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Events for April 25, 2025
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EiS Communications Hub - Tutoring for Engineering Ph.D. StudentsFri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
Viterbi Ph.D. students are invited to drop by the Hub for instruction on their writing and speaking tasks! All tutoring is one-on-one and conducted by Viterbi faculty.
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 222A
Audiences: Viterbi Ph.D. Students
Contact: Helen Choi
Event Link: https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/eishub/home
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AI Seminar- Texera: An Open-Source System for Cloud-Based Collaborative Data Science and AI/ML Using Workflows
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chen Li, UC Irvine
Talk Title: Texera: An Open-Source System for Cloud-Based Collaborative Data Science and AI/ML Using Workflows
Series: AI Seminar
Abstract: Since 2016 our team at UC Irvine has been developing the Texera open-source system (texera.io), with the goal of enabling a cloud-based platform to support collaborative data science, AI, and ML. It allows users with various backgrounds, including those with limited coding skills, domain scientists, and ML experts, to conduct AI-centric data science with a collaboration experience similar to Google Docs. After eight years of development, the system has a rich set of features, such as shared editing, shared execution, version control, commenting, debugging, user-defined functions in multiple languages (e.g., Python, R, Java), and support of state-of-the-art AI/ML techniques. Its backend parallel engine enables scalable computation on large data sets using computing clusters. It allows bioinformaticians to elastictally request resources from AWS to form a cluster to run computationally intensive jobs. It also supports community-based sharing of resources including datasets and workflows. In this talk, we will give an overview of the system, and focus on research challenges encountered in the development and our solutions. We will show use cases in both education and scientific communities.
Biography: Prof. Chen Li is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at UC Irvine. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, and his M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science from Tsinghua University, China. His research interests are in the fields of data management, data science, AI/ML, databases, data-intensive computing, search, and visualization. He was a co-founder and CTO of a startup to commercialize his research. He was a recipient of an NSF CAREER award, an ACM Distinguished Member, and an IEEE fellow. If speaker approves to be recorded for this seminar it will be posted on the 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: Zhuoyu Shi and Pete Zamar + Maura Covaci
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5507/texera-an-open-source-system-for-cloud-based-collaborative-data-science-and-ai-ml-using-workflows/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/95166882238?pwd=id334Bxxz7ZULMFpYWuHEppmFKlfUd.1Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/95166882238?pwd=id334Bxxz7ZULMFpYWuHEppmFKlfUd.1
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Pete Zamar
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Gen-Sheng Feng, PHD., Professor Department of Pathology, School of Medicine Department of Molecular Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of California, San Diego
Talk Title: Mechanistic dissection and immunotherapy of liver cancer
Abstract: I will describe our research program that aims at elucidating the paradoxical anti-oncogenic effects of classical oncoproteins in hepatocellular cancer, which was initiated by the discovery of an SH2-containing tyrosine phosphatase Shp2 (originally called Syp) while a postdoc with the late Tony Pawson. In particular, I will discuss most recent data that unveil how Shp2 promotes signaling through the RTK-Ras-Erk pathway. This work has led to the most recent discovery of a new type of vesicle, intercellsome, in cell-cell communication to offset intracellular proliferative signal deficit. I will also discuss mechanisms of liver cancer initiation and progression driven by the dynamic interactions between tumor cells and the microenvironment. By deciphering multi-faceted roles of the immune ecosystem, we aim to develop new strategies for combinatorial liver cancer immunotherapy through coordinated activation of innate and adaptive immune cells.
Biography: Gen-Sheng Feng is Professor of Pathology and Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego. He has been approved for promotion to Distinguished Professor at UCSD (effective on July 1, 2025). Dr. Feng got BSc degree in Biology from Hangzhou University, and PhD degree from Indiana University Bloomington. He received postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Feng has published 193 peer-reviewed research papers, reviews and book chapters. Dr. Feng has served on the editorial boards of MCB, JBC, Hepatology, and J Hepatology. He is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Feng was the President for the Association of Chinese Americans in Cancer Research (ACACR, 2022-2024) and the President-elect for the Society of Chinese Bio scientists in America (SCBA).
Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
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Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Brian Thibeault and Steve Zamek, UCSB and PDF Solutions
Talk Title: Analytics for Semiconductors: From Megafabs to Nanofabs
Series: CA DREAMS - Technical Seminar Series
Abstract: This joint talk will provide an overview of advanced data analytics for semiconductor manufacturing and application thereof in R&D environment. The first part of the talk, by Steve Zamek from PDF Solutions, will provide an overview of end-to-end data analytics used by 100+ semiconductor companies. Big Data analytics enables faster yield ramp, improved efficiency, lower manufacturing cost and facilitates root cause analysis in a timely manner. The second part of the talk, by Brian Thibeault, the UCSB Nanofab Director, will discuss the small-business enabling R&D Nanofab environment. The UCSB Nanofab, a leading and accessible university nanofabrication facility, has been at the center of a semiconductor startup ecosystem for over 20 years. Brian will introduce Nanofab’s operation in the context of this vibrant ecosystem that bridges university research and commercialization. Several examples of successful lab-to-fab transition stories will be provided. Brian will also cover the recent collaboration between UCSB and PDF Solutions to improve process reproducibility, leveraging the Exensio® software within a technology-diverse, multi-user fabrication environment.
Biography: Brian Thibeault, UCSB Brian Thibeault has been UCSB Nanofab Technical/Operational Director for 6 years, where he is responsible for all aspects of facility advancements and operations, and the senior Nanofab staff scientist for 24 years. From 1996 to 2000, Brian worked on GaN-based LED and RF HEMT development for WiTech, LLC, founded by Steve DenBaars and Umesh Mishra and purchased by CREE Inc. in June of 2000. Brian holds a PhD from UCSB in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1997), where his research focused on Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser design, growth, and fabrication. Steve Zamek, PDF Solutions Steve Zamek is a Director of Product Management at PDF Solutions Inc. Steve is responsible for the Big Data Analytics platform deployed in 100+ leading customers – foundries, IDM’s, OSAT’s and fabless companies. Prior to his current role, Steve held a variety of roles at KLA, a leading provider of inspection and metrology equipment for the semiconductor industry. Steve holds a PhD from UCSD, MSc from BGU, BSc from the Technion – all in Electrical Engineering. He had Internships with Cymer (now ASML) and Sun (now Oracle).
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5740/analytics-for-semiconductors-from-megafabs-to-nanofabs/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addonWebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/97017422125?pwd=Dbrt8MNMrmBV3xalKQJcAiNsggFJjJ.1&from=addon
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Amy Kasmir
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5740/analytics-for-semiconductors-from-megafabs-to-nanofabs/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
CS Bekey Lecture feat. Dr. Huan Liu
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Huan Liu , Regents Professor and Ira A. Fulton Professor of Computer Science and Engineering - Arizona State University
Talk Title: Ceaseless Inquiries: From AI to AI - What I Learned During My Years at USC under Dr. Bekey and What Came After
Abstract: My time at USC as a graduate student, with Dr. George Bekey as my advisor, had an indelible impact on my career. In this talk, I will illustrate how my research career was shaped by Dr. Bekey’s supervision and the ambience at USC at the time. My research journey in AI began in Robotics, and evolved into Knowledge-based Systems, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Social Computing, and Social Media Mining with posts in Australia, Singapore, and finally in the US, where I now teach at ASU. On the shoulders of giants, I learned valuable lessons on how to be an effective advisor and what the essence of research is. With the swift development of AI, we will have many more research opportunities to make novel contributions at accelerating speeds.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
VIRTUAL AUDIENCE: If you are unable to join us in-person, you will be missed, but you can still view the lecture using the Zoom link below.
https://usc.zoom.us/j/98846857348?pwd=QTJNKBil2tUvBZxpAJUXvIpr9N0fS5.1
Meeting ID: 988 4685 7348
Passcode: 04252025b
Biography: Dr. Huan Liu is a Regents Professor and Ira A. Fulton Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Arizona State University. He is the recipient of the ACM SIGKDD 2022 Innovation Award for his outstanding contributions to the foundation, principles, and applications of social media mining and feature selection for data Mining. He co-authored the textbook, Social Media Mining: An Introduction, by Cambridge University Press. He is a Fellow of AAAI, AAAS, ACM, and IEEE.
Host: Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
More Info: https://forms.gle/phi3Gh2yogf9ABtX9
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98846857348?pwd=QTJNKBil2tUvBZxpAJUXvIpr9N0fS5.1Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - Auditorium (LL1)
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98846857348?pwd=QTJNKBil2tUvBZxpAJUXvIpr9N0fS5.1
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Event Link: https://forms.gle/phi3Gh2yogf9ABtX9
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - Zhuojin Li
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Performance Modeling and Optimization for Machine Learning Systems: from Cloud Training to Edge Inference
Date and Time: Fri, April 25, 2-4pm
Location: EEB 403
Committee Members: Leana Golubchik (Chair), Murali Annavaram, Peter Beerel, Jyotirmoy V. Deshmukh, William G. J. Halfond
Abstract: Deep neural networks (DNNs) have achieved remarkable success in a wide range of tasks, from computer vision to natural language processing. However, as these networks substantially grow in scale, ensuring efficient performance across the entire lifecycle - from cloud-based training to edge-device inference - remains a crucial problem. Our work addresses this need by developing performance modeling and optimization techniques for both cloud-based distributed training and edge-based inference.
First, we develop training throughput prediction models (coarse-grained and fine-grained) for distributed stochastic gradient descent (SGD), characterizing the impact of communication bottlenecks and node stragglers in synchronous/asynchronous and centralized/decentralized settings. Second, we propose an operation-wise framework that accurately predicts the inference latency of various neural architectures - such as CNNs and Vision Transformers (ViTs) - across diverse mobile platforms and ML frameworks. Finally, we propose a heterogeneous co-execution approach that combines low-overhead synchronization with ML-based workload partitioning on mobile CPUs and GPUs, substantially speeding up inference tasks. Together, these three contributions form a comprehensive methodology for end-to-end DNN performance evaluation and optimization, providing practical insights for large-scale training in the cloud and efficient deployment at the edge.Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 403
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Zhuojin Li
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Quantum/Physics Joint seminar - Kenneth Brown, Friday, April 25th at 2pm in EEB 132 & Zoom
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kenneth Brown, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry Duke University
Talk Title: Building Quantum Systems at Universities
Series: MHI Physics Joint Seminar Series
Abstract: Quantum computers have improved dramatically as industry has pushed the capability of these devices in terms of both scale and quality. Continued improvement requires research at all levels of the stack from the physical control of qubits to the software-layer that executes programs. Quantum systems at universities enable scientists and engineers to optimize over all these levels and to test new frameworks for quantum system design. In this talk, I will discuss how varying levels of access to quantum computers at companies, national laboratories, and universities enable different kinds of research.
Biography: Kenneth Brown is the Michael J. Fitzpatrick Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry at Duke University. He is an expert in quantum information science and engineering, and he uses the control of quantum systems to develop new technologies and understand the natural world. His research interests are ion trap quantum computers and quantum error correction. He serves on the American Physical Society Council of Representatives for the Division of Quantum Information. He was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Kavli Fellow, and an Experienced Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for his work in quantum information.
Host: Quntao Zhuang, Eli Levenson-Falk, Jonathan Habif, Daniel Lidar, Kelly Luo,k Todd Brun, Tony Levi, Stephan Haas
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/92394501475?pwd=xmrBvQLybbTORjh79PVFav4Abrzeba.1
More Information: Ken Brown Flyer.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/92394501475?pwd=xmrBvQLybbTORjh79PVFav4Abrzeba.1
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - Omkar Thakoor
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Adversarial Knapsack for Sequential Competitive Resource Allocation
Date and Time: Friday, April 25th - 2:00pm
Location: EEB 219
Committee Members: Victor Prasanna (Chair), Jyotirmoy Deshmukh, Paul Bogdan, Vatsal sharan, Rajgopal Kannan
Abstract:
Game Theory has become a key theoretical tool for analyzing important decision-making processes in various fields. One such common scenario has two or more agents strategically allocating respective resources to gain control of shared items. A prime example of this is in the defense sector where warfare resources are allocated to gain control of conflict territories. Colonel Blotto game is a long-studied model for this problem that considers simultaneous interactions between the players. Our work focuses on a sequential decision-making dynamic, where players act with partial or complete knowledge of previous moves. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on complex mixed strategies, we focus on deterministic pure strategies, streamlining computation while preserving strategic depth. Additionally, we extend the payoff structure to accommodate fractional allocations and payoffs, moving beyond the binary, all-or-nothing paradigm to allow more granular outcomes. Another recent and successful model of Stackelberg Security Games (SSG) consider sequential interactions but with largely dissimilar actions for agents – rather than the agents contesting for items with resource allocation, they consider a defender protecting targets versus an attacker selecting ones to attack. In this project, we investigate the scenario where both the agents have the same goal of optimizing resource allocation, but in a sequential setting, thus distinguishing from both the aforementioned lines of works. While we use the defense resource allocation as an exemplary application, our analysis and results will be general and applicable to other domains.
Our current contributions include formalizing an adversarial knapsack game model that captures the scenario as described above. We have laid foundation with a base setting of the model that gives rise to a bilevel knapsack problem: How should a leader assign weights to given items with known values, so as to minimize the output of a follower trying to maximize the value of her knapsack subject to limited capacity? We study this problem in various settings such as the follower’s optimization being a 0-1 versus a fractional knapsack problem, and with the leader’s weight variables being real (continuous) versus integers (discrete). This knapsack-based approach is novel in the context of competitive resource allocation, with rare instances in prior work only partially leveraging it for follower analysis. Our contributions include: (1) proposing an adversarial knapsack formulation for the sequential resource allocation problem, (2) developing efficient heuristics for fractional allocation scenarios, and (3) analyzing the 0-1 knapsack case, providing a computational hardness result alongside a heuristic solution.
Our focus in future is to explore other utility functions of the resource allocation that the knapsack-solving follower makes, such as non-linear concave utility functions. Secondly, the synchronicity of decision-making among the game players is closely tied with the information sharing and availability that applies to the gameplay. The existing models often assume perfect and complete information that is not practical in most cases. The imperfect and incomplete information settings allow for manifestation of two different techniques: Deception and Persuasion. Deception in our context could see the leader using certain tools to deflate or inflate his perceived resource allocation from the follower’s perspective, thereby misleading the follower into playing suboptimally. Persuasion focuses on how the leader can influence follower's decisions via strategic information revelation — often described as a signaling scheme — to yield the most desirable equilibrium outcome. These techniques are best realized in a multi-step or repeated game setting, which we also aim to investigate for our future analysis.
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 219
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Omkar Thakoor
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
PhD Thesis Proposal - James Hale
Fri, Apr 25, 2025 @ 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title of Thesis Proposal: AI-Mediated Dispute Resolution
Date and Time: Friday 25 April 2025 3-5PM
Location: GCS 402C
Committee Members: Dr. Jonathan Gratch, Dr. Gale Lucas, Dr. Jesse Thomason, Dr. Laurent Itti, and Dr. Peter Kim
Abstract: When conflict arises so does the possibility of potentially irreparable harm interpersonally, policitally, or professionally. Simultaneously, finding effective mediators, especially for those without the means to hire an expert, remains a challenge and may preclude resolution. In this proposal, I examine whether one can leverage recent advances in artificial intelligence to create automated mediators -- democratizing conflict mediation. First, I present a laboratory setting wherein we induce conflict in dyads of human crowd workers as they roleplay a buyer-seller dispute -- yielding the KODIS corpus. Second, we examine whether LLMs can understand emotion dynamics in KODIS to forecast dispute outcomes -- showing they can predict subjective outcomes, and uncovering escalatory spirals as the literature predicts. Lastly, I outline my plan to create automated mediators over the remainder of my PhD.Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 213
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: James Hale
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
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