Select a calendar:
Filter January Events by Event Type:
SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for the -47th week of January
-
E-LAB (Engineering, Leadership and Business) RetreatSun, Jan 23, 2011
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Affairs
Workshops & Infosessions
This year, KIUELâs annual leadership retreat is an opportunity for Marshall and Viterbi students to participate in leadership development.
Undergraduates from Viterbi and Marshall will learn more about the complexities of technical entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary business solutions. Led by experts at the Disney Institute, the retreat will focus on team-building, communication, creativity, and innovation.
To learn more about KIUEL or to download an application for the retreat, visit the website at viterbi.usc.edu/kiuel.
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: KIUEL
-
Games in the Park wit Alpha Omega Epilon
Sun, Jan 23, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come enjoy a fun day of games with the sisters of Alpha Omega Epsilon. Learn more about the sorority and bond with the sisters over a scavenger hunt followed by a trip to Yogurtland!
Meet in McCarthy Quad.Location: McCarthy Quad
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Alpha Omega Epsilon USC
-
Human Factors in Aviation Safety (HFH)
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 08:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Aviation Safety and Security Program
University Calendar
This course presents human factors information in a manner that can be readily understood and applied by aviation practitioners. Emphasis is placed on identifying the causes of human error, predicting how human error can affect performance, and applying countermeasures to reduce or eliminate its effects.
Location: Aviation Safety & Security Campus
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Harrison Wolf
-
Viterbi Ball Ticket Sales
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come buy your tickets for Viterbi Ball! $25 each, checks made out to USC or cash accepted.
Visit the Facebook event for more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170374009672457
Location: E-Quad
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: VSC
-
Tau Beta Pi Bent Polishing
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come help polish the bent and eat pizza! Socialize with your fellow Tau Bates that you haven't seen all break.
We'll be at the Bent from 12 - 2 pm with pizza and polishing supplies. Feel free just to stop by for a moment between classes. This is a one point event.Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) -
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tau Beta Pi
-
BME 533 - Seminar in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Kyriacos "Kerry" Athanasiou, UC Davis
Talk Title: Toward Mending Cartilage: Is Osteoarthritis Indeed Incurable?
Abstract: Articular cartilage is arguably the tissue most pivotal for motion and overall function. This soft, white tissue that covers the ends of our long bones cannot heal by itself. Indeed, articular cartilage is notorious for its degenerative progression to osteoarthritis following an injury. The demanding biomechanical milieu of a joint, plus cartilageâs relative lack of cells and blood supply, renders this tissue almost unique in its inability to repair adequately. This presentation will describe our group's efforts toward helping joint cartilages, such as hyaline tissue, knee meniscus, and the TMJ disc, repair themselves via tissue engineering approaches. Central to our efforts is the understanding of biomechanical relationships at multiple dimensional levels. Also shown will be some of our latest results using various stem cell sources that indicate that cartilage regeneration is inexorably becoming a tractable problem.
Biography: Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, is a Distinguished Professor and the Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California Davis. He obtained his PhD from Columbia University in 1989 and has been a faculty member at the University of Texas and Rice University, prior to joining Davis in 2009. He has published 225 peer-reviewed papers, four authored books, and 28 patents. He has also served as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He has received numerous honors, such as the Thomas Edison Award from ASME, the Presidential Award form BMES, the Marshall Urist Award from ORS, the Van C. Mow Medal from ASME, etc. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. In addition to his academic interests, he has co-founded numerous bioengineering companies which have collectively brought to the market 15 FDA-approved products.
Host: Department of Biomedical Engineering, USC
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
-
IEEE S-PAC
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 05:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Engineers must be professionally proficient, astute and acutely aware of their responsibility to society. Student Professional Awareness Conferences or S-PACS (pronounced "ess-paks") explore the broader subjects that affect engineers' careers.
S-PACs were first introduced in 1979 as a method of increasing professional awareness in a student's technical education. Since then, these conferences have become a strong force for improving the engineering profession. S-PACs give students an opportunity to learn from the varied experiences of successful engineers.
S-PACs are structured events where students listen to experienced engineers from diverse backgrounds speak on a topic from one of six categories: Career Growth, Working, Professional Ethics and Social Responsibility, Self-Management, Engineers and Public Policy, or The Importance of a Professional Society to You.
After the talk, students have a chance to interact with the speakers and industry representatives in an intimate, low-pressure setting. S-PACs allow corporate representatives to see what students are really like and vice versa.
The Student Professional Awareness Conference at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering will take place on Monday, January 24th, from 5pm - 9pm at the Radisson Hotel near USC (3540 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007). Join IEEE at USC for an evening of dining, networking, and story-telling! This year, our special guest, Michael Andrews, will share about his experiences as an engineer as gives a speech on "Professional Adventure - Your Job Search".
The final list of companies showing up to S-PAC is: Intel, Qualcomm, Sandia, GE Aviation, Boeing, Deloitte, Space-X, PwC, and Cypress Semiconductor.
For more information or to sign up, go to http://www-scf.usc.edu/~ieee/spac. We look forward to your presence at our S-PAC!Location: USC Radisson Hotel
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
-
Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship Program
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Workshops & Infosessions
Qualcomm is sponsoring a new Innovation Fellowship (QInF 2011) program, www.qualcomm.com/innovationfellowship. The deadline has been advanced from last year and is now February 15, 2011. See the email below for details and the web sites
http://www.qualcomm.com/innovation/research/university_relations/innovation_fellowship.html (past programs and winners)
http://www.qualcomm.com/innovation/research/university_relations/innovation_fellowship/qinf11.html
As before, the Qualcomm Fellowship is rather unusual because it involves teams of two students. The technical areas of interest can be experimental, theoretical or anything in between; and need not necessarily be in an area of commercial interest to Qualcomm.
5:30pm â 6:30pm: Qualcomm innovation Fellowship Overview and Q&A
6:30pm â 7:00pm: Social MixerLocation: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106
Audiences: Graduate
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
-
AIChE 1st GM/Peer-to-Peer Anonymous Resume Critique
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come out to AIChE's 1st General Meeting of the spring semester to find out about our upcoming events this semester. This meeting will also host AIChE's resume workshop, an anonymous resume exchange program geared to help members make their last revisions and improvements to their resumes in time for the Viterbi Career Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 26th. We will also go over tips on your 30 second pitch, emailing recruiters, and how to dress for the Career Expo!
An anonymous resume means you can change your name, the name of the companies you worked for, hide your GPA, etc. Also bring a posting of a job you are applying for so that your resume's relevance to that job can be critiqued. RSVP by Jan. 21st @ 5pm at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDRmRkJuN1R2SjlZOUJteVozTHhrZWc6MQ
*For those who have paid and ordered one, t-shirts will be available for pick-up at the first general meeting. *Membership dues will also be collected. Paid membership will be required for some upcoming events that you won't want to miss!
Check back for more details on location!Location: TBD
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: USC American Institute of Chemical Engineers
-
Speed Dating with Alpha Omega Epsilon
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come meet and mingle with all the sisters of Alpha Omega Epsilon over speed dating! This is a great opportunity to learn more about AOE and enjoy some free food.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - Lobby
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Alpha Omega Epsilon USC
-
CS Colloquium
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Tudor Dumitras, Senior Research Engineer, Symantec Research Lab
Talk Title: Improving the Dependability of Distributed Systems through AIR Software Upgrades
Abstract: Traditional fault-tolerance approaches concentrate almost entirely on responding to, avoiding, or tolerating unexpected faults or security violations. However, scheduled events, such as software upgrades, account for most of the system unavailability and often introduce data loss or latent errors. In this talk, I will present two empirical studies that identify the leading causes of upgrade failure---breaking hidden dependencies---and of planned downtime---hanging database schemas---in distributed enterprise systems. I will also describe Imago, a system that incorporates end-to-end mechanisms for improving the dependability of large-scale distributed systems that undergo major software upgrades.
The key idea is to isolate the production system from the upgrade operations in order to avoid breaking hidden dependencies. The end-to-end upgrade is an atomic operation, executed online even when performing complex schema and data conversions. Imago harnesses the opportunities provided by emerging technologies, such as cloud computing, to simplify major enterprise-system upgrades and to improve their dependability. This approach separates the functional aspects of the upgrade (e.g., data migration) from the mechanisms for online upgrade (e.g., atomic switchover), enabling an upgrade-as-a-service model.
Biography: Tudor Dumitras is a Senior Research Engineer at Symantec Research Labs. At SRL, he is building the Worldwide Intelligence Network Environment (WINE), which will enable researchers in academia to analyze field data, collected at Symantec. The goal of this project is to create a standard benchmark for cloud-security research. Tudor received a Ph.D. degree from Carnegie Mellon University. His prior research focused on improving the dependability of large-scale distributed systems (addressing operator errors during software upgrades), of enterprise systems (addressing the predictability of fault-tolerant middleware), and of embedded systems (addressing soft errors in networks-on-chip). He received the 2009 John Vlissides Award, from ACM SIGPLAN, for showing significant promise in applied software research, and the Best Paper Award at ASP-DAC'03. He holds undergraduate degrees from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and the "Politehnica" University in Bucharest.
Host: Prof. Ramesh Govindan
Location: Charles Lee Powell Hall (PHE) - 631
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kanak Agrwal
-
Viterbi Ball Ticket Sales
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come buy your tickets for Viterbi Ball! $25 each, checks made out to USC or cash accepted.
Visit the Facebook event for more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170374009672457
Location: E-Quad
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: VSC
-
Optimum Joint Detection and Estimation: Application to MIMO Radar
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: George Moustakides, University of Patras
Talk Title: Optimum Joint Detection and Estimation: Application to MIMO Radar
Abstract: We consider the joint detection and parameter estimation problem. By combining the Baysian formulation for estimation with suitable constraints on the detection subproblem we develop optimum one- and two-step test for the joint detection/estimation case. The proposed combined strategies have the very desirable characteristic to allow for the trade-off between detection power and estimation efficiency. Our theoretical developments are then applied to the problem of MIMO radar where we detect a target but also estimate its location. Simulations demonstrate that by using the jointly optimum schemes, we can experience significant improvement in estimation quality with small sacrifice in detection power.
Biography: George V. Moustakides received the diploma in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, in 1979; the MSc in Systems Engineering from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1980, and the PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University, Princeton NJ, in 1983. From 1983 to 1986 he was with INRIA, France and from 1987 to 1990 with the Computer Technology Institute of Patras, Greece. In 1991 he joined the Computer Engineering and Informatics department, University of Patras, Greece as Associate Professor and became Professor in 1996. Since 2007 he is with the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Patras. During the period 2001-2004 he also held a senior researcher position with INRIA, France.
Host: Urbashi Mitra, ubli@usc.edu, EEB 540, x04667
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
-
Structuring the Research Article: A Review for Engineering PhDs
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
University Calendar
- Working on a research paper or your dissertation?
- Looking to submit an article to a journal or conference?
- Interested in developing your writing and communication skills?
Join us for a brief but informative session: *STRUCTURING THE RESEARCH ARTICLE: A REVIEW FOR ENGINEERING PHDS*
Taught by Professor Hovig Tchalian of the Engineering Writing Program, this hands-on, informational seminar will focus on how to structure, frame, and introduce your paper or article and how to highlight your contribution to the field.
TODAY, January 25, from 1:00 to 1:45, in RTH 109Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Graduate
Contact: Hovig Tchalian
-
Astani Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jianliang Xiao, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Mechanics of stretchable electronics: theory and experiment
Abstract:
Recently developed materials and mechanics concepts yield classes of integrated circuits that offer the electronic performance of conventional wafer-based devices, but with the mechanical properties of a rubber band. The resulting technology enables applications that are impossible for hard, planar integrated circuits that exist today. Examples range from surgical and diagnostic implements that integrate with the human body to provide advanced therapeutic capabilities, to structural health monitors and inspection systems for civil engineering. The most successful approaches use semiconductor nanomaterials, ranging from silicon nanoribbons to carbon nanotubes, in optimized layouts bonded at strategic locations to soft, elastomer substrates. The controlled mechanics of buckling in these structures provide means to accommodate large strain deformations, without fracture. This talk discusses the fundamental mechanics of these systems, through combined experimental and theoretical studies. We demonstrate use of the resulting knowledge in electronic eye-ball type cameras, whose imaging characteristics offer advantages over comparable systems that use conventional, flat detector arrays.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
-
AIChE Socal Dinner Meeting w/Southern California Edison
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 04:30 PM - 08:30 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come out to meet students from other AIChE members and also professional members at this SoCal AIChE meeting. Guest speaker Hazem Gabr will be there to talk about environmental engineering, more specifically about how it relates to the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant and water issues. He may also speak about chemical engineering with respect to nuclear power plants and its layout.
Dinner will be provided and there will be time to network with other AIChE members and industry contacts.
Cost is free if you RSVP by Thursday, Jan. 20th at midnight, and $5 after. Follow the link below to RSVP:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHI0UFdCMW00dkhON1hJZm9xeVJFb0E6MQLocation: Khoury's Restaurant 110 North Marina Drive Long Beach, CA
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: USC American Institute of Chemical Engineers
-
Viterbi Industry Networking Event (VINE)
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 @ 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Receptions & Special Events
Juniors and Seniors: Grow your network at VINE, an event that will help you prepare for Career Expo. Get face-to-face time with top engineering companies in a âspeed-networkingâ activity.
Practice your networking skills with engineering recruiters who are looking to fill internship and full-time positions. After the activity, talk to reps informally during a casual networking hour; beverages and appetizers will be served. Space is limited so early registration is encouraged.
Registration Will Open Soon!Location: Town & Gown
Audiences: Juniors & Seniors Only
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
-
Viterbi Career Expo
Wed, Jan 26, 2011 @ 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Receptions & Special Events
The Viterbi Career Expo is free and open to all students in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Students do not need to register for this event, just show up! This casual, yet professional, environment allows students the opportunity to have brief conversations with recruiters about full-time employment, internships, and co-ops. Don't forget your resume!
Location: E-Quad
Audiences: All Viterbi Students
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
-
Bringing Network Coding Closer to Practice
Wed, Jan 26, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Christina Fragouli, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland
Talk Title: Bringing Network Coding Closer to Practice
Abstract: The paradigm of network coding allows intermediate nodes in a network to not only forward but also combine their incoming information flows. This modern application of coding to the theory and practice of communication networks raises novel and exciting research problems, and is promising to have an impact in diverse areas of network communications that include multicasting, network monitoring, resource sharing, network security, among other areas.
However, one of the main challenges is to realize the benefits of network coding functionalities with implementable computational complexity. We illustrate through two examples how algorithmic and combinatorial tools can be applied to make progress on this challenging question.
One of the challenges in the deployment of network coding is the fact that network nodes may need to perform operations over relatively large finite fields. We propose instead to use vector network coding, where nodes process and combine binary packets by multiplying them with binary coding matrices, as opposed to scalar coefficients over a field. We introduce an algebraic framework for vector network coding, and provide a polynomial time algorithm for the design of coding matrices, that aims to minimize the size of the employed matrices, and thus reduce the encoding complexity. Our algorithm reduces the problem of finding small size matrices to the problem of finding a small degree coprime factor of an algebraic polynomial, and leads to solutions not possible with using scalar network coding.
We then consider a specific application. Our scenario is that a group of wireless nodes want to exchange a secret key, such that no eavesdropper can guess the key. Using network coding techniques, we develop a protocol that enables the group of nodes to agree on secret bits at a rate depending on the properties of the wireless network that interconnects them. Our protocol uses simple, polynomial-time operations and does not require any changes to the physical or MAC-layer of network devices. We formally prove and experimentally demonstrate that our protocol can generate information-theoretically secret keys in a realistic setting.
Biography: Christina Fragouli is a tenure track Professor in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences, EPFL, Switzerland. She received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece, in 1996, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. She has worked at the Information Sciences Center, AT&T Labs, Florham Park New Jersey, and the National University of Athens. She also visited Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, and DIMACS, Rutgers University. From 2006 to 2007, she was an FNS Professor in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences, EPFL, Switzerland.
Her research interests are in network information flow theory and algorithms, network coding, wireless sensor networks, and connections between communications, networking and computer science. She received the Fulbright Fellowship for her graduate studies, the Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award 2000-2001, UCLA, Electrical Engineering Department, the Zonta award 2008 in Switzerland, and the Young Investigator ERC grant award in 2009. She served as an editor for IEEE Communications Letters, and is currently serving as an editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing and Elsevier Computer Communications.
Host: Giuseppe Caire, caire@usc.edu, EEB 528, x04683
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
-
AME Department Seminar
Wed, Jan 26, 2011 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Joanna M. Austin, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
Talk Title: The Role of Thermochemistry in Hypersonic Shear Flows
Abstract: In high enthalpy hypersonic flight, thermochemical relaxation times are typically comparable to flow residence times, leading to nonlinear coupling between chemical reactions, vibrational excitation, and fluid mechanics. The chemical species and internal energy of the gas depart significantly from equilibrium. Experimental data in hypervelocity flows are scarce, partly because creating high enthalpy conditions in ground test facilities is extremely challenging and flight tests are expensive.
A new expansion tube facility capable of test gas Mach numbers from 3.0 to 7.4 has been built at Illinois and carefully characterized with experimental measurements and numerical simulations. Two canonical shear flows are being examined in the high enthalpy free stream: triple-point generated free shear layers and boundary layers flows. Initial experiments identified an opposing wedge configuration used to generate a Mach reflection with associated triple-point shear layers. The experimental configuration is chosen to give well-characterized inflow and boundary conditions. In addition, a Mach reflection results in a shear layer that separates a gas stream that has passed through a normal shock from a gas stream that has passed through two oblique shocks, leading to dramatically different temperatures and degree of dissociation across the shear layer. Key diagnostic tools include spectroscopic measurements confirming the presence of dissociated NO behind the Mach reflection, flow visualizations, and temperature measurements benchmarked against calculations using detailed and reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms.
The experimental work is complemented by spatial linear stability analysis. This study is the first linear stability analysis of a hypersonic shear layer to include detailed modeling of molecular effects. An existing molecular-molecular energy transfer rate model is extended to higher collisional energies. Non-equilibrium model results are compared with calculations assuming equilibrium and frozen flow over a range of (frozen) convective Mach numbers from 0.341 to 1.707. Non-equilibrium effects appear in the creation of nitrous oxide due to dissociation. Dissociation and vibration transfer effects on the perturbation evolution remain closely correlated at all convective Mach numbers.
Biography: Joanna Austin is an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received B.E. (Mechanical and Space Engineering) and B.Sc. (Mathematics) degrees from the University of Queensland, Australia in 1996 and 1997, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from GALCIT at the California Institute of Technology in 1998 and 2003. She directs the Compressible Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Illinois, where her research interests include hypervelocity flows, bubble collapse under dynamic loading, detonation, compressible geological flows, and experimental fluid mechanics. Honors and awards include the Richard Bruce Chapman award for distinguished research in hydrodynamics in the Engineering and Applied Sciences Division at Caltech, 2003, the Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 2007, and the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2010.
Host: Prof. V. Eliasson
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/1-26-11-austin.shtmlLocation: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/1-26-11-austin.shtml
-
Tie Dye with Alpha Omega Epsilon
Wed, Jan 26, 2011 @ 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Want to learn how to make tie dye clothing? Come spend the night with the sisters of Alpha Omega Epsilon! Learn how to make awesome tie dye patterns and about AOE. Shirts and snacks will be provided.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - Lobby
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Alpha Omega Epsilon USC
-
Viterbi Ball Ticket Sales
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come buy your tickets for Viterbi Ball! $25 each, checks made out to USC or cash accepted.
Visit the Facebook page for more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170374009672457
Location: E-Quad
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: VSC
-
Distinguished Lecture Series
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 @ 12:45 PM - 01:50 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Professor Thomas O. Mason, Northwestern University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Talk Title: High Performance Oxide Conductors and Semiconductors
Series: Distinguished Lectures Series
Abstract: Highly conductive ceramics (e.g., superconductors, semi-metallic oxides, ionic conductors) are well known, as are highly resistive ceramics (e.g., dielectrics, insulators, ferroelectrics). Since the advent of oxide-based chemical sensors (e.g., SnO2-based) and voltage-dependent resistors or âvaristorsâ (e.g., ZnO-based) circa 1970, there has been a steady rise of interest in oxide semiconductors. The renaissance of oxide semiconductors over the past two decades has been particularly dramatic. For example, publications dealing with ZnO have doubled each half-decade since 1990 to more than 25,000 papers (2006-2010). This talk will focus on âmedium band gapâ (~3 eV) post-transition metal oxides, the basis set of which include CdO, ZnO, In2O3, and SnO2. (Ga2O3 is also of interest, although its band gap is significantly larger.) These compounds and their numerous binary, ternary and multinary compounds and solid solutions are known for their rare combination of high electronic conductivity (when degenerately doped) and optical transparency, and are collectively referred to as transparent conducting oxides or TCOs. TCOs find application as transparent electrodes in display technologies and photovoltaics. When non-degenerately doped, many of the same compounds/solid solutions can serve as thermoelectric oxides or TEOs for direct conversion of heat (solar, commercial, vehicular) to electricity. When very lightly doped, these same materials are excellent âtransparent oxide semiconductorâ (TOS) candidates for channel materials in oxide-based transparent thin film transistors (TTFTs), especially in the amorphous state (so-called âamorphous oxide semiconductorsâ). These can be deposited at low temperatures on flexible (polymer) substrates, thereby enabling oxide-based âtransparentâ and âflexible electronics.â This talk âdusts offâ two long-standing (but under-utilized) semiconductor analysis proceduresâso-called âJonkerâ and âIoffeâ analysesâand applies them to the characterization/optimization of high-performance oxides for advanced applications in display, information technology, and energy conversion technologies.
Host: Professor Thompson
More Info: http://chems.usc.edu/academics/10-11/d-01-27-11.htmLocation: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 159
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Petra Pearce
Event Link: http://chems.usc.edu/academics/10-11/d-01-27-11.htm
-
CS Colloquium
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 @ 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Donald Metzler, USC, Information Sciences Institute
Talk Title: Learning to Effectively and Efficiently Rank at Scale
Abstract: anking functions serve as the "brains" of modern search engines. Developing ranking functions that are both effective (i.e., produce highly relevant results) and efficient (i.e., produce a ranking in a short amount of time) is a challenging research problem, especially when dealing with large document collections, such as the Web. Machine learning has been shown to be useful for learning highly effective ranking functions, but such approaches typically do not consider efficiency costs which are critical in real applications. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the challenges of ranking at scale and describe my recent research into leveraging machine learning to yield effective and efficient ranking functions for information retrieval applications.
Biography: Donald Metzler is a Research Scientist in the Natural Language group at the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute. Prior to joining USC he was a Research Scientist in the Search and Computational Advertising group at Yahoo! Research. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 2007. His research interests include information retrieval, Web search, computational advertising, and applications of machine learning to large-scale text problems. He is currently serving on the senior program committees of WWW and SIGIR. He has published over 35 research papers, has 16 patents pending, and is the co-author of Search Engines: Information Retrieval in Practice.
Host: Prof. Louis-Philipe Morency
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Kanak Agrawal
-
Distinguished Lecturer Series
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 @ 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Anna Gilbert, University of Michigan
Talk Title: Sparse Approximations: Algorithms and Analysis
Abstract: The past 10 years have seen a confluence of research in sparse approximation amongst computer science, mathematics, and electrical engineering. Sparse approximation encompasses a large number of mathematical, algorithmic, and signal processing problems which all attempt to balance the size of a (linear) representation of data and the fidelity of that representation. I will discuss several of the basic algorithmic problems and their solutions, including compressive sensing and sublinear algorithms for sparse signal recovery. Also, I will address two application areas, analog-to-digital conversion and biological group testing, in which sparse approximation problems appear and for which we have novel hardware and experimental designs.
Biography: Anna Gilbert received an S.B. degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Princeton University, both in mathematics. In 1997, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and AT&T Labs-Research. From 1998 to 2004, she was a member of technical staff at AT&T Labs-Research in Florham Park, NJ. Since then she has been with the Department of Mathematics at the University of Michigan, where she is now a Professor. She has received several awards, including a Sloan Research Fellowship (2006), an NSF CAREER award (2006), the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research (2008), the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Douglas Engelbart Best Paper award (2008), and the EURASIP Signal Processing Best Paper award (2010).
Her research interests include analysis, probability, networking, and algorithms. She is especially interested in randomized algorithms with applications to harmonic analysis, signal and image processing, networking, and massive datasets.
Host: Alex Dimakis
More Info: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Estela Lopez
Event Link: http://ee.usc.edu/news/dls/
-
Microsoft Information Session
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 @ 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections
Workshops & Infosessions
Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available opportunities.
Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services
-
Polarization Attributes of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering in Fibers
Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Avi Zadok, Bar-Ilan University
Talk Title: Polarization Attributes of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering in Fibers
Abstract: Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is a nonlinear optical interaction between a pump wave, and a typically weaker, counter-propagating signal wave. The threshold power of SBS is the lowest of all nonlinear propagation effect in silica optical fibers. The local SBS interaction, at a given point along an optical fiber, is maximal when the state of polarization (SOP) of the pump is aligned with that of the signal, and it vanishes if the two SOPs are orthogonal. In standard single mode fibers, the overall SBS signal amplification (or attenuation) depends on the birefringence properties of the fiber, as well as on the input SOPs of both the pump and the seed signal waves. As SBS is studied intensively for applications such as fiber lasers, distributed sensing and slow light, a thorough examination of its polarization properties is of large relevance.
In this talk, the SBS amplification of an arbitrarily polarized input signal in a randomly birefringent fiber is examined, as well as the role of SBS in the evolution of the signal SOP. The analysis includes Stokes and anti-Stokes waves. A propagation equation for the signal SOP is formulated and analyzed, in Jones and Stokes spaces. In particular, it is found that the output SOP of an SBS amplified Stokes wave in a standard, single mode fiber is drawn towards the complex conjugate of the input pump SOP. On the other hand, the output SOP of the residual, attenuated anti-Stokes signal is repelled from the same SOP. These findings are supported by simulations and experiments. The results are applicable to random SOP synthesis, coherent detection of fiber sensors, advanced modulation formats and implementations of optical filters. Finally, the role of polarization in SBS-based 'slow light' setups is addressed.
Biography: Avi Zadok received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University in 2007. In between 2007-2009 he was a post-doc fellow with the group of Prof. Amnon Yariv at the Department of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology. In 2009 he was appointed as a senior lecturer at the School of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University. His research interests include silicon-photonic devices, fiber-optic communication and sensors, microwave photonics and nonlinear optics.
Host: Prof. Alan Willner, willner@usc.edu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 349
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
-
Viterbi Ball Ticket Sales
Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come buy your tickets for Viterbi Ball! $25 each, checks made out to USC or cash accepted.
Visit the Facebook event for more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170374009672457
Location: E-Quad
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: VSC
-
Integrated Systems Seminar Series
Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Kris Merkel, President/CEO of S2 Corporation
Talk Title: Sustainable Ultra-Wideband Radio Frequency Signal Analysis Using Spatial-Spectral Holography
Abstract: I will cover the basics of the interaction of coherent light with cryogenically cooled rare earth doped crystal absorbers, and how this science has evolved as a basis for an emerging technology known as spatial-spectral (S2) holography. I will also comment on performing R&D in a commercial small business setting that has been funded primarily by the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.
The core S2 technology has its roots in the coherent interaction of light with matter, and can combines frequency resolution with angular phase resolution similar to spatial holography. Signal processing functions of spectral analysis, direction finding, correlative signal processing and true time delay will be discussed. The general technical approach to an ultra wideband RF receiver is based on recording and subsequent readout of optical energy that is modulated to represents RF frequencies via conversion by an electro-optical phase modulator (EOPM). The modulated light is absorbed by the holographic crystal. The S2 sensor performs physical phase sensitive Fourier transforms and multiplication of Fourier transforms. These transforms are stored in atomic upper states, and then can be probed or readout by a secondary light source.
A current hardware configuration can support 100% time-continuous coverage for 20 GHz instantaneous bandwidth (IBW) measurements with ~400 kHz resolution bandwidth (RBW), and a full 20 GHz bandwidth readout every 0.5 ms. A spur free dynamic range of 50 dB is observed for these measurements. Other approaches can provide variations on these specifications.
Biography: Dr. Kris Merkel is the President/CEO of S2 Corporation. Dr. Merkel has focused his 15 years of experience on the development and application of S2 technology relative to radar, laser radar, electronic surveillance and true time delay beam-forming systems. Dr. Merkel has overseen the successful execution of several contracts and grant with milestones met within cost. He received his Bachelor of Physics from Georgetown University (1994) and his Masters (1996) and Ph.D (1998) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. Dr. Merkel is a recognized world leader in the development of S2 systems, and is an inventor on 10 patents and patents pending. Dr. Merkel has unique capabilities related to a combination of project management and technical expertise for systems development efforts. He has over 25 publications in referred journals and conference proceedings.
Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi and Firooz Aflatouni
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hossein Hashemi
-
W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium; Living with Complex Technological Systems: Lessons from Bopal to BP Deep Water Horizon
Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Najmedin Meshkati, Sonny Astani Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Talk Title: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium; Living with Complex Technological Systems: Lessons from Bopal to BP Deep Water Horizon
Abstract: Prof. Najmedin Meshkati, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California, will present "Living with Complex Technological Systems: Lessons from Bopal to BP Deep Water Horizon" as part of the W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Program.
Host: W.V.T. Rusch Engineering Honors Colloquium
More Info: http://viterbi.usc.edu/students/undergrad/honors/schedules/Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 101
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: Amanda Atkinson
Event Link: http://viterbi.usc.edu/students/undergrad/honors/schedules/
-
Making Run-time Reconfigurable Hardware more Useful
Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jim Torresen, University of Oslo
Talk Title: Making Run-time Reconfigurable Hardware more Useful
Abstract: Before the introduction of multitasking operating systems around 1985, processors would run one program at a time. The program would be uploaded at startup and run until finished. There would be no swapping to other programs during execution of a given program. With todayâs multitasking operating systems, it would often be the exception not performing multitasking for software. This is in contrast to hardware which normally is static at run-time even though reconfigurable hardware is programmable at run-time.
This talk will introduce and describe how we are applying FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) technology for designing high performance run-time reconfigurable computing architectures. This is research undertaken through the project named Context Switching Reconfigurable Hardware forCommunication Systems (COSRECOS), funded by the Research Council of Norway for 2009 â 2013.
The overall goal of the project is to contribute in making run-time reconfigurable systems more feasible in general. This includes introducing architectures for reducing reconfiguration time as well as undertaking tool development. Case studies by applications in network and communication systems will be a part of the project. The talk includes how we plan to address the challenge of changing hardware configurations while a system is in operation as well as giving an overview of promising initial results so far.
Biography: Jim Torresen received his M.Sc. and Dr.ing. (Ph.D) degree in computer architecture and design from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Trondheim in 1991 and 1996, respectively. He has been employed as a senior hardware designer at NERA Telecommunications (1996-1998) and at Navia Aviation (1998-1999).
Since 1999, he has been a professor at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo (associate professor 1999-2005). Jim Torresen has been a visiting researcher at Kyoto University, Japan for one year (1993-1994), four months at Electrotechnical laboratory, Tsukuba, Japan (1997 and 2000) and is now a visiting professor at Cornell University.
His research interests at the moment include bio-inspired computing, machine learning, reconfigurable hardware, robotics and applying this to complex real-world applications. Several novel methods have been proposed. He has published a number of scientific papers in international journals, books and conference proceedings. 10 tutorials and several invited
talks have been given at international conferences. He is in the program committee of more than ten different international conferences as well as a regular reviewer of a number of international journals. He has also acted as an evaluator for proposals in EU FP7.
Host: Professor Viktor K. Prasanna
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Janice Thompson
-
Get Your Hands Dirty with the Arts!
Sat, Jan 29, 2011
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Receptions & Special Events
The USC arts schools, including the School of Architecture, the School of Cinematic Arts, the Roski School of Fine Arts, the School of Theatre and the Thornton School of Music, will come together to present a dynamic daylong festival featuring unique opportunities to get your hands dirty with the arts. They will present a diverse array of hands-on workshops, from salsa dancing to ceramics to digital media-making to playing the drums. So get your hands dirty and experience the creativity and thrill of making art firsthand with USCâs distinguished faculty.
Admission is free.
Organized by the USC Arts Schools.
For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.eduLocation: University Park Campus
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Daria Yudacufski
-
ASCE Beach Clean Up!
Sat, Jan 29, 2011
Viterbi School of Engineering Student Organizations
Student Activity
Come out on a beautiful Sunny Saturday morning at 10am and Help Clean up Dockweiler Beach with ASCE!
To RSVP please sent us an email at uscasce@usc.edu
Remember this event counts as one of the required PSWC community service events that all ASCE memembers must complete.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - infront
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: American Society of Civil Engineers
-
Gods and Marionettes
Sat, Jan 29, 2011 @ 08:00 PM - 10:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Receptions & Special Events
Admission is free. Reservations required. To RSVP, go to www.usc.edu/spectrum.
Gods and Marionettes, presented by the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company with director David Bridel and the wildly popular a cappella group Sonos, is a unique fusion of dance, music and theatre. Based on the great myths of Greek tragedy, the production is inspired by the creatorsâ research into the primitive ingredients of tragic theatreâtext, movement and song. Six singers, six dancers and a single actor will present a startling, epic investigation into the role of the gods in our lives, both ancient and modern. For more information on this dynamic collaboration, please visit www.godsandmarionettes.com.
For information on the featured artists, visit the event page http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/113/event/873345
For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.eduLocation: George Finley Bovard Administration Building (ADM) -
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Daria Yudacufski
