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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T160000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251003T141353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T141353Z
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SUMMARY:Fall 2025 GRASP SFI: Tianjiao Ding\, University of Pennsylvania\, "Learning Parsimonious Representations for Efficient Analysis and Synthesis"
DESCRIPTION:This presenter is one of the winners of the 2025 GRASP vote for internal PhD or postdoc SFI Speakers! \nThis is a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance via Zoom.  \nABSTRACT\nThe automatic discovery of structures in data (analysis) and generation of data (synthesis) are two core problems in machine learning. Since data is high-dimensional and complex\, a common paradigm is to learn a low-dimensional representation for data to facilitate both analysis and synthesis. However\, existing methods are challenged by restrictive data assumptions and lack of semantic compositionality. We address these challenges by a unifying paradigm\, which is to learn/leverage latent spaces supported on low-dimensional linear subspaces. Encoders and decoders then map between data and latent spaces. Such paradigm enables us to push multiple frontiers in data analysis and synthesis\, including clustering images\, aligning the semantics of text generation\, and efficient image generation.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/fall-2025-grasp-sfi-tianjiao-ding/
LOCATION:Levine 307\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="General Robotics%2C Automation%2C Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab":MAILTO:grasplab@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T163000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250818T201911Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250818T201911Z
UID:10008430-1759937400-1759941000@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar: "Using NMR to Probe Functionality at Electrochemical Interfaces in Beyond Lithium Batteries" (Lauren Marbella\, Columbia University)
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nBeyond lithium-ion batteries\, like sodium and potassium\, are more abundant in the Earth’s crust and alleviate geopolitical concerns surrounding the materials inside of lithium-based batteries. However\, both sodium and potassium batteries display unique interfacial chemistry that develops during electrochemical cycling in conventional electrolytes\, preventing performances that are on par with current lithium systems. In the region between the electrodes and the electrolyte\, a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is produced by the spontaneous breakdown of electrolyte compounds that dictates these inefficiencies. In my talk\, I will discuss how we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to probe the structure and dynamics of the SEI as well as the reactions that occur at these interfaces to correlate these features with battery degradation. Insight from these methods allow us to determine the precise mechanisms of failure that arise inside of functional devices as well as develop new approaches to mitigate performance decline.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-seminar-using-nmr-to-probe-functionality-at-electrochemical-interfaces-in-beyond-lithium-batteries-lauren-marbella-columbia-university/
LOCATION:Wu & Chen Auditorium
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251012
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250922T193345Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T193345Z
UID:10008518-1760054400-1760227199@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:The Penn AI Symposium: Global Ideas Shaping Humanity
DESCRIPTION:The inaugural Penn AI Symposium is a landmark event that gathers leading thinkers who will share their explorations at the frontiers of artificial intelligence. \nThe symposium is hosted by Penn AI\, a University-wide initiative driving responsible AI innovation at Penn. The launch of Penn AI and the upcoming symposium signal a new chapter in Penn’s commitment to pioneering the future of AI\, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration\, and addressing the most significant scientific and societal questions of our time. \nThe symposium is open to faculty\, students\, and thought leaders\, both internal and external to Penn. Penn AI is an interdisciplinary initiative\, and speakers will address topics in Penn AI’s core themes: AI Foundations\, AI+Business\, AI+Education\, AI+Health\, AI+Science\, and AI+Society. \nSpeakers from Penn Engineering will include: \n\nVijay Kumar\, Nemirovsky Family Dean\nRené Vidal\, Rachleff University Professor\, ESE\, CIS\, Radiology\nKonrad Kording\, Nathan Francis Mossell University Professor\, BE\, CIS\, Neuroscience\nParis Perdikaris\, Associate Professor\, MEAM\n\nRegister Now
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/the-penn-ai-symposium-global-ideas-shaping-humanity/
LOCATION:Jon M. Huntsman Hall\, 3730 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Symposium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251013
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251018
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250903T135152Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250903T135152Z
UID:10008495-1760313600-1760745599@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Climate Week at Penn
DESCRIPTION:Now in its sixth year\, Climate Week at Penn offers opportunities for every member of the Penn community to learn about and act on the climate crisis. The theme for 2025 is “Hot Spots\,” be they literal (wildfires and extreme heat) or figurative (political\, cultural\, interpersonal\, or scholarly hot topics). The Climate Week core organizing committee looks forward to working with partners across campus on this year’s lineup. Events marked in red below have been organized by a committee member. Questions or ideas about this year’s programming? Write us at contact@environment.upenn.edu.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/climate-week-at-penn/
LOCATION:PA
CATEGORIES:Symposium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T104500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251001T165436Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T165436Z
UID:10008524-1760434200-1760438700@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE Ph.D. Thesis Defense: "Safeguarding AI Systems Against Unexpected Inputs"
DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence systems powered by deep neural networks have achieved remarkable success across a broad range of applications. However\, perturbations such as natural image corruptions or crafted malicious queries\, can cause significant performance degradation. This poses severe risks in safety-critical applications\, such as autonomous driving and clinical decision-making. A key vulnerability of machine learning models is their inability to handle data outside the training distribution or knowledge. When facing unseen or otherwise challenging inputs\, models often make incorrect decisions without warning users. \nThis thesis improves the safety of machine learning systems by building three stages for handling challenging inputs: (1) rejecting unexpected inputs with an explanation\, (2) providing statistical guarantees on rejection\, and (3) enabling models to adapt to challenging inputs. We consider two distinct scenarios: models with known training distributions (e.g.\, in cyber-physical systems) where challenges are out-of-distribution data\, and models with unknown training distributions (e.g.\, large language models in a multilingual context) where challenges are defined by standards like harmful content or deficits in knowledge across languages. We further investigate how to address challenging inputs for two clinical applications\, autism diagnosis and acne classification.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ese-ph-d-thesis-defense-safeguarding-ai-systems-against-unexpected-inputs/
LOCATION:Greenberg Lounge (Room 114)\, Skirkanich Hall\, 210 South 33rd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Electrical and Systems Engineering":MAILTO:eseevents@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T101500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T111500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250821T141111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250821T141111Z
UID:10008442-1760436900-1760440500@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "Fluids\, Fingers\, Fractures and Fractals: Patterns in Porous Media"
DESCRIPTION:The displacement of one fluid by another in a porous medium gives rise to a rich variety of hydrodynamic instabilities. Beyond their scientific value as fascinating models of pattern formation\, unstable porous-media flows are essential to understanding many natural and man-made processes\, including water infiltration in the vadose zone\, carbon dioxide injection and storage in deep saline aquifers\, methane venting from organic-rich sediments\, and fracturing from fluid injection. Here\, we review a handful of these hydromechanical instabilities\, elucidate the key physics at play\, and point to modeling frameworks that permit quantitative assessments of their impact at the geologic scale.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-fluids-fingers-fractures-and-fractals-patterns-in-porous-media/
LOCATION:Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101)\, Levine Hall\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Colloquium
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251006T133906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T133906Z
UID:10008529-1760439600-1760443200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE Guest Seminar: "Post-Moore Datacenters Are Hot Beyond Belief"
DESCRIPTION:Datacenters are the pillars of a digital economy and modern-day global IT services. The building blocks for today’s datacenters are cost-effective volume servers that find their roots in the basic hardware and OS organization of the desktops of 90s with a fundamental mismatch with workloads and services. Meanwhile\, there are several technological trends (e.g.\, slowdown in Moore’s Law)\, application trends (e.g.\, rapid adoption of AI) and societal challenges (e.g.\, climate impact of computing) that require innovation in datacenter design from algorithms to housing infrastructure. Post-Moore datacenters are hot because of both their trajectory to consume (and dissipate) unprecedented levels of energy and the many hot research avenues to pursue for an infrastructure whose building blocks belongs to the 90s. In this talk\, I will motivate and go over these research avenues.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ese-guest-seminar-post-moore-datacenters-are-hot-beyond-belief/
LOCATION:Amy Gutmann Hall\, Room 306\, 3317 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Electrical and Systems Engineering":MAILTO:eseevents@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T131500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250821T203656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250821T203656Z
UID:10008450-1760529600-1760534100@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ASSET Seminar: "Auditing Large Language Model Ecosystems: From Model Outputs to Agentic System Deployment"
DESCRIPTION:Abstract TBD \n  \nZoom: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/97546234895
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/asset-seminar-title-tbd-5/
LOCATION:Amy Gutmann Hall\, Room 414\, 3333 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="AI-enabled Systems%3A Safe%2C Explainable%2C and Trustworthy (ASSET) Center":MAILTO:asset-info@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T160000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251001T205503Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T205503Z
UID:10008525-1760540400-1760544000@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Fall 2025 GRASP SFI: Rao Fu\, Brown University\, "From Words to Worlds: Bridging Linguistic and Spatial Physical Intelligence"
DESCRIPTION:This is a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance via Zoom.  \nABSTRACT\nArtificial intelligence has achieved remarkable advances in linguistic intelligence\, enabling machines to process and generate language proficiently. Yet to truly assist people in everyday life\, machines must also develop spatial physical intelligence—the ability to perceive\, interpret\, and act within high-dimensional physical environments. This involves not only understanding complex spatial signals but also executing dexterous\, embodied actions that resist simple linguistic description. \nIn this talk\, I will present my research on advancing spatial physical intelligence across three interconnected domains: object geometry generation\, dexterous motion capture and generation\, and house-scale scene generation. I will discuss fundamental challenges\, including large-scale data collection for multi-sensory physical interaction\, efficient representation of high-dimensional spatial signals\, and interpretable modeling of spatial physical relationships.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/fall-2025-grasp-sfi-rao-fu/
LOCATION:Levine 307\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="General Robotics%2C Automation%2C Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab":MAILTO:grasplab@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T163000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250818T203836Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250818T203836Z
UID:10008431-1760542200-1760545800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar: "Electrochemical Ion Pumping: Concept\, Theory\, and Application" (Shihong Lin\, Vanderbilt University)
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nAdvancements in electrochemical separation have paved the way for innovative approaches to address critical challenges in water treatment and resource recovery. In this seminar\, I will introduce the Electrochemical Ion Pumping (EIP) platform\, a transformative new approach to electrochemical separation that addresses the inherent limitations of conventional capacitive deionization and electrosorption. EIP leverages circuit-switching-induced ion shuttling to achieve unidirectional ion flux without solution switching\, enabling enhanced desalination efficiency and scalability. I will also discuss the development of a theoretical model for dynamic ion transport in EIP systems\, which provides critical insights into the unique behavior of ion shuttling mechanisms and informs the design and optimization of EIP for desalination. Finally\, I will present a novel application of the EIP platform for simultaneous desalination and selective metal recovery from industrial wastewater. By precisely regulating electrode potential and switching frequency\, the system enables targeted redox reactions for efficient metal recovery while performing desalination.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-seminar-electrochemical-ion-pumping-concept-theory-and-application-shihong-lin-vanderbilt-university/
LOCATION:Wu & Chen Auditorium
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250930T161133Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250930T161133Z
UID:10008523-1760610600-1760616000@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MSE Seminar: "From Nature to Engineering: Biological Blueprints for Next Generation Advanced Materials" David Kisailus - University of California - Irvine
DESCRIPTION:Organisms have derived specific sets of traits in response to common selection pressures that serve as guideposts for optimal biological designs. A prime example is the evolution of toughened structures in disparate lineages within plants\, invertebrates\, and vertebrates 1-4. Extremely tough structures can function much like armor\, battering rams\, or reinforcements that enhance the ability of organisms to win competitions\, find mates\, acquire food\, escape predation\, and withstand high winds or turbulent flow. Some of these natural systems have developed well-orchestrated strategies\, exemplified in the biological tissues of numerous animal and plant species\, to synthesize and construct materials from a limited selection of available starting materials. The resulting structures display multiscale architectures with incredible fidelity and often exhibit properties that are similar\, and frequently superior to\, mechanical properties exhibited by many engineering materials 1-4. In specific instances\, comparative analyses of multiscale structures have pinpointed which design principles have arisen convergently; when more than one evolutionary path arrives at the same solution\, we have a good indication that it is the best solution. This is required for survival under extreme conditions. We describe a few of these systems that show convergent design and describe how controlled syntheses and hierarchical assembly using organic scaffolds 5-8 lead to these integrated macroscale structures 8-12. We describe their function and translation to biomimetic and bioinspired materials used for engineering applications 13-16. \n1. “Biological and Biologically-Inspired Functional Nanostructures: Insights into Structural\, Optical\, Thermal\, and Sensing Applications”\, C-H Sung et al.\, Advanced Materials\, accepted (2025). DOI:10.1002/adma.202509281\n2. “Convergent design evolution of multiscale biomineralized structures in extinct and extant organisms: struts\, interfaces\, and helicoids”\, V. Perricone et al.\, Communications Materials\, 5\, (227) (2024) 1 – 18.\n3. “Multiscale toughening mechanisms in biological materials and bioinspired designs”\, W. Huang et al.\, Adv. Mat.\, 31\, 1901561 (2019).\n4. “Nano-Architected Tough Biological Composites from Assembled Chitinous Scaffolds”\, W. Huang et al.\, Acc. Chem. Res.\, 50 (10) (2022) 1360-1371.\n5. “Radular teeth matrix protein 1 directs iron oxide deposition in chiton teeth”\, M. Nemoto et al.\, Science\, 389 (6760) (2025) 637-643.\n6. “Mesocrystalline Ordering and Phase Transformation of Iron Oxide Biominerals in the Ultrahard Teeth of Cryptochiton stelleri\,” T. Wang et al.\, Small Structures\, (2022) 2100202.\n7. “Fibrous Anisotropy and Mineral Gradients within the Radula Stylus of Chiton: Controlled Stiffness and Damage Tolerance in a Flexible Biological Composite”\, J.E. Lee et al.\, J. Comp. Mater.\, 57 (4) (2022).\n8. “Phase transformations and structural developments in the radular teeth of Cryptochiton stelleri\,” Q. Wang\, Adv. Funct. Mater.\, 23 (2013) 2908–2917.\n9. “Toughening Mechanisms of the Elytra of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle”\, J. Rivera et al.\, Nature\, 586\, 543-548 (2020).\n10. “A natural impact resistant bi-continuous composite nanoparticle coating”\, W. Huang et al.\, Nat. Mat. 9\, 1236-1243 (2020).\n11. “The Stomatopod Dactyl Club: A Formidable Damage-Tolerant Biological Hammer”\, J. Weaver et al.\, Science\, 336 1275-1280 (2012).\n12. “Analysis of an ultra hard magnetic biomineral in chiton radular teeth\,” J. Weaver et al.\, Materials Today\, 13 (2010) 42-52.\n13. “Bioinspired SiC/Chitosan impact resistant coatings”\, T. Hao et al. Adv. Funct. Mater.\, 35 (2025)\, 2417291.\n14. “Direct ink write printing of chitin-based gel fibers with customizable fibril alignment\, porosity\, and mechanical properties for biomedical applications”\, D. Montroni\, et al.\, J. Funct. Biomat.\, 13 (2) (2022) 83.\n15. “Electrocatalytic N-Doped Graphitic Nanofiber – Metal/Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Composites”\, H. Tang et al.\, Small\, 14\, 1703459 (2018).\n16. “Bio-Inspired Impact Resistant Composites”\, L.K. Grunenfelder et al.\, Acta Biomat.\, 10\, 3997-4008 (2014).
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/mse-seminar-from-nature-to-engineering-biological-blueprints-for-next-generation-advanced-materials/
LOCATION:Wu & Chen Auditorium
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Materials Science and Engineering":MAILTO:johnruss@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250718T134733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T134733Z
UID:10008413-1760612400-1760616000@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE Fall Seminar - "Distributional Control: From Robotic Motion Planning to Generative AI"
DESCRIPTION:Uncertainty propagation and mitigation is at the core of all robotic and control systems. The standard approach so far has followed the spirit of controlling a system “with uncertainties\,” as opposed to the direct control “of uncertainties.” Borrowing ideas from the classical Optimal Mass Transport (OMT) and Schrödinger Bridge problems\, distributional control has recently emerged as a principled approach to characterize and mitigate uncertainty in stochastic systems with strict performance guarantees. In this talk\, I will review some recent results on covariance and distribution control for stochastic systems subject to chance constraints\, including data-driven and distributionally robust implementations; I will demonstrate the application of the theory to a variety of problems ranging from model predictive control\, robot motion planning under uncertainty\, multi-agent mean-field control\, and generative AI.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ese-fall-seminar-title-tba-3/
LOCATION:Raisler Lounge (Room 225)\, Towne Building\, 220 South 33rd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Colloquium
ORGANIZER;CN="Electrical and Systems Engineering":MAILTO:eseevents@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T130000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250828T185054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250828T185054Z
UID:10008475-1760616000-1760619600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:FOLDS seminar:  A New Paradigm for Learning with Distribution Shift
DESCRIPTION:Zoom link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/98220304722 \n  \nWe revisit the fundamental problem of learning with distribution shift\, where a learner is given labeled samples from training distribution D\, unlabeled samples from test distribution D′ and is asked to output a classifier with low test error. The standard approach in this setting is to prove a generalization bound in terms of some notion of distance between D and D′. These distances\, however\, are difficult to compute\, and this has been the main stumbling block for efficient algorithm design over the last two decades. \nWe sidestep this issue and define a new model called TDS learning\, where a learner runs a test on the training set and is allowed to reject if this test detects distribution shift relative to a fixed output classifier.  This approach leads to the first set of efficient algorithms for learning with distribution shift that do not take any assumptions on the test distribution.  Finally\, we discuss how our techniques have recently been used to solve longstanding problems in supervised learning with contamination.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/folds-seminar-tba-4/
LOCATION:Eyebrow
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T163000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250826T131806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T131806Z
UID:10008458-1760628600-1760632200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Herman P. Schwan Distinguished Lecture - Jeffrey A. Hubbell\, "Molecular Engineering to Tip Immune Balances between Tolerance and Aggression"
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/herman-p-schwann-distinguished-lecture-jeffrey-hubbell-molecular-engineering-to-tip-immune-balances-between-tolerance-and-aggression/
LOCATION:Berger Auditorium (Room 13)\, Skirkanich Hall\, 210 South 33rd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Distinguished Lecture
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T114500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251007T130920Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251007T130920Z
UID:10008532-1760697000-1760701500@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Fall 2025 GRASP on Robotics: Parastoo Abtahi\, Princeton University\, "When Robots Disappear – From Haptic Illusions in VR to Object-Oriented Interactions in AR"
DESCRIPTION:This event will be in-person ONLY in Wu and Chen Auditorium. \nABSTRACT\n\nAdvances in audiovisual rendering have led to the commercialization of virtual reality (VR); however\, haptic technology has not kept up with these advances. While a variety of robotic systems aim to address this gap by simulating the sensation of touch\, many hardware limitations make realistic touch interactions in VR challenging. In my research\, I explore how\, by understanding human perception through the lens of sensorimotor control theory\, we can design interactions that not only overcome the current limitations of robotic hardware for VR but also extend our abilities beyond what is possible in the physical world. \nIn the first part of this talk\, I will present my work on redirection illusions that leverage the limits of human perception to improve the perceived performance of encountered-type haptic devices in VR\, such as the position accuracy of drones and the resolution of shape displays. In the second part\, I will share how we apply these illusory interactions to physical spaces and use augmented reality (AR) to facilitate situated and bidirectional human-robot communication\, bridging users’ mental models and robotic representations.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/fall-2025-grasp-on-robotics-parastoo-abtahi-princeton-university-when-robots-disappear-from-haptic-illusions-in-vr-to-object-oriented-interactions-in-ar/
LOCATION:Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101)\, Levine Hall\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="General Robotics%2C Automation%2C Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab":MAILTO:grasplab@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T140000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251006T230421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T230421Z
UID:10008531-1760702400-1760709600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE Doctoral Dissertation Defense: "Configuration Matters: Unveiling Cis-Regulatory Arrangement as a Mechanism of Transcriptional Fine-Tuning" (Emilia Leyes Porello)
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \n\n\n\nThe precise regulation of gene expression depends on coordinated enhancer-promoter (E-P) interactions\, yet the principles governing how enhancer configuration influences transcription remain unclear. Classical models describe enhancers as modular and independent of orientation or relative positioning\, but accumulating evidence suggests these assumptions may not hold true. To investigate this problem\, systematic manipulations of enhancer configuration were performed in early Drosophila melanogaster embryos using reporter constructs designed to vary E-P distance\, enhancer placement upstream or downstream of the promoter\, and orientation (sense versus antisense). Site-specific insertion of these transgenic reporters coupled with quantitative single-nucleus live imaging of transcription via the MS2/MCP system enabled direct measurement of transcriptional activity and bursting dynamics in real time. These experiments revealed two distinct regulatory effects: linear E-P distance primarily determined transcriptional onset time\, consistent with a diffusion-controlled search process\, while relative enhancer positioning dictated the stability of the transcriptionally active state. Downstream enhancers exhibited reduced amplitude and stability compared to upstream counterparts\, and inversion of the enhancer into the antisense orientation further decreased transcriptional output. Mechanistic analysis identified the GAGA factor (GAF) as a key contributor to orientation-dependent repression at the snail proximal enhancer. Deletion of GAF-binding sites restored transcriptional activity\, supporting a model in which GAF acts as an insulator when positioned between enhancer and promoter. To extend these findings to larger genomic scales\, a live-imaging framework was developed in murine erythroblasts to quantify long-range E-P interactions mediated by the architectural protein YY1. Collectively\, these results demonstrate that enhancer function is not universally independent of configuration but instead emerges from an interplay between genomic arrangement\, local factor occupancy\, and higher-order chromatin organization\, refining models of transcriptional regulation across both short- and long-range contexts. By challenging long-standing assumptions of enhancer independence and revealing new principles of regulatory fine-tuning\, this work provides a framework for understanding how cis-regulatory architecture encodes developmental precision\, with implications for interpreting noncoding variation in human disease and for advancing targeted gene engineering approaches.\n\n\n\nZoom Information:\nMeeting ID: 946 9602 7668\nPasscode: 577765
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-doctoral-dissertation-defense-configuration-matters-unveiling-cis-regulatory-arrangement-as-a-mechanism-of-transcriptional-fine-tuning-emilia-leyes-porello/
LOCATION:Towne 337
CATEGORIES:Doctoral,Student,Dissertation or Thesis Defense
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251017T150000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250829T150341Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250829T150341Z
UID:10008482-1760709600-1760713200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:PICS Colloquium: Complex Polymer Design in the Age of AI: Why\, What\, and How?
DESCRIPTION:Polymers are essential to a wide range of technologies\, yet designing them with targeted structural and functional properties remains a grand challenge. A major opportunity lies in applying machine learning to help navigate the vast combinatorial design space—spanning sequence\, composition\, architecture\, morphology\, processing\, and more—to discover new formulations or replace existing ones with more sustainable alternatives. However\, this complexity\, combined with data scarcity and characterization challenges\, limits the effectiveness of purely rational design and/or high-throughput screening. In this talk\, I will describe some of our recent efforts to integrate molecular simulation\, machine learning\, and theory to map and navigate structure–function relationships in chemically and topologically diverse polymeric materials. I will describe strategies that we have employed across a range of applications to overcome data limitations in polymer science by developing physics-informed (or guided) models and exploring other algorithmic innovations. A focal example will examine how we can design complex polymer additives that tune material rheology\, with a particular focus on shear-thinning fluids. This example\, along with other case studies\, will showcase utility\, limitations\, and opportunities for data-driven approaches in modern-day science; and how coupling them with (or using them to develop) physical insight can accelerate innovation and deepen materials understanding.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/pics-colloquium-complex-polymer-design-in-the-age-of-ai-why-what-and-how/
LOCATION:PICS Conference Room 534 – A Wing \, 5th Floor\, 3401 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Colloquium
ORGANIZER;CN="Penn Institute for Computational Science (PICS)":MAILTO:dkparks@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251020T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251020T193000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250922T193504Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T193504Z
UID:10008511-1760981400-1760988600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MSE Undergraduate Open House
DESCRIPTION:Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Open House \nAre you a first-year Student?\nUndecided about your major?\nCurious about MSE? \nJoin us for food and fun and explore how MSE can transform your future! \n• Who Should Attend: All first-year undergrad engineering students\, regardless of major \n• What: Eat good food and meet MSE faculty\, staff\, and undergraduate students \n• When: Monday\, October 20\, 2025 – 5:30 p.m. \n• Where: LRSM Reading Room – 3231 Walnut Street – 1st Floor \nQuestions?  Contact Vicky Lee\, Undergraduate Coordinator\, Department of Materials Science and Engineering – vickylt@seas.upenn.edu \nRSVP here by October 13:
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/mse-undergraduate-open-house/
LOCATION:LRSM Reading Room\, 3231 Walnut St.\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Student
ORGANIZER;CN="Materials Science and Engineering":MAILTO:johnruss@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T101500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T111500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250916T193007Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T193007Z
UID:10008510-1761041700-1761045300@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MEAM Seminar: "Controlling Friction and Wear via Engineered Surfaces and Advanced Nanomaterials"
DESCRIPTION:Friction and wear of moving components across various industries result in reliability issues\, enormous energy losses\, and environmental problems. These problems originate from the complex interactions between micro- and nanoscale asperities at the contacting surfaces. Such tribological challenges can be addressed via surface engineering\, inspired by biological species that control friction very efficiently\, combined with the incorporation of advanced nanomaterials at the sliding interfaces. Nanomaterials\, such as two-dimensional (2D) materials and nanoparticles\, have tremendous potential for such applications due to their unique physical and chemical properties and their ability to be incorporated as ultrathin protective surface coatings or nanoadditives in a liquid environment. \nI will discuss studies on 2D materials and nanoparticles for various tribological systems\, from demonstrating superlubric\, ultra-scratch-resistant transparent glass surfaces to achieving enhanced frictional anisotropy via bioinspired patterned surfaces combined with 2D materials. I will also discuss tribological behaviour of nanoparticle-based additives for next-generation liquid-based lubricant formulations\, where different types of nanoparticles as hybrid nanoadditives can significantly reduce friction and wear in lubricated sliding contacts.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/meam-seminar-controlling-friction-and-wear-via-engineered-interfaces-and-advanced-nanomaterials/
LOCATION:Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101)\, Levine Hall\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics":MAILTO:meam@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T114500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251008T144943Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T144943Z
UID:10008534-1761042600-1761047100@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Democratic Repercussions of Media Fragmentation
DESCRIPTION:Does media fragmentation contribute to democratic erosion? If so\, how\, and what steps are required to address potential impacts? Join the Penn Center on Media\, Technology\, and Democracy as we explore this topic both through the lens of empirical research – as represented by Professors Duncan Watts\, Sandra González-Bailón\, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen along with veteran journalist and media executive S. Mitra Kalita. \nRegister on Eventbrite or scan the QR code below \n \nThe Penn Center on Media\, Technology\, and Democracy works to better understand the information ecosystem through cutting-edge science\, and leverages that research to strengthen the foundations of democracy. Learn more about our Center and other upcoming events on our website.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/democratic-repercussions-of-media-fragmentation/
LOCATION:PA
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Media-Fragmentation-No-Logo.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251022
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251024
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251003T160932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T160932Z
UID:10008527-1761091200-1761263999@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:AI Industry Days
DESCRIPTION:The Penn Engineering community is invited to join our inaugural AI Industry Days on Wednesday\, October 22 and Thursday\, October 23. Continuing Industry Days’ tradition of providing avenues for students to learn\, connect\, and explore career opportunities in niche areas of engineering and technology\, this series offers both in-person and virtual programming. \n  \nA variety of events are designed for Penn Engineering students\, including several Spotlight Sessions\, featuring Penn alumni and industry speakers; our Graduate Coffee Social\, for Master’s students\, PhD candidates\, and postdocs; and a Virtual Company Showcase on October 23. \nPenn Engineering faculty and staff who work with graduate students are invited to our Graduate Coffee Social\, taking place on October 22 from 1:45pm-3:15pm. Faculty and staff are asked to fill out a short form if they are interested in attending. \nA full list of confirmed events and details is available in Linktree\, including a Digital Program. AI Industry Days is organized by Penn Engineering Career Development and the Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ai-industry-days/
LOCATION:PA
CATEGORIES:Student
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T131500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250902T195040Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250902T195040Z
UID:10008491-1761134400-1761138900@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ASSET Seminar: "Unpacking the Unintended Consequences of AI in Education"
DESCRIPTION:The rapid integration of AI into educational settings presents opportunities and challenges—this talk will discuss findings from three large-scale field studies investigating the impact of AI on student learning. First\, we found that unfettered access to ChatGPT negatively impacted short-term student learning outcomes. Second\, to understand longer-term effects\, we examined learning in chess academies. Contrary to the popular strategy of promoting student agency\, our findings show that self-regulated learning—where students decide when to request AI help—can substantially harm learning by diminishing engagement/motivation. Third\, we found that training students with “adversarial examples” significantly improved their ability to identify and correct ChatGPT-generated hallucinations\, enabling effective human-AI collaboration. Taken together\, these studies suggest that while providing students with unguided AI tools can be detrimental\, targeted interventions that train students to critically engage with AI can be beneficial. \n  \nZoom: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95189835192
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/asset-seminar-unpacking-the-unintended-consequences-of-ai-in-education/
LOCATION:Amy Gutmann Hall\, Room 414\, 3333 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="AI-enabled Systems%3A Safe%2C Explainable%2C and Trustworthy (ASSET) Center":MAILTO:asset-info@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T150000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251008T140145Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T140145Z
UID:10008533-1761141600-1761145200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE Guest Seminar: "The Versatility of Perovskite Materials for Optoelectronics"
DESCRIPTION:Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have created much excitement in the past years and attract spotlight attention. This talk will provide an overview of the reasons for this development highlighting the historic development as well as the specific material properties that make perovskites so attractive for the research community. \nThe current challenges are exemplified using a high-performance\, multicomponent system for PSCs (including Rb\, Cs\, methylammonium (MA)\, formamidinium (FA) perovskites). The resulting compositions exhibit higher performances\, resilience against external stressors and reproducibility. [1-4] \nUnfortunately\, many of the newly formulated liquid precursors often exhibit complex crystallization behaviour struggling to expel the typically used DMSO solvent. To delay the crystallization time\, two strategies are proposed to remove the strongly complexating DMSO molecules through a) modified processing of the liquid thin-film and b) a coordination solvent with a high donicity and a low vapor-pressure leading to a marked improvement in the overall film quality.[5] \nLastly\, interface manipulation\, especially on top of the formed perovskite\, is becoming a central topic to advance further. Typically\, this involves chemical surface treatments with a complex interaction. Here\, light annealing is introduced as a universal\, non-chemical approach to modify the perovskite surface resulting in a reduced surface recombination.[6] \n[1] McMeekin\, Saliba et al.\, Science (2016) \n[2] Saliba et al.\, Cesium-containing triple cation perovskite solar cells: improved stability\, reproducibility and high efficiency\, Energy & Environmental Science (2016) \n[3] M. Saliba et al.\, Incorporation of rubidium cations into perovskite solar cells improves photovoltaic \n[4] Turren-Cruz\, Hagfeldt\, Saliba\, Methylammonium-free\, high-performance and stable perovskite solar cells on a planar architecture\, Science (2018) \n[5] Zuo\,…\, Saliba; Coordination Chemistry as a Universal Strategy for a Controlled Perovskite Crystallization\, Advanced Materials (2023) \n[6] Kedia\,…\, Saliba; Light Makes Right: Laser Polishing for Surface Modification of Perovskite Solar Cells\, ACS Energy Letters (2023
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ese-guest-seminar-the-versatility-of-perovskite-materials-for-optoelectronics/
LOCATION:Greenberg Lounge (Room 114)\, Skirkanich Hall\, 210 South 33rd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Colloquium
ORGANIZER;CN="Electrical and Systems Engineering":MAILTO:eseevents@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T160000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251015T162006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251015T162006Z
UID:10008536-1761145200-1761148800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Fall 2025 GRASP SFI: Suraj Nair\, Physical Intelligence\, “Scaling Robot Learning with Vision-Language-Action Models”
DESCRIPTION:This speaker will present virtually. This is a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance via Zoom.  \nABSTRACT\nThe last several years have witnessed tremendous progress in the capabilities of AI systems\, driven largely by foundation models that scale expressive architectures with diverse data sources. While the impact of this technology on vision and language understanding is abundantly clear\, its use in robotics remains in its infancy. Scaling robot learning still presents numerous open challenges—from selecting the right data to scale\, to developing algorithms that can effectively fit this data for closed-loop operation in the physical world. At Physical Intelligence\, we aim to tackle these questions. This talk will present our recent work on building vision-language-action models\, covering topics such as architecture design\, data scaling\, and open research directions.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/fall-2025-grasp-sfi-suraj-nair/
LOCATION:Levine 307\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="General Robotics%2C Automation%2C Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab":MAILTO:grasplab@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T163000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250818T204039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250818T204039Z
UID:10008432-1761147000-1761150600@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar: "Dynamic Interactions Between Copper Active Sites in Zeolites During NOx Pollution Abatement Catalysis" (Rajamani Gounder\, Purdue University)
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nThe selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) with ammonia using Cu-exchanged zeolites is a pollution abatement technology used commercially in diesel emissions control. At low temperatures (<523 K)\, Cu ion active sites become solvated by ammonia reactants to form homogeneous-like copper coordination complexes that are bonded ionically to anionic aluminum centers in zeolite lattices. The ionic tethering of metal active sites to the zeolite host support confers localized mobility\, providing a mechanism for the dynamic and reversible interconversion of mononuclear and binuclear sites\, merging attractive features of both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. We combine experimental and computational approaches to interrogate catalysts in operando under widely varying operating conditions\, including beyond those typical of commercial operation. We show that the effects of Cu ion mobility are preeminent for low-temperature NOx SCR reactivity and selectivity\, leading to dramatic differences in performance among Cu-zeolites of different bulk and atomic structure.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/cbe-seminar-dynamic-interactions-between-copper-active-sites-in-zeolites-during-nox-pollution-abatement-catalysis-rajamani-gounder-purdue-university/
LOCATION:Wu & Chen Auditorium
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering":MAILTO:cbemail@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251006T200613Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T200613Z
UID:10008530-1761215400-1761220800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:MSE Seminar: "On-Chip Topological Photonics for terahertz 6G to XG Wireless" - Ranjan Singh - University of Notre Dame
DESCRIPTION:The era of global digitalization and the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence-driven data applications have set their sights on terabits per second (Tbps) communication links. The limitations of the rapidly advancing 5G network in meeting this demand\, attributed to challenges such as bandwidth scarcity\, have spurred the exploration of innovative technologies for the envisioned 6G and beyond (XG) communication. Terahertz (THz) micro-nanotechnologies\, leveraging semiconductor and quantum materials\, emerge as pivotal contenders for 6G\, promising ubiquitous connectivity and breaking down barriers between the physical\, digital\, and biological realms. \nDespite the potential\, current THz on-chip devices grapple with significant losses and restricted data speeds. In this context\, this talk will present topological insulator-inspired on-chip THz topological photonic integrated circuit for interconnects and wireless devices. These THz silicon devices feature low-loss\, broadband interconnects alongside wireless antennas and beamformers achieving speeds surpassing 300 Gbps. Silicon topological photonics is envisioned to pave the way for the advancement of CMOS-compatible hybrid electronic-photonic-driven terahertz technologies. These innovations are important for expediting the evolution of future 6G to XG communications\, facilitating real-time terabits per second connectivity. Such a capability extends to compute\, network sensing\, holographic communication\, cognitive internet\, and extensive digital replication of both the physical and biological realms.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/mse-seminar-on-chip-topological-photonics-for-terahertz-6g-to-xg-wireless/
LOCATION:Wu & Chen Auditorium
CATEGORIES:Seminar
ORGANIZER;CN="Materials Science and Engineering":MAILTO:johnruss@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250708T131045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T131045Z
UID:10008407-1761217200-1761220800@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:ESE Fall Seminar - "New Pathways for Energy Efficient Computing Hardware"
DESCRIPTION:This winter the Americans will see a price hike in their electricity bill – not because of any issues related to energy generation but rather because of the rapidly increasing energy demand by the Data Centers.   Energy efficiency is becoming critical not only to maintain the incessant advanced march of computing\, but also to ensure that electronics does not become a drag on the finite energy resources of the world. This will need a radical rethinking of the basic building blocks that constitute the electronic hardware. In this talk\, I shall briefly present how exploiting physics and functional materials to augment CMOS may offer a new pathway for energy efficiency. In particular\, I shall discuss logic\, memory\, and backend technologies where we have achieved record performance by combining ultrathin ferroelectric materials with CMOS. These examples underscore how functional augmentation of CMOS by harnessing new materials could offer opportunities that are otherwise not available through conventional means.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/ese-fall-seminar-title-tba/
LOCATION:Raisler Lounge (Room 225)\, Towne Building\, 220 South 33rd Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Colloquium
ORGANIZER;CN="Electrical and Systems Engineering":MAILTO:eseevents@seas.upenn.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251023T130000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250828T202806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250828T202806Z
UID:10008476-1761220800-1761224400@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:FOLDS seminar: An Information Geometric Understanding of Deep Learning
DESCRIPTION:Zoom link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/98220304722 \n  \nI will argue that properties of natural data are what predominantly\nmake deep networks so effective. To that end\, I will show that deep\nnetworks work well because of a characteristic structure in the space\nof learnable tasks. The input correlation matrix for typical tasks has\na “sloppy” eigenspectrum where eigenvalues decay linearly on a\nlogarithmic scale. As a consequence\, the Hessian and the Fisher\nInformation Matrix of a trained network also have a sloppy\neigenspectrum. Using this idea\, I will demonstrate an analytical\,\nnon-vacuous PAC-Bayes bound on the generalization error for general\ndeep networks. \nI will show that the training process in deep learning explores a\nremarkably low dimensional manifold\, as low as three. Networks with a\nwide variety of architectures\, sizes\, optimization and regularization\nmethods lie on the same manifold. Networks being trained on different\ntasks (e.g.\, different subsets of ImageNet) using different methods\n(e.g.\, supervised\, transfer\, meta\, semi and self-supervised learning)\nalso lie on the same low-dimensional manifold. \nI will show that typical tasks are highly redundant functions of their\ninputs. Many perception tasks\, from visual recognition\, semantic\nsegmentation\, optical flow\, depth estimation\, to vocalization\ndiscrimination\, can be predicted extremely well regardless of whether\ndata is projected in the principal subspace where it varies the most\,\nsome intermediate subspace with moderate variability—or the bottom\nsubspace where data varies the least. \nReferences\n1. Does the data induce capacity control in deep learning? Rubing\nYang\, Jialin Mao\, and Pratik Chaudhari. [ICML ’22]\nhttps://urldefense.com/v3/__https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.14163__;!!IBzWLUs!Tq9FM96P-1mf3aRxklnZ7t8aLcjOIeWQz7icW_vh7HTMTDM2izgvjEC74IXkk0qZ7_TO9jbK-CF-J1f8wzalGOTVcA$\n2. The Training Process of Many Deep Networks Explores the Same\nLow-Dimensional Manifold. Jialin Mao\, Itay Griniasty\, Han Kheng Teoh\,\nRahul Ramesh\, Rubing Yang\, Mark K. Transtrum\, James P. Sethna\, Pratik\nChaudhari. [PNAS 2024]. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.01604__;!!IBzWLUs!Tq9FM96P-1mf3aRxklnZ7t8aLcjOIeWQz7icW_vh7HTMTDM2izgvjEC74IXkk0qZ7_TO9jbK-CF-J1f8wzYgaqrIWg$\n3. Many Perception Tasks are Highly Redundant Functions of their Input\nData. Rahul Ramesh\, Anthony Bisulco\, Ronald W. DiTullio\, Linran Wei\,\nVijay Balasubramanian\, Kostas Daniilidis\, Pratik Chaudhari.\n(in submission) https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.13841__;!!IBzWLUs!Tq9FM96P-1mf3aRxklnZ7t8aLcjOIeWQz7icW_vh7HTMTDM2izgvjEC74IXkk0qZ7_TO9jbK-CF-J1f8wzaKl_77LQ$\n4. An Analytical Characterization of Sloppiness in Neural Networks:\nInsights from Linear Models. Jialin Mao\, Itay Griniasty\, Yan Sun\, Mark\nK Transtrum\, James P Sethna\, Pratik Chaudhari.\n(under review) https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.08915__;!!IBzWLUs!Tq9FM96P-1mf3aRxklnZ7t8aLcjOIeWQz7icW_vh7HTMTDM2izgvjEC74IXkk0qZ7_TO9jbK-CF-J1f8wzYMqke2wg$
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/folds-seminar-tba-5/
LOCATION:Amy Gutmann Hall\, Room 414\, 3333 Chestnut Street\, Philadelphia\, 19104\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminar,Colloquium
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20251017T152016Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251017T152016Z
UID:10008538-1761300000-1761307200@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:BE Doctoral Dissertation Defense: Katherine Mossburg
DESCRIPTION:The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. David Cormode are pleased to announce the Doctoral Dissertation Defense of Katherine Mossburg. \nTitle: “Developing Silver Sulfide-Based Nanoparticles for Imaging and Treatment of Breast Cancer”\nLocation: Alison Pouch (chair)\, Andrew Maidment\, David Issadore\nDate: Friday\, October 24\, 2025\nTime: 10:00 AM\nLocation: Raisler Lounge\, Towne 225 \nZoom: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/99943299118 \nThe public is welcome to attend.
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/mossburg/
LOCATION:PA
CATEGORIES:Dissertation or Thesis Defense
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T114500
DTSTAMP:20260403T193258
CREATED:20250908T150154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250908T150154Z
UID:10008500-1761301800-1761306300@seasevents.nmsdev7.com
SUMMARY:Fall 2025 GRASP on Robotics: Alan Yuille\, Johns Hopkins University\, "3D Vision Language Models and Interactive World Models"
DESCRIPTION:This event will be in-person ONLY in Wu and Chen Auditorium. \nABSTRACT\nVision Language Models (VLMs) are extremely successful\, but their performance degrades when asked questions involving spatial relations and 3D world knowledge. Inspired by Cognitive Science\, we develop 3D VLMs which are 3D-aware and 3D-explicit to help us to diagnose their failure nodes. We present two approaches which involve developing datasets with 3D annotations for training the 3D VLMs.  The first works was developed on realistic-synthetic datasets and the 3D VLM is built on a 3D Image Parser. This 3D VLMs significantly outperform conventional VLMs for questions involving 3D/6D (Xingrui Wang et al. CVPR 2025 highlight) and physical reasoning (Xingrui Wang et al.\, ICLR 2025). This work is extended to complex images taking VLMs as base models and evaluated on a 3D comprehensive reasoning benchmark (W. Ma et al. ICCV 2026). We develop a 3D-VLM which significantly outperforms conventional VLMs  when asked questions requiring 3D knowledge (Wufei Ma et al. CVPR 2025 highlight). We further extend this approach to develop a 3D-VLM which performs even better and is also 3D-explicit (Wufei Ma et al. NeurIPS. 2025). We discuss the bigger picture which involves the need for world models as illustrated by (J. Chen et al. ICLR 2025)\, analysis by synthesis (T. Zheng et al. NeurIPS 2025)\, and early detection of cancer using radiology reports (P. Bassi et al. MICCAI 2025).
URL:https://seasevents.nmsdev7.com/event/fall-2025-grasp-on-robotics-alan-yuille-johns-hopkins-university-3d-vision-language-models/
LOCATION:Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101)\, Levine Hall\, 3330 Walnut Street\, Philadelphia\, PA\, 19104\, United States
ORGANIZER;CN="General Robotics%2C Automation%2C Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab":MAILTO:grasplab@seas.upenn.edu
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