• CBE Seminar: “Toward Platinum-free Fuel Cells for Affordable Zero-emission Vehicles”

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    Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract: One of the grand challenges facing humanity today is the development of an alternative energy system that is safe, clean, and sustainable. A Distributed Renewable Electrochemical Energy and Mobility System (DREEMS) can meet this challenge. At the foundation of this new energy system, we have chosen to study fuel cells, electrolyzers, and flow batteries. […]

    PICS Seminar: Isogeometric Methods for Solids, Structures, and Fluid-Structure Interaction: From Early Results to Recent Developments

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    PICS Conference Room 534 - A Wing , 5th Floor 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract: This presentation is focused on Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) with applications to solids and structures, starting with early developments and results, and transitioning to more recent work. Novel IGA-based thin-shell formulations are discussed, and applications to progressive damage modeling in composite laminates due to low-velocity impact and their residual-strength prediction are shown. Fluid--structure interaction (FSI) employing […]

    PRiML Seminar: “Nonconvex Optimization Meets Statistics: A Few Recent Stories”

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    Room 401B, 3401 Walnut 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Recent years have seen a flurry of activity in solving statistical estimation and learning problems via nonconvex optimization. While conventional wisdom often takes a dim view of nonconvex optimization algorithms due to their susceptibility to spurious local minima, simple iterative methods such as gradient descent have been remarkably successful in practice. The theoretical footings, however, […]

    ESE Doctoral Dissertation Defense: “IMU-Based State Estimation and Control of Quadrotors Leveraging Aerodynamic Effects”

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    Room 307, Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract: Quadrotors and multirotors in general are common in many inspection and surveillance applications. For these applications, visual-inertial odometry is a common way to localize the vehicles and observe the environment. However, unlike with wheeled mobile robots, quadrotor localization algorithms often do not use knowledge of the control inputs and the full vehicle dynamics as […]

    MEAM Seminar: “The Simulation and Modeling of Turbulent Flows”

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    Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Our group at the University of Minnesota focuses on fundamental advances in numerical algorithms, and understanding of flow physics that allow the prediction of engineering turbulent flows. This presentation will discuss key aspects of such simulation alongside illustrative examples. We will discuss a recently developed unstructured overset grid methodology and its application to particle-resolved DNS […]

    ESE Seminar: “Solid-State Spin-Photon Interfaces: Old Friends & New”

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    PICS Conference Room 534 - A Wing , 5th Floor 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract : Optically active spins in solids offer exciting opportunities as scalable and feasible quantum-optical devices. Numerous material platforms including diamond, semiconductors, and atomically thin 2d materials are under investigation, where each platform brings some advantages of control and feasibility along with other challenges. The inherently mesoscopic nature of solid-state platforms leads to a multitude of […]

    Sigma Aldrich Lecture: “Epitaxy by Design: Epitaxial Growth of Dissimilar Materials”

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    Glandt Forum, Singh Center for Nanotechnology 3205 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract:   The ability to integrate dissimilar materials with different crystal structures and properties enables heterostructures to be developed with new functionality well beyond the normal band gap engineering offered by semiconductor heterostructures. The combination of metals, semiconductors, insulators, magnetic, piezoelectric, structural and phase change materials offers the potential for nearly limitless control of device properties. […]

    CBE Seminar: “Chemical Reactor Scale-Up: Principles and Practice at Dow”

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    Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Abstract: Since Dow first formed a global reaction engineering discipline over twenty years ago, we have accumulated much experience leading and supporting a diversity of reaction engineering projects for our corporation. This presentation will provide specific examples of real-world reaction engineering problems at Dow in the past 27 years and summarize our perspective regarding the […]

    MSE Seminar: “Managing Intercultural Interactions in a Challenging Global Higher Education Landscape”

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    Auditorium, LRSM Building 3231 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    The rapidly diversifying face of colleges and universities in the United States including the University of Pennsylvania require that we are able to manage intercultural relationships from different backgrounds. We are all working in a multicultural institution, with students, faculty and staff from all over the world. This makes for a very diverse, vibrant community […]

    MEAM Special Seminar: “Smartphone-based Mobile Detection Platform for Molecular Diagnostics: from Infectious Diseases to Cancer”

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    Towne 227 (MEAM Conference Room) 220 S. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

    Rapid, quantitative molecular diagnostics in the field, at home, and in resource poor settings is needed for evidence-based disease management, control, and prevention. Conventional molecular diagnostics requires extensive sample preparation, sophisticated instruments, and trained personnel, restricting their use to centralized laboratories. To overcome the limitations of laboratory-based procedures, we designed a simple, inexpensive, hand-held, smartphone-based […]