Photonics serves as the backbone of modern information infrastructure, transmitting and processing data at unparalleled speeds with minimal energy consumption by harnessing the inherent parallelism, high-frequency operation, and expansive bandwidths. In the past decade, the surging advancements of artificial intelligence has revolutionized the traditional definition of computing algorithms. By bridging the gap between optical hardware and software-defined functionality, programmable integrated […]
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots Initiative aims to accelerate breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable and reliable clean energy solutions, to tackle the toughest remaining barriers to addressing the climate crisis and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Specifically, the Hydrogen Energy Shot seeks to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% in […]
3 events,
Abstract: Large pre-trained models trained on internet-scale data are often not ready for safe deployment out-of-the-box. They are heavily fine-tuned and aligned using large quantities of human preference data, usually elicited using pairwise comparisons. While aligning an AI/ML model to human preferences or values, it is important to ask whose preference and values we are […]
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT In this talk, I will discuss how we engineered the foundation of the drone show industry, creating a new form of entertainment that rivals traditional fireworks. Our journey began at Pennovation, where we designed and tested our […]
Abstract: One of the main challenges in the molecular sciences is identifying promising candidates for a target application given the virtually limitless number of possibilities. Computer simulations and machine learning (ML) are integral tools to survey the vast molecular landscape and the thermodynamic conditions to evaluate their performance. Broadly, a typical pipeline for molecular characterization, […]
2 events,
Theme: "Building an AI Ecosystem for a Brand New Generation of Computing" Section I: Leadership Lightning Insights Series Section II: Keynote Address Section III: Executive Panel Discussions
Abstract: Proper organism development relies on precise gene regulation, where genes are expressed at specific times, locations, and quantities. Non-coding DNA sequences called enhancers play a crucial role in this process by interacting with their target promoters to initiate transcription and regulate gene expression. While the mechanisms of enhancer-mediated gene control have been extensively studied, […]
3 events,
Researchers have documented race and gender bias in STEM for decades, but there has been little parallel examination of LGBTQ status as an axis of inequality. How do LGBTQ-identifying STEM professionals fare in STEM? Drawing on data from her NSF-funded STEM Inclusion Study, which included surveys of over 25,000 STEM workers, Dr. Cech will discuss […]
When it comes to security, hardware is the new software. Starting some years ago, this shift was made plain when a litany of attacks, such as "Spectre/Meltdown" and "Rowhammer", shattered our confidence in processors as a root of trust. Making matters worse, modern processors are incredibly complex, and have (as it turns out) been designed […]
Foundation models including LLMs and multi-modal models released by OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Meta (Llama), and others have shown very impressive capabilities across a range of tasks. Some key drivers of this performance — such as investments in GPUs/compute, model size, and pre-training data — are relatively well understood. This presentation will focus […]
4 events,
Abstract: Metal oxides play a critical role in heterogeneous catalysis, acting as active catalysts in a wide range of reactions from dehydrogenation to selective and complete oxidation. However, many catalytically active metal oxides suffer from low surface areas in their bulk form, particularly after high-temperature calcination. This thesis focuses on cerium-based oxides due to their […]
Abstract: Foundation models are monolithic models that are trained on a broad set of data, and which are then in principle fine-tuned to various specific tasks. But they are ill-suited to many heterogeneous settings, for instance numeric tabular data, or numeric time-series data, where training a single monolithic model over a large collection of such […]
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT Despite all the interest and hype both from within and outside our community, robotics is a relatively new and highly specialized field. We embody substantial diversity in research direction and style, the focus and flavor of industrial […]
4 events,
Many of the colors found in nature, such as those of iridescent, color-shifting organisms like beetles, butterflies, and birds, are structural colors. Structural coloration is often generated by optical interference occurring within nanoscale periodic structures, like diffraction gratings, photonic crystals, or thin films. In these cases, the periodicity of the structure is similar to the […]
Latent variable models have been an integral part of probabilistic machine learning, ranging from simple mixture models to variational autoencoders to powerful diffusion probabilistic models at the center of recent media attention. Perhaps less well-appreciated is the intimate connection between latent variable models and data compression, and the potential of these models for advancing natural […]
Cells use genetically-encoded molecular circuits to execute diverse biological functions. We are developing novel tools of synthetic biology that allow us to construct regulatory circuitry inside living cells that recapitulate complex functions like those seen in nature. In this talk, I will describe how we use this approach to achieve three objectives. First, I will […]
2 events,
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Wu and Chen and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT Simulation-to-reality transfer is an emerging approach that enables robots to develop skills in simulated environments before applying them in the real world. This method has catalyzed numerous advancements in robotic learning, from locomotion to agile flight. […]
Advancing the current understanding and capability to predict atmospheric flow and related transport in urban areas is critical for many applications, including air quality modeling, urban climate, pedestrian comfort and structural resilience. Turbulence in these environments is rarely in equilibrium with the underlying surface and is typically characterized by strong departures from statistical stationarity. For […]
3 events,
Salps and siphonophores are widespread marine animals that occur in centimeters to meters-long colonial chains and employ multiple, pulsed swimming jets. We use a combination of approaches including in situ and lab experiments, flow visualizations and custom high-speed camera systems to understand the morphology, kinematics and fluid mechanics that underpin efficient movement in these colonial […]
We consider the problem of network utility maximization (NUM) and propose a new Learning-NUM framework, where the users’ utility functions are unknown apriori and the utility function values can be observed only after the corresponding traffic is delivered to the destination. We start by considering linear utility functions and propose a priority-based network control policy, […]
As Moore's Law slows down, packet switch capabilities are falling behind datacenter demands. Recent hardware advances have enabled the new switching technology of nanosecond-scale rapid circuit switches. Combined with novel network designs, these have the potential to fully replace packet switches. This talk presents the Oblivious Reconfigurable Network (ORN) design paradigm which is ideally suited […]
5 events,
Many constrained sequential decision-making processes such as safe AV navigation, wireless network control, caching, cloud computing, etc., can be cast as Constrained Markov Decision Processes (CMDP). Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms have been used to learn optimal policies for unknown unconstrained MDP. Extending these RL algorithms to unknown CMDP, brings the additional challenge of not only […]
Abstract: The explicit incorporation of task-specific inductive biases through symmetry has emerged as a crucial design precept in the development of high-performance machine learning models. Symmetry-aware neural networks, such as group equivariant networks, have achieved notable success in areas like protein and drug design, where capturing task-specific symmetries improves generalization. Recent efforts have focused on […]
Autonomous aerial robots today are capable of safely navigating through cluttered, GPS-denied environments while constructing an accurate map that captures geometric features such as points, lines, and planes. Such maps are crucial for low-level planning and obstacle avoidance. However, beyond offering details on the density, layout, and dimensions of the environment, these maps provide limited […]
5 events,
Existing devices—such as cell phones, computers, and robots – are made from rigid materials, which is in direct contrast to the soft materials that compose the human body. In this talk, I will discuss several topics related to studying and harnessing soft materials within the context of creating devices with tissue like properties. Liquid metal: Gallium-based […]
Abstract: In this talk, we introduce a new class of problems related to integrating inertial measurements obtained from an IMU that play a significant role in navigation combined with visual data. While there have been tremendous technological advances in the precision of instrumentation, integrating acceleration and angular velocity still suffers from drift in the displacement […]
*This seminar will be held in-person in Levine 307 as well as virtually via Zoom. ABSTRACT In the realms of health and sports, quantitative analysis of human movement provides guidance for individualized performance characterization, training, and health assessment. Data collection for biomechanical analysis of human motion is typically performed using expensive, specialized hardware that requires experiments […]
1 event,
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Wu and Chen and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT We are witnessing a space renaissance. Tens of thousands of broadband low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are expected to be launched by the end of this decade. These planned megaconstellations of LEO satellites along with existing […]
3 events,
Enhancing the resistance of human-made brittle materials to fracture is challenging due to the limited microstructural toughening mechanisms. This seminar makes a case for engineering toughening mechanisms in brittle materials by developing purposeful architected arrangements of material inspired by natural systems. Experimental fracture mechanics in hard-soft (cementitious-elastomeric) ‘Nacre-like’ composites based on the tabulated brick-and-mortar arrangement […]
Update 10/14/24: Please note the new time and location for Nina Ghosn's Doctoral Dissertation Defense below. The Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Brian Litt are pleased to announce the Doctoral Dissertation Defense of Nina Ghosn. Title: DATA DRIVEN APPROACHES FOR OPTIMIZING ANTISEIZURE MEDICATION MANAGEMENT IN EPILEPSY Advisor: Brian Litt Date: October […]
AI-powered applications are exciting because of their potential to support people in unprecedented ways but they are also particularly challenging to design right: How does one design a useful AI-enabled product if the underlying AI is occasionally wrong? How can we make these applications feel predictable even though the AI technology is complex and can […]
3 events,
Abstract: As the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to proliferate, computer architects must assess and mitigate its environmental impact. This talk will survey strategies for reducing the carbon footprint of AI computation and datacenter infrastructure, drawing on data and experiences from industrial, hyperscale systems. First, we analyze the embodied and operational carbon implications of […]
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT People experience the world through modalities of sight, sound, words, touch, and more. By leveraging their natural relationships and developing multimodal learning methods, my research creates artificial perception systems with diverse skills, including spatial, physical, logical, and […]
Abstract: The posttranslational modifications (PTMs) in RiPPs (ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides) dictate their 3D structure and their bioactivity. An underlying structural feature of many RiPPs is macrocyclization, installed by a growing number of different enzymatic strategies. Another common class of PTM in RiPPs is backbone modification, such as the formation of thiazol(in)es and […]
3 events,
In this talk, I will discuss new inroads in the study of electronic order within classes of metals built from kagome lattices or networks of corner sharing triangles. The electronic band structures of these compounds are known to host a series of features such as Dirac crossings, saddle points, and flat bands at select carrier […]
Safety-critical control is one of the fundamental problems in autonomous systems. A special class of autonomous systems is the class of hybrid dynamical systems, which involves both continuous dynamic flow and discrete dynamical mode jumps for state evolution. I will introduce how to synthesize safe controllers for hybrid dynamical systems based on local control barrier […]
Language models (LMs) have become ubiquitous in both AI research and commercial product offerings. As their commercial importance has surged, the most powerful models have become closed off, gated behind proprietary interfaces, with important details of their training data, architectures, and development undisclosed. Given the significance of these details in scientifically studying these models, including […]
2 events,
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Wu and Chen and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT In recent years, the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) with advanced general capabilities has paved the way towards building language-guided agents that can perform complex, multi-step tasks on behalf of users, much like human assistants. […]
We present an information-theoretic approach for integration of multi-resolution data into multiscale simulations. Fine-scale information can comprise observational data and/or simulation results related to both system states and system parameters. It is aggregated into its coarse-scale representation by setting a probabilistic equivalence between the two scales, with parameters that are determined via minimization of observables […]
3 events,
The reproductive soft tissues that support the fetus undergo some of the most dramatic and unique growth and remodeling events in the human body. The uterus and fetal membrane must grow and stretch during pregnancy to accommodate the fetus. Simultaneously, the cervix must remodel and be a mechanical barrier to keep the fetus within the […]
For the past two decades, power management and delivery has been a bottleneck, limiting the size and performance of a range of applications from performance computing to mobile phones and wearables. In the coming decades, power electronics will become the ‘glue’ of the modern energy system network. With electronics embedded deeply into this network, well […]
System software like operating systems and hypervisors forms the critical backbone of our computing infrastructure. However, due to their size and complexity, these systems often contain vulnerabilities that can compromise security. Formal verification offers a solution by mathematically proving software correctness, but its adoption is hindered by the substantial effort required to create these proofs. […]
2 events,
Abstract: Transformer-based language models have undoubtedly become the dominant and favorite architecture for language generation of our time. However, although they provide impressive text quality, they tend to be hard to control. In the domain of image synthesis, on the other hand, Denoising Diffusion Models (DDM) are the dominant approach, shining with unprecedented quality and […]
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT Safe and efficient motion planning is crucial for robots operating in dynamic and unstructured environments. To accomplish this, one must address key challenges. First, robots must understand the scene geometry to prevent collisions that could harm humans […]
1 event,
Connecting theoretical models for exotic quantum states to real materials is a key goal in quantum materials science. The structure of the crystalline lattice plays a foundational role in this pursuit in the subfield of quantum material synthesis. We here revisit this long-standing perspective in the context low dimensional emergent electronic phases of matter, including […]
1 event,
This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Wu and Chen and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT Atomic systems (molecules, crystals, proteins, etc.) are naturally represented by a set of coordinates in 3D space labeled by atom type. This poses a challenge for machine learning due to the sensitivity of coordinates to 3D […]
