensing and electrode materials for 3D conformable electronics was realized. Based on this success, in 2024, we made a new progress in developing a freeform multimaterial assembly platform (FMAP) by integrating 3D printing (fused filament fabrication (FFM), direct ink writing (DIW)) with the FLI technique. 3D printing performs the 3D polymer material assembly, while the FLI in-situ synthesizes functional materials (LIG, metals, and semiconductors) on or within any predesigned locations of the 3D structures by synergistical, programmed control system actuation. By this robotic fabrication platform, a crossbar LED circuit, touchpad for human-machine interactions, multiple sensors, sensor-enveloped springs, 3D micro electromagnets, force feedback manipulators, and microfluidic reactors with embedded heating elements were demonstrated to show versatility and effectiveness of the methodology. Finally, we will discuss how artificial intelligence, generative models can be applied to such a robotic system to push it toward a fully autonomous fabrication system. References: Nat. Commun., 5, 5714, 2014; Adv. Funct. Mater. 33 (1), 2210084, 2023; (Nat. Commun., 15 (1), 4541, 2024.

    Biography: Dr. Jian “Javen” Lin is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the William R. Kimel Faculty Fellow in Engineering at University of Missouri (MU), where he was an Assistant Professor from 2014 to 2020. Prior to MU, he was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Rice University under guidance of Dr. James M. Tour from 2011 to 2014. He got his B.S. in Mechanical and Automation Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2007. He then studied at University of California-Riverside and received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Dr. Lin was awarded the ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award In 2015, received an Emerging Young Investigator award from Journal of Material Chemistry in 2016 and Sony Faculty Innovation Award in 2020. Since 2019, he has been continuously listed in Top 2% Scientists in the World by Stanford Advanced Study Institute.
    Dr. Lin’s research group dedicates research in materials and advanced manufacturing to promote biomedical, energy, and robotics fields. His research lies in two main clusters: 1) autonomous manufacturing powered by artificial intelligence and robotics; 2) 3D/4D printing. He has published ~ 120 journal papers and 6 issued patents with Google Scholar citations of > 13,000. (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=N9QA8vEAAAAJ&view_op=list_works)

    Host: AME Department

    More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

    Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 202

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Tessa Yao

    Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

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  • AI Seminar-How Far Are We from Achieving AI Automation in the Digital World?

    Fri, Sep 13, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Information Sciences Institute

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Shuyan Zhou, Duke University

    Talk Title: How Far Are We from Achieving AI Automation in the Digital World?

    Abstract: For years, my dream has been to create autonomous AI agents capable of carrying out tedious procedural tasks (e.g., arranging conference travel), allowing me to focus on more creative and exciting tasks. Modern AI models, especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, have suddenly brought us much closer to achieving such AI agents. But, has my dream already come true? In this talk, I will answer this question by delving into our systematic evaluation of AI agents in realistic tasks. The evaluation uncovers many critical limitations of AI agents, such as tool use, abstract reasoning, and knowledge cutoff. It suggests that LLMs are crucial yet early steps towards AI autonomy. To address these challenges, I will introduce our research of a more suitable “language” for AIs, which overcomes the inherent limitations of using natural language for task solving. Finally, I will discuss how to leverage the vast human-authored knowledge available on the Internet more effectively to better equip agents to perform complex tasks autonomously. Zoom Meeting ID: 930 3528 9629Meeting Password: 911619

    Biography: Shuyan Zhou is an incoming Assistant Professor at the Computer Science Department at Duke University in Fall 2025. She is currently a researcher at Meta GenAI. She received her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was advised by Graham Neubig. Her research in AI focuses on creating AI agents for real-world tasks, such as using computers and generating code. Her work has been recognized at top natural language processing and machine learning conferences and journals such as ICLR, ICML, ACL, EMNLP, and TACL. You can find more about her at https://shuyanzhou.com This AI Seminar presentation recorded and posted on our USC/ISI YouTube page within 1-2 business days: https://www.youtube.com/user/USCISI. Subscribe here to learn more about upcoming seminars: https://www.isi.edu/events/

    Host: Abel Salinas and Karen Lake

    More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5093/how-far-are-we-from-achieving-ai-automation-in-the-digital-world/

    Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93035289629?pwd=FHXpqO3SHcKEppeDseLS1Y2d3blmry.1

    Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only

    WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93035289629?pwd=FHXpqO3SHcKEppeDseLS1Y2d3blmry.1

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Pete Zamar

    Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5093/how-far-are-we-from-achieving-ai-automation-in-the-digital-world/

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  • Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Tue, Sep 17, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Damek Shea Davis, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University

    Talk Title: Nonconvex optimization for statistical estimation and learning: beyond smoothness and convexity

    Host: Dr. Johannes Royset

    Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - B2

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Casi Jones/ ISE

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  • MFD Distinguished Lecture Series: Dr. Gennady Gor

    Tue, Sep 17, 2024 @ 04:00 PM - 05:20 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Gennady Gor, Associate Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering. New Jersey Institute of Technology

    Talk Title: Elasticity of Fluids in Nanopores: Molecular Modeling and Ultrasonic Experiments

    Series: Mork Family Department Distinguished Lecture Series

    Abstract: Fluids confined in nanopores are ubiquitous in nature and technology. In recent years, the interest in confined fluids hasgrown, driven by research on unconventional hydrocarbon resources -- shale gas and shale oil, much of which areconfined in nanopores. When fluids are confined in nanopores, many of their properties differ from those of the samefluid in the bulk. These properties include density, freezing point, transport coefficients, thermal expansion coefficient,and, as it was shown recently, elastic properties.
    The elastic modulus of a fluid confined in the pores contribute to the overall elasticity of the fluid-saturated porousmedium and determine the speed at which elastic waves traverse through the medium. In this talk I will show howelastic modulus of a confined fluid in a nanopore can be calculated based on Monte Carlo and molecular dynamicssimulations and illustrate it with calculations for various fluids. Additionally, I will present our recent experimentalmeasurements of elastic properties of water confined in nanoporous glass samples. Our results suggest that some of themodels widely used for describing elasticity of fluid-saturated porous solids need to be revised.

    Biography: Dr. Gennady Gor is an associate professor at NJIT. He received a PhD in theoretical physics from St. PetersburgUniversity, Russia, in 2009. He continued his research in the United States, first at Rutgers University, and then atPrinceton University and Naval Research Laboratory. In 2016, he joined the faculty of NJIT.
    The central focus of Dr. Gor's research is in interactions of fluids with porous materials. He is an expert in molecularmodeling of fluid adsorption, known for his contributions to modern methods of adsorption porosimetry and thedevelopment of the theory of adsorption-induced deformation. His current research interests include confined liquidsand electrolytes, atmospheric aerosols, lithium-ion batteries, and ultrasound propagation in porous media. Dr. Gorauthored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and is the recipient of the National Research Council Associateship(2014) and the NSF CAREER Award (2020)

    Host: Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    More Information: 9_17 Gennady Gor Abstract.pdf

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

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: William Wences

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  • Equalizing Hollywood: Using AI to Make Professional Grade Art & Content That Sells & Impacts

    Equalizing Hollywood: Using AI to Make Professional Grade Art & Content That Sells & Impacts

    Wed, Sep 18, 2024 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Stephen Gibler, Adjunct Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts

    Talk Title: Equalizing Hollywood: Using AI to Make Professional Grade Art & Content That Sells & Impacts

    Abstract: In “Equalizing Hollywood,” discover how AI is democratizing the creation of professional-grade art and content. This talk explores innovative AI tools that empower creators to produce high-quality work that not only sells but also makes a significant impact. Learn about the transformative potential of AI in leveling the playing field in the entertainment industry. Join us to see how technology is shaping the future of Hollywood and beyond.
     
    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
     
     

    Biography: Stephen Gibler has been a producer in Los Angeles for over a decade, running production for over 50 projects, including eight feature films, over a dozen commercials, 30 new media projects, 5 reality TV shows, and one of the largest immersive art museums in China ’The Silos’. He has collaborated with renowned figures in the film industry, such as James Ivory, Jackie Earle Haley, Haley Joel Osment, Molly Ringwald, Drake Doremus, and many others while also working with brands such as Amazon, Lancome, Head & Shoulders, Fiverr, AMC, and so forth. Stephen now serves as an adjunct professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and is the founder of AI Tech Startup, Logline AI, aiming to use AI to accelerate the creative process in filmmaking.

    Host: CAIS

    More Info: https://cais.usc.edu/events/usc-cais-seminar-with-stephen-gibler/

    Location: Room TBD

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Event Link: https://cais.usc.edu/events/usc-cais-seminar-with-stephen-gibler/

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  • Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

    Fri, Sep 20, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Weixin Tang, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Chemistry- University of Chicago

    Talk Title: Directed evolution of adenosine deaminases for epigenetic profiling and gene editing

    Abstract:  N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most prevalent internal mRNA modification in higher eukaryotes, depicts a regulatory network extensively involved in the mRNA life cycle. To elucidate the multitude of functions served by m6A, we developed evolved TadA-assisted N6-methyladenine sequencing (eTAM-seq), an enzyme-assisted sequencing technology that detects and quantifies m6A by global adenosine deamination. With eTAM-seq, we profiled m6A in the transcriptomes of cell lines and mouse tissues. I will discuss development, applications, and current limitations of eTAM-seq. For the second half of my talk, I will present our recent progress on directed evolution of an adenine base editor (ABE) with increased context compatibility. Existing ABEs function most effectively when the target A is in a TA context. We report directed evolution of TadA8r, a new TadA variant that extends potent deoxyadenosine deamination to RA (R = A or G). ABE8r outperforms existing editors in correcting 41.9% of 9,407 disease-associated G:C-to-A:T transitions in the human genome, and shows a controlled off-target profile. I will present the development and applications of TadA8r in gene editing. I will also discuss how directed evolution may be harnessed to shape context compatibility and specificity.    

    Biography: Weixin Tang received her B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Tsinghua University and her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She was a Jane Coffin Childs Memorial postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard prior to joining the Chemistry Department at the University of Chicago as a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor in 2019. The Tang Lab works towards a comprehensive toolbox for precise manipulation of the human genome, and for detecting epigenetic and epitranscriptomic modifications at high resolution. Tang was named a Searle Scholar in 2021. She also received the NIBIB Trailblazer Award and the Packard Fellowship for science and engineering.  

    Host: Peter Wang

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Carla Stanard

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  • Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class

    Tue, Sep 24, 2024 @ 03:30 PM - 04:50 PM

    Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Jose Blanchet, Standford University

    Talk Title: TBD

    Host: Dr. Meisam Razaviyayn

    Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - B2

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Casi Jones/ ISE

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  • Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

    Fri, Sep 27, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Xiaoming (Shawn) He, , Fishcell Department of Bioengineering University of Maryland, College Park

    Talk Title: Bioinspired Multiscale Engineering of Cell and Molecule-Based Medicines

    Abstract: Over the past decades, tremendous advances have been made in field of medicine. As a result, not only small molecules, peptides/proteins, and nucleic acids (aka, conventional molecule-based medicine) but also cells, tissues, and organs (aka, cell-based medicine), are extensively explored as medicine today. However, the challenges to both medicines in terms of their safety and efficacy from their procurement and fabrication to the clinical uses, is still enormous. The issues range from poor bioavailability to systemic toxicity and low specificity for molecule-based medicine. For cell-based medicine, non-physiological culture in vitro, immune rejection and uncontrolled differentiation of stem cells in vivo, graft-versus-host disease for therapeutic immune cells, and difficulty of long-term banking toward clinical use, are additional hurdles. We have been working on addressing these challenges facing today’s medicine with bioinspired multiscale engineering strategies. In this talk, I will show our recent data on developing novel bioinspired multiscale systems for engineering both cell and molecule-based medicines, particularly stem cells, immune cells, and RNAs, to improve their quality, safety, and efficacy for combating various diseases including heart attack and cancer.

    Biography: Xiaoming (Shawn) He is a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2004 from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and conducted postdoctoral training from 2004-2007 at Harvard Medical School-Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina from 2007-2011, and Associate Professor and Full Professor at the Ohio State University from 2011-2017. His current research is focused on developing micro and nanoscale biomaterials and devices to engineer and bank totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells for the treatment and early detection of various diseases including but not limited to cancer, infertility, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurological disorders. His research has been funded by grants with him as the PI from various private foundations like the American Cancer Society (ACS) and government agencies like the NSF and NIH (9 R01s), including the ACS Research Scholar Grant and the NCI Innovative Research in Cancer Nanotechnology (IRCN) Grant. He has published ~150 peer-reviewed journal articles in high-ranking journals including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biomedical Engineering, and Nature Communications, in addition to one book and four book chapters. He is an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Devices published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He served as the Chair of the ASME Biotransport Committee, and has been an associate editor or editorial board member of five different journals. He is a fellow of the ASME and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

    Host: Keyue Shen

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Carla Stanard

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  • A Code Generation Framework To Replicate Software Design Concepts

    A Code Generation Framework To Replicate Software Design Concepts

    Mon, Sep 30, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Prof. George Heineman, Associate Professor, Computer Science - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

    Talk Title: A Code Generation Framework To Replicate Software Design Concepts

    Abstract: In 1998, Philip Wadler used the term Expression Problem (EP) to describe a common situation that occurs when devising software that must evolve, specifically with regard to the structure of the data types and the operations over these data types. Over time, software engineers extend systems by adding new data types and/or new operations, and the goal is to avoid changing existing code as part of the extension. Dozens of researchers have investigated approaches to EP using a variety of programming languages. The papers from the research literature often contain only small code fragments and the lack of a common benchmark makes it difficult to compare different approaches with each other. We designed EpCoGen, a code generation framework, to replicate the results of numerous papers using a rich benchmark domain of mathematical expressions. While it was not our intention, in completing this project, we devised a novel CoCo approach to EP based on Covariant Conversions. This result would not have been possible without the meticulous effort in both developing a comprehensive benchmark and trying to replicate existing results from the literature. We generate fully coded solutions in Java, Scala and Haskell, with accompanying test cases, for nine different approaches to EP using a language-independent code generation framework (CoGen) that can be expanded to include additional languages and approaches.
     
     
    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.

    Biography: George Heineman is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at WPI in Worcester, Massachusetts. His research interests include component-based software engineering, modularity, code generation, and algorithms. He is the author of Algorithms in a Nutshell (2ed, O’Reilly Media, 2016), Learning Algorithms (O’Reilly Media, 2021), and an online training video course, Coding Interview Preparation: Learn to Solve Algorithms Problem to Land Your Next Software Role (O’Reilly Media, 2024). George is also an avid puzzler with a lifelong interest in logical and mathematical puzzles. He is the inventor of Sujiken® puzzles (a variation of Sudoku), Trexiken puzzles (a variation of Ken-Ken®) and the online https://wordygame.net, if you are ready to try a more challenging word puzzle than Wordle.

    Host: Nenad Medvidovic, Department Chair - USC Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Location: TBD

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

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