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Events for the 1st week of April
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EiS Communications Hub - Tutoring for Engineering Ph.D. StudentsMon, Mar 31, 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. -
Controls Seminar: Jim Misener
Mon, Mar 31, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jim Misener, Senior Director, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Talk Title: En Route to the Intersection of V2X and Automated Vehicles
Abstract: This talk will cover the long journey to vehicle to all ( V2X) communications, focusing on the United States but referencing other global regions as well. It will begin with the safety-focused origins for ad hoc short-range communications, then progress to how the underlying radio access technology works, and the C-V2X vs DSRC comparison where ultimately C-V2X emerged as the protocol of choice in North America. The talk will also cover application profiles for a so-called Day 1 deployment and will end with a prognosis. It will progress to the thesis of the talk, that there is still a journey ahead whereby V2X messages could be used for a dream that many academics, policy makers and some OEMs have, a connected and automated vehicle or CAV with real-time V2X communication the link between vehicles and the nearby infrastructure.
Biography: Jim Misener is Senior Director, Product Management and Global V2X Ecosystem Lead for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. He develops and executes C-V2X deployment strategies across all global regions, working with automotive, road owner-operator and telecommunications partners to accomplish broad C-V2X deployment. Jim also develops IoT solutions for transportation markets. Previously at Qualcomm Technologies, Jim led the automotive standards team. Jim was a pioneer in vehicle-highway automation and vehicle safety communication at the California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) at UC Berkeley. He served as the PATH Executive Director, Executive Advisor to Booz Allen Hamilton, and as an independent consultant. In these roles Jim has experience and reputation from delivering dozens of technology projects with large scale safety impact. In addition to his roles at Qualcomm Technologies, Jim serves as a 5GAA Board member, ITS America Board member and ITS California senior advisor. He also serves on the IEEE ITS Society Board of Governors and is co-chair of the TRB Roadway Digital Infrastructure Joint Working Group. He established and is the immediate past chair of the SAE C-V2X Technical Committee. Jim is an Advisory Council member to Mobility 21-Traffic 21 University Transportation Center led by Carnegie Melon University and on the Technical Advisory Board to the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation at the University of Michigan. Jim is also a member SAE WCX Technical Advisory Committee. Jim holds BS and MS degrees from UCLA and USC and is an IEEE Fellow.
Host: Dr. Petros Ioannou, ioannou@usc.edu | Dr. Mihailo Jovanovic, mihailo@usc.edu
More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96670292602
More Information: 2025.03.31 ECE Seminar - Jim Misener.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Miki Arlen
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/96670292602
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. -
"Keys to Life" series at USC ORSL
Mon, Mar 31, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
University Calendar
"Keys to Life" with Prof. Weiss is a motivational discussion series designed to promote student success and well-being. This series is for students who want to develop their "keys" in a small group setting and a peaceful, reflective environment. Finding purpose is essential to living a meaningful life and key to personal fulfillment. This series will help students identify and articulate their purpose and provide group motivation to work towards it. A unique feature of the series will be its peripatetic "Purpose Walks" through campus.
More Information: Keys to Life with Prof. Weiss.jpg
Location: University Religious Center (URC) - courtyard
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Elisabeth Arnold Weiss
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. -
AAI-CCI-MHI Seminar on CPS: David Snyder
Mon, Mar 31, 2025 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: David Snyder, PhD Candidate
Talk Title: How Do We Know Good Policies When We See Them?
Abstract: The recent and ongoing revolution in state-of-the-art robotic architectures has dramatically altered the empirical and theoretical landscape of robotics research. Unprecedented empirical success rates on long-horizon tasks with nonlinear dynamics and high-dimensional sensory inputs have been achieved through the adoption of large models, trained on large datasets, requiring large compute budgets. However, these substantial successes contravene many principles of generalization and robustness in the theories of statistical learning and control. Equally pressing, significant empirical gaps remain to human-level performance, and the observed presence of unpredictable yet preventable failure modes has driven research attention to rigorous methods for uncertainty quantification, robust control, and the understanding of fundamental limits of robotic procedures that are implemented in the real world. In this talk, I will discuss several works that investigate the "Evaluator Problem" for robotic tasks in varied uncertainty regimes, with the goal of providing practical, computable, and non-vacuous guarantees that complement the increasingly complex robotic decision-making procedures used in practice. In each instance, the core insight is to treat large models as input-output filters and design structure in the output space that is amenable to analytical methods. I will conclude with a brief discussion of two promising future directions: modeling uncertainty regimes which interpolate stochastic and adversarial scenarios, and nonparametric questions of data efficiency in robotic applications.
Biography: David Snyder is a final-year PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, where he works in the Intelligent Robot Motion (IRoM) Lab advised by Prof. Anirudha Majumdar. Previously, he received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Economics from the University of Maryland. Snyder's work focuses on constructing efficient, non-vacuous, and practical guarantees for the generalization and safety of robotic systems operating in unstructured environments, with particular emphasis on augmenting the roboticist's capacity to adaptively evaluate the behavior of complex systems and reduce the epistemic risk of static design decisions. During his PhD he is fortunate to have collaborated with multiple external research groups including Google DeepMind and the Toyota Research Institute. Additionally, he is a grateful recipient of the NSF GRFP.
Host: Stephen Tu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ariana Perez
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. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Tue, Apr 01, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
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. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Tue, Apr 01, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
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. -
DEN@Viterbi - Online Graduate Engineering Virtual Information Session
Tue, Apr 01, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
DEN@Viterbi, Viterbi School of Engineering Graduate Admission
Workshops & Infosessions
Join USC Viterbi School of Engineering for a virtual information session via WebEx, providing an introduction to DEN@Viterbi, our top-ranked online delivery system. Discover the 40+ graduate engineering and computer science programs available entirely online. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect directly with USC Viterbi representatives during the session to discuss the admission process, program details, and the benefits of online delivery.
WebCast Link: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/2EmK1o6/g/MKmE6J8PaB/denviterbi-information-session-5a2gRP2vZ9Z/overview
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Corporate & Professional Programs
Event Link: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/2EmK1o6/g/MKmE6J8PaB/denviterbi-information-session-5a2gRP2vZ9Z/overview
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. -
Epstein Institute, ISE 651 Seminar Class
Tue, Apr 01, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Suvrajeet Sen, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California
Host: Dr. Qiang Huang
Location: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center (GER) - 206
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Casi Jones/ ISE
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 - Grace Zhang
Tue, Apr 01, 2025 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Knowledge Transfer for Data Efficient Reinforcement Learning
Committee : Gaurav Sukatme (Chair), Stefanos Nikolaidis, Erdem Biyik, Daniel Seita, Stephen Tu
Abstract: Reinforcement learning and the closely related inverse reinforcement learning problems are general and powerful frameworks to learn sequential decision making tasks with only a reward function or demonstrations and minimal assumptions on the environment. However, the trade-off is that these algorithms can be very data inefficient, in the number of trials required in the training environment or the number of demonstrations required. In my work I explore how to achieve more data efficient learning through knowledge transfer between environments or between tasks. Specifically, on how to transfer behaviors between environments, how to share behaviors between tasks in multi-task RL, and how to utilize multi-task information to do inverse RL from limited demonstrations.
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C - 4th Floor
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ellecia Williams
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. -
WIE Spring Bloom and Boba: April Mentorship Social
Tue, Apr 01, 2025 @ 05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Student Activity
A bonding event for mentors and mentees to get together and make flower crowns and enjoy boba!
This program is open to all eligible individuals. Women in Engineering operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the Universityâs Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex [1], ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.Location: Sign into EngageSC to View Location
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Thelma Federico Zaragoza
Event Link: https://engage.usc.edu/WIE/rsvp?id=403795
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. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Wed, Apr 02, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
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. -
EiS Communications Hub - Tutoring for Engineering Ph.D. Students
Wed, Apr 02, 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. -
CS Colloquium: Amir Houmansadr (UMass Amherst) - The Road Not Taken: Towards Proactive Research on Internet Censorship
Wed, Apr 02, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Amir Houmansadr, UMass Amherst
Talk Title: The Road Not Taken: Towards Proactive Research on Internet Censorship
Abstract: Internet censorship poses a major threat to free speech and open access to information worldwide. While numerous tools exist to bypass censorship, they often fail to provide censored users with effective and reliable solutions. A key reason for this inefficacy is the reactive nature of circumvention tool development—developers modify their tools in response to censorship tactics, allowing censors to maintain the upper hand in this ongoing arms race. In this talk, I will make the case for a proactive approach to censorship circumvention research and share insights from our ongoing efforts towards proactive circumvention.
As AI continues to transform Internet services, I argue that the future of Internet security is inextricably linked to AI. I will also outline my vision for safeguarding online freedom and security in the age of AI, exploring both its potential and the challenges it presents.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Amir Houmansadr is an Associate Professor of computer science at UMass Amherst. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. Amir is broadly interested in the security and privacy of networked/AI systems. To that end, he designs and deploys privacy-enhancing technologies, analyzes network protocols and services (e.g., messaging apps and machine learning APIs) for privacy leakage, and performs theoretical analysis to derive bounds on privacy (e.g., using game theory and information theory). Amir has received several awards including the 2013 IEEE S&P Best Practical Paper Award, a 2015 Google Faculty Research Award, a 2016 NSF CAREER Award, a 2022 DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA), the 2023 Best Practical Paper Award from the FOCI Community, the first place at CSAW 2023 Applied Research Competition, a Distinguished Paper Award from ACM CCS 2023, a 2024 Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP), and a 2024 DARPA Directors Award.
Host: Harsha V. Madhyastha
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 132
Audiences: Everyone (USC) is invited
Contact: CS Faculty Affairs
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 Dissertation Defense - Hanchen Xie
Wed, Apr 02, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Dissertation Title: Mitigating Environment Misalignment And Discovering Intrinsic Relations Via Symbolic Alignment
Date and Time: April 2, 12 pm to 2 pm.
Location: RTH 217
Committee: Yue Wang (Chair), Wael Abd-Almageed, Aram Galstyan, Emilio Ferrara, Peter Beerel
Abstract: Deep learning models have achieved remarkable success on various computer vision tasks. Modern state-of-the-art methods can not only recognize the visual appearance of objects but also discover intrinsic relations of objects (e.g., dynamics or causal relations). However, collecting sufficient training data for the intrinsic relations can be expensive or infeasible in many scenarios, such as car incident videos in the real world. As an alternative, one can generate data in a different environment, such as synthetic data, that depicts the same intrinsic relations. Yet, end-to-end models may suffer from environment misalignment challenges, such as visual domain or environment context shift, so the model generality is limited. To mitigate such misalignment challenges, we propose symbolic alignment, a novel learning strategy that utilizes a common symbolic space to align various environments. We first conduct a case study on dynamics prediction to reveal the environment misalignment challenges on our proposed datasets. Next, to obtain insight into the challenge, we provide an investigation of the implicit position encoding in the dynamics prediction model. Then, we present a learning framework that separates the learning of appearance recognition and dynamics relations discovery to improve the generality of the dynamics prediction model. Then, we generalize the symbolic alignment strategy and introduce a novel framework, Look, Learn, and Leverage L3. L3 decomposes the learning process into three distinct phases and achieves promising results on three intrinsic relations discovery tasks. Finally, we extend the environment misalignment discussion to video classification and demonstrate the potential of symbolic alignment to mitigate the video content inconsistency between training and inference.Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Hanchen Xie
Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/95803531086?pwd=LwnaIMsMv44jIIkvvlUEXD3gAbqb2N.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. -
AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 02, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Lihua Jin, UCLA
Talk Title: Non-Equilibrium Stimuli-Responsive Soft Materials
Abstract: One recent impetus of developing stimuli-responsive soft materials (SRSMs) is to use them for sensors, actuators and soft robots. In these applications, mechanics and multi-physics fields are intrinsically coupled through non-equilibrium thermodynamic processes, including diffusion, reaction, viscoelastic relaxation, etc. The non-equilibrium processes of SRSMs not only determine their response speeds, but also govern how SRSMs spatiotemporally evolve their properties and structures. In this talk, using hydrogels, shape memory polymers, humidity-responsive polymers and liquid crystal elastomers as model SRSMs, I will present a few of our recent studies on programing the spatiotemporal properties, shapes, and locomotion of SRSMs through non-equilibrium processes. First, I will describe how mechanical stress can be used to induce and tune the phase separation processes of hydrogels. Second, I will show that the fracture properties and behavior of SRSMs are also highly intertwined with their non-equilibrium processes. Finally, by utilizing the displacement of SRSMs to alter their interaction with external stimuli, we are able to achieve complex and autonomous motion of SRSMs.
Biography: Lihua Jin is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before joining UCLA in 2016, she was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. In 2014, she obtained her PhD degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Fudan University. Lihua conducts research on mechanics of soft materials, stimuli-responsive materials, instability and fracture, soft robotics, and biomechanics. She was the winner of the Haythornthwaite Research Initiative Grant, Extreme Mechanics Letters Young Investigator Award, Hellman Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award, Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award, and SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
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. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Thu, Apr 03, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
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. -
ECE Seminar: Optimizing Distributed Applications in Networked Computing Environments
Thu, Apr 03, 2025 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Carlee Joe-Wong, Robert E. Doherty Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Talk Title: Optimizing Distributed Applications in Networked Computing Environments
Abstract: The recent proliferation of Internet-connected devices with computational and data collection capabilities, e.g., in the Internet-of-Things, promises to enable an explosion in new applications and services like artificial intelligence and mixed reality. Realizing these new applications, however, inherently requires device cooperation, whether integrating user data collected across multiple smart homes to train a prediction model for smart home usage, or synthesizing multiple sensors' readings to predict how a wildfire will spread. Such cooperation is inherently limited by constraints on the available compute, storage, or communication resources on Internet-connected devices—and to make matters worse, these devices are often highly heterogeneous and may need to support a range of different applications or services, each with their own unique needs. In this talk, I describe some of our recent work on optimizing device cooperation by learning and exploiting latent similarities across devices and applications. We first consider the general problem of optimally placing components of a distributed application, e.g., for data pre-processing and analysis, within a distributed network of devices. To meet these challenges, we introduce a new reinforcement learning-based problem representation that allows us to learn generalizable policies for dynamic environments. We then consider the specific problems of distributing machine learning applications across devices, demonstrating that we can exploit the structure of the learned data across devices to improve learning performance.
Biography: Carlee Joe-Wong is the Robert E. Doherty Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her A.B. degree (magna cum laude) in Mathematics, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied and Computational Mathematics, from Princeton University in 2011, 2013, and 2016, respectively. Her research interests lie in optimizing various types of networked systems, in particular applications of machine learning and economics to computing and communication networks. From 2013 to 2014, Carlee was the Director of Advanced Research at DataMi, a startup she co-founded from her research on mobile data pricing. Her work has received best paper and poster awards at several conferences, including IEEE INFOCOM, ACM/IEEE IPSN, ACM SIGMETRICS, and IEEE ICDCS. She received the NSF CAREER award in 2018, the Army Young Investigator award in 2019, and the Department of Energy Early Career Research Program Award in 2024.
Host: Dr. Leana Golubchik, leana@usc.edu
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/95435744209?pwd=XZXbX2oiSTg9AXpAwN3oHsy1g6W37u.1Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/95435744209?pwd=XZXbX2oiSTg9AXpAwN3oHsy1g6W37u.1
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mayumi Thrasher
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. -
Semiconductors and Microelectronics Technology Seminar - Pavan Nukala, Thursday, April 3rd at 1:30pm in EEB 248
Thu, Apr 03, 2025 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Pavan Nukala, Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.
Talk Title: Visualizing long-range solid state amorphization in ferroic In2Se3
Series: Semiconductors & Microelectronics Technology
Abstract: I will discuss our recent and exciting results on in-situ transmission electron microscopy studies on T-phase, polar In2Se3 nanowires. Through some beautiful atomic resolution images, I'll show that the vdW layers slide with application of current (carrier wind force), eventually leading to a complete solid-state amorphization of these nanowires. I'll show in-situ videos of jerky earth quake-like response of these devices occurring due to the interaction between these defects, which eventually forms a precursor to amorphization. These insights, while on one hand may be considered to be text-book models of solid-state amorphization, have also implications in In2Se3 FES-FETs. I will briefly discuss our most recent foray into the transistors and show how the in-situ TEM studies are relevant for these devices. References:1 G. Modi*, S. Parathe*, et al., Electrically driven long-range solid state amorphization in ferroic In2Se3, Nature, 635, 847, 2024
Biography: Pavan Nukala obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Madras, India. He pursued his PhD from University of Pennsylvania, and subsequently was a nanosaclay post-doc at University Paris Saclay and Marie-Curie fellow at the University of Groningen. He started his independent group at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, India in 2020. His group works on ferroelectric, piezoelectric and phase change materials, oxide and 2D memristors, with an expertise on in-situ electron microscopy.
Host: Joshua Yang, Chongwu Zhou, Steve Cronin and Wei Wu
More Information: Pavan Nukala_2024-04-03.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Marilyn Poplawski
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. -
DEN@Viterbi: How to Apply Virtual Info Session
Thu, Apr 03, 2025 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
DEN@Viterbi, Viterbi School of Engineering Graduate Admission
Workshops & Infosessions
Join USC Viterbi representatives for a step-by-step guide and tips for how to apply for formal admission into a Master's degree or Graduate Certificate program. The session is intended for individuals who wish to pursue a graduate degree program completely online via USC Viterbi's flexible online DEN@Viterbi delivery method. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect directly with USC Viterbi representatives and ask questions about the admission process throughout the session.
WebCast Link: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/2EmK1o6/g/MKmE6J8PaB/denviterbi-how-to-apply-5a2gRP2vZCn/overview
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Corporate & Professional Programs
Event Link: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/2EmK1o6/g/MKmE6J8PaB/denviterbi-how-to-apply-5a2gRP2vZCn/overview
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. -
Technology for Business Leaders
Fri, Apr 04, 2025
Executive Education
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talk Title: Technology for Business Leaders
Abstract: Technology for Business Leaders provides a comprehensive exploration of digital transformation and its impact on contemporary business landscapes. Through a series of structured modules, participants will delve into the core concepts of digital technologies, Industry 4.0, innovation, and organizational change management. By analyzing case studies and leveraging practical frameworks, learners will develop the necessary insights and skills to drive successful digital transitions within their organizations.
Host: USC Viterbi Corporate and Professional Programs
More Info: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: VASE Executive Education
Event Link: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/technology-for-business-leaders/
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. -
EiS Communications Hub - Tutoring for Engineering Ph.D. Students
Fri, Apr 04, 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-Experiments in Scaling Reinforcement Learning with Verifiable Rewards
Fri, Apr 04, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Nathan Lambert, Allen Institure
Talk Title: Experiments in Scaling Reinforcement Learning with Verifiable Rewards
Series: AI Seminar
Abstract: With the release of DeepSeek’s R1 reasoning model, interest in reinforcement learning may be at an all time high. Academics are pouring energy into the space, trying to replicate DeepSeek’s results and establish clear trade-offs and capabilities of this new era of reinforcement learning on language models. This talk discusses these new results with language models trained with Reinforcement Learning with Verifiable Rewards (RLVR), our efforts at scaling them for Ai2’s OLMo and Tülu language models, hints that we may have missed indicating that RL is more effective than people give credit for, and some history from my background in model-based RL/robotics. The goal of the talk is to present a mix of (recent) historical context on language modeling and cutting edge research with RL to forecast how the rapidly expanding industry of language models may change in the near future.
Biography: Nathan Lambert is a Senior Research Scientist and post-training lead at the Allen Institute for AI focusing on building open language models. At the same time he founded and operates Interconnects.ai to increase transparency and understanding of current AI models and systems.
Previously, he helped build an RLHF research team at HuggingFace. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley working at the intersection of machine learning and robotics. He was advised by Professor Kristofer Pister in the Berkeley Autonomous Microsystems Lab and Roberto Calandra at Meta AI Research. He was lucky to intern at Facebook AI and DeepMind during his Ph.D. Nathan was was awarded the UC Berkeley EECS Demetri Angelakos Memorial Achievement Award for Altruism for his efforts to better community norms.
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: Eric Boxer and Justina Gilleland
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5553/experiments-in-scaling-reinforcement-learning-with-verifiable-rewards/
Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94409584905?pwd=Sm5LVkd0bndUdEluM3piK0NWTUQrUT09Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Virtual Only
WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94409584905?pwd=Sm5LVkd0bndUdEluM3piK0NWTUQrUT09
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Pete Zamar
Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5553/experiments-in-scaling-reinforcement-learning-with-verifiable-rewards/
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 04, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Xiaoping P. Hu, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Bioengineering;Director, Center for Advanced Neuroimaging Reza Abbaschian Chair Professor University of California, Riverside
Talk Title: Some Recent Advances in MRI of Neurodegeneration
Abstract: MRI is a widely used modality in neuroimaging in both clinical medicine and research. For neurodegeneration, in addition to providing exquisite anatomic measures, MRI can assess function, connectivity, and neurobiologically relevant biomarkers such as iron and melanin. In this talk, I will first present our work on the development of neuromelanin imaging and applying it, in conjunction with iron imaging and diffusion tensor imaging, to the diagnosis and assessment of Parkinson’s disease. Our data demonstrate that both neuromelanin and iron imaging could provide potential biomarkers for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease. Second, I will describe our more recent endeavor in imaging the integrity and structural connectivity of locus coeruleus and investigation of their relevance to aging and cognition. I will demonstrate that MR imaging of locus coeruleus could provide highly relevant measure in studying aging.
Biography: Xiaoping Hu obtained his Ph.D. in medical physics in 1988 from the University of Chicago. From 1990 to 2002, he was a faculty member at the University of Minnesota where he became a full professor in 1998. In 2002-2016, he was Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Imaging in the Wallace H. Coulter joint department of biomedical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. In July 2016, Dr. Hu joined UC Riverside as professor and chair of bioengineering and director of the center for advanced neuroimaging. Dr. Hu has worked on the development and biomedical application of magnetic resonance imaging, with an emphasis on the brain, for almost 4 decades. He has authored or co-authored 325 peer-reviewed journal articles, with a total of 33,000+ citations and an h-index of 101. He is currently on the editorial board of Brain Connectivity and is an associate editor of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He is a fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, a fellow of IEEE, a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, a fellow of American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers. He was named Reza Abbaschian Chair in July, 2023 and promoted to distinguished professor in July, 2024.
Host: Qifa Zhou
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 04, 2025 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Information Sciences Institute
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Shaya Fainman, Professor, University of California, San Diego
Talk Title: Foundry Enabled Chip-scale Photonics Technology and Applications
Abstract: Dense photonic integration requires miniaturization of materials, devices, circuits and systems, including passive components (e.g., engineered composite metamaterials, filters, etc.), active components (e.g., modulators and nonlinear wave mixers) and integrated circuits (Fourier transform spectrometer, programmable phase modulator of free space modes, linear algebra processors, etc.). In this talk we will discuss recent progress in developing CMOS compatible nonlinear optical materials as well as examples of foundry enabled silicon photonic circuits and systems. Specifically, we will review silicon photonics-based Fourier transform spectrometer (Si-FTS) that can bring broadband operation and fine resolution to the chip scale. Here we will present the modeling and experimental demonstration of a thermally tuned Si-FTS accounting for dispersion, thermo-optic non-linearity, and thermal expansion. We show how these effects modify the relation between the spectrum and interferogram of a light source and we develop a quantitative correction procedure through calibration with a tunable laser. Providing design flexibility and robustness, the Si-FTS is poised to become a fundamental building block for on-chip spectroscopy. Moreover, taking advantage of nanofabrication we will discuss on-chip spectrometers using stratified waveguide filters and machine learning. Moving forward, we will discuss chip-scale integrated circuit/system that will allow to realize linear algebra accelerators with superior performance in speed, energy consumption and size compared to its electronic counterpart. Such system can be manufactured using monolithic CMOS process and impact such applications as 5G/6G and beyond wireless MIMO systems as well as deep learning and artificial intelligence.
Biography: Yeshaiahu (Shaya) Fainman is an inaugural ASML/Cymer Chair of Advanced Optical Technologies and Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received the M. Sc and Ph. D degrees from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in 1979 and 1983, respectively. He is directing research of the Ultrafast and Nanoscale Optics group at UCSD and made significant contributions to near field optical phenomena, nanoscale science and engineering of ultra-small, sub-micrometer semiconductor light emitters and nanolasers, inhomogeneous and meta-materials, nanophotonics and plasmonics, non-conventional imaging and silicon photonics. His current research interests are in near field optical science and optical technology with applications targeting information technologies and biomedical sensing. He contributed over 360 manuscripts in peer review journals and over 560 conference presentations and conference proceedings. During his career he has led as Director and Deputy Director of numerous large size interdisciplinary projects and centers supported by BMDO, DARPA, NSF-ERC, and ONR. He is a Fellow of the OSA, IEEE, SPIE, and a recipient of the Miriam and Aharon Gutvirt Prize, Lady Davis Fellowship, Brown Award, SPIE Gabor Award, OSA Emmett N. Leith Medal, OSA Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize and OPTICA (former OSA) Nick Holonyak Jr Award.
Host: Dr. Steve Crago
More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5445/foundry-enabled-chip-scale-photonics-technology-and-applications/
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/5445/foundry-enabled-chip-scale-photonics-technology-and-applications/
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 - Soumyaroop Nandi
Fri, Apr 04, 2025 @ 02:45 PM - 04:45 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
University Calendar
Title: Context-Aware Semantic Forgery Detection in Biomedical and Natural Images
Committee: Dr. Premkumar Natarajan (Chair), Dr. Emilio Ferrara, Dr. Daniel O’Leary, Dr. Erdem Biyik, and Dr. Gale Lucas
Abstract:Copy-move forgery is one of the most common and challenging forms of image manipulation, where regions within an image are duplicated and repositioned to conceal or falsify visual evidence. Detecting these manipulations becomes especially difficult in the case of semantic or context-aware forgeries, where duplicated content is strategically placed to mislead interpretation or alter meaning. This challenge is further compounded in specialized domains such as biomedical imaging, where image tampering can undermine scientific integrity by distorting experimental results. In the proposed thesis, we explore and develop state space model-based attention networks to advance the detection of copy-move and semantic image forgeries in both natural and biomedical images. We begin by introducing a visual state space modeling approach that uses normalized attention maps to locate and compare similar regions within an image. A region-based block-attention mechanism, integrated with this model, enables precise identification of manipulated and authentic areas, producing detailed localization maps of both the source and duplicated regions. To address the limitations of existing datasets, we propose a comprehensive copy-move forgery detection dataset designed to capture a wider range of sophisticated tampering techniques. Furthermore, we extend our methods to biomedical images, leveraging state space models as similarity detectors that focus on duplicated regions, enabling effective detection of manipulations that traditional models often fail to identify. This thesis aims to advance the field of semantic forgery detection by providing efficient and robust techniques for identifying both low-level pixel alterations and high-level, context-driven forgeries across diverse imaging applications.
Location: Ginsburg Hall (GCS) - 402C - 4th Floor
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Ellecia Williams
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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