Events

Nov 3 - Nov 10, 2019

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  Reproducibility in Computer Science - Part 3

  Roy Maxion, Research Professor, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University

  Nov 6, 16:00 - 17:00

  B9 L3 R3223

  reproducibility issues reliability testing Computer science complex models artificial intelligence machine learning scientific enterprise

  Roy Maxion will give three lectures focusing broadly on different aspects of an increasingly important topic: reproducibility. Reproducibility tests the reliability of an experimental result and is one of the foundations of the entire scientific enterprise. We often hear that certain foods are good for you, and a few years later we learn that they're not. A series of results in cancer research was examined to see if they were reproducible. A startling number of them - 47 out of 53 - were not. Matters of reproducibility are now cropping up in computer science, and given the importance of computing in the world, it's essential that our own results are reproducible -- perhaps especially the ones based on complex models or data sets, and artificial intelligence or machine learning. This lecture series will expose attendees to several issues in ensuring reproducibility, with the goal of teaching students (and others) some of the crucial aspects of making their own science reproducible. Hint: it goes much farther than merely making your data available to the public.
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  Exploranation: A New Science Communication Paradigm

  Prof. Anders Ynnerman, Linköping University, Sweden

  Nov 6, 09:00 - 10:00

  B9 H2 R2325

  Abstract Science communication is facing a paradigm shift, based on the convergence of exploratory and explanatory visualization. In this article, we coin the term exploranation to denote the way in which visualization methods from scientific exploration can be used to communicate results and how methods in explanatory visualization can enrich exploration. Brief Biography Professor Ynnerman is currently the head of the Media and Information Technology division at the Department of Science and Technology (ITN) at Linköping University and is the director of the Norrköping Visualization Center C
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  Reproducibility in Computer Science - Part 2

  Roy Maxion, Research Professor, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University

  Nov 5, 16:00 - 17:00

  B9 L3 R3223

  reproducibility issues reliability testing Computer science complex models artificial intelligence machine learning scientific enterprise

  Roy Maxion will give three lectures focusing broadly on different aspects of an increasingly important topic: reproducibility. Reproducibility tests the reliability of an experimental result and is one of the foundations of the entire scientific enterprise. We often hear that certain foods are good for you, and a few years later we learn that they're not. A series of results in cancer research was examined to see if they were reproducible. A startling number of them - 47 out of 53 - were not. Matters of reproducibility are now cropping up in computer science, and given the importance of computing in the world, it's essential that our own results are reproducible -- perhaps especially the ones based on complex models or data sets, and artificial intelligence or machine learning. This lecture series will expose attendees to several issues in ensuring reproducibility, with the goal of teaching students (and others) some of the crucial aspects of making their own science reproducible. Hint: it goes much farther than merely making your data available to the public.
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  Interactive High-Quality Visualization of Large-Scale Particle Data

  Mohamed Ibrahim, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Computer Science

  Nov 5, 14:00 - 15:00

  B2 L5 R5209

  visualization high-quality rendering large-scale simulation particle data aliasing artifact sampling visible particles

  Large-scale particle data sets, such as those computed in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, are crucial to investigating important processes in physics and thermodynamics. The simulated atoms are usually visualized as hard spheres with Phong shading, where individual particles and their local density can be perceived well in close-up views. However, for large-scale simulations with 10 million particles or more, the visualization of large fields-of-view usually suffers from strong aliasing artifacts, because the mismatch between data size and output resolution leads to severe under-sampling of the geometry.
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  Mixed graphical-basis models for large nonstationary and multivariate spatial data problems

  Dr. William Kleiber, Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado, USA

  Nov 5, 14:00 - 15:00

  B1 L4 R4102

  multivariate spatial processes statistical climatology and statistics for energy sciences

  In this talk, we explore a graphical model representation for the stochastic coefficients relying on the specification of the sparse precision matrix. Sparsity is encouraged in an L1-penalized likelihood framework. Estimation exploits a majorization-minimization approach. The result is a flexible nonstationary spatial model that is adaptable to very large datasets.
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  Prototyping Multiscale Cellular Visualization & Modeling Techniques for Hypothesis Generation, Communication & Learning

  Graham Johnson, Allen Institute for Cell Science, USA

  Nov 5, 09:00 - 10:00

  B9 H2 R2325

  Abstract The visual analysis, assembly, and communication of molecule-scale events have benefited greatly from an explosion of available tools and data that has been provided and evolved by the structural biology community over the past 40 years. Compared to molecular visualization, however, the data, tools, and techniques available for cell-scale visualization remain in relative infancy. In structural biology, the details of a molecule can commonly be summarized with a few megabytes of data, which is heavily constrained by nanoscale physics. Could we ever uncover patterns and rules that will
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  Reproducibility in Computer Science - Part 1

  Roy Maxion, Research Professor, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University

  Nov 4, 16:00 - 17:00

  B9 L3 R3223

  reproducibility issues reliability testing Computer science complex models artificial intelligence machine learning scientific enterprise

  Roy Maxion will give three lectures focusing broadly on different aspects of an increasingly important topic: reproducibility. Reproducibility tests the reliability of an experimental result and is one of the foundations of the entire scientific enterprise. We often hear that certain foods are good for you, and a few years later we learn that they're not. A series of results in cancer research was examined to see if they were reproducible. A startling number of them - 47 out of 53 - were not. Matters of reproducibility are now cropping up in computer science, and given the importance of computing in the world, it's essential that our own results are reproducible -- perhaps especially the ones based on complex models or data sets, and artificial intelligence or machine learning. This lecture series will expose attendees to several issues in ensuring reproducibility, with the goal of teaching students (and others) some of the crucial aspects of making their own science reproducible. Hint: it goes much farther than merely making your data available to the public.
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  Accelerating biomedical discovery with an Internet of FAIR data and services

  Dr. Michel Dumontier, Distinguished Professor of Data Science at Maastricht University, The Netherlands

  Nov 4, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  biomedicine collective knowledge incompatible formats overlapping heterogenous access points computational standards effective representations semantic technologies FAIR automated scientific discovery

  In this talk, I will discuss our work to create computational standards, platforms, and methods to wrangle knowledge into simple, but effective representations based on semantic web technologies that are maximally FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reuseable - and to further use these for biomedical knowledge discovery. But only with additional crucial developments will this emerging Internet of FAIR data and services enable automated scientific discovery on a global scale.
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  Machine Learning Models for Context Aware Recommendation Systems

  Basmah Altaf, Ph.D., Computer Science

  Nov 4, 10:00 - 11:00

  B3 L5 R5209

  recommender systems machine learning Deep learning contextual constraints popularity bias effect modeling quality recommendation

  The goal of this thesis is to pave the way towards the next generation of recommendation systems tackling such real-world challenges to improve the user experience while giving good recommendations.
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  Envisioning the Molecular Cell: Mesoscale Modeling Comes of Age

  Prof. Arthur Olson, The Scripps Research Institute, USA

  Nov 4, 09:00 - 10:00

  B9 H2 R2325

  Abstract The ability to create structural models of cells and cellular components at the molecular level is being driven by advances ranging from proteomics and expression profiling to ever more powerful imaging approaches. It is being enabled by technology leaps in computation, informatics, and visualization. Our CellPACK program and web-based Mesoscope are tools for generating and curating structural models of cellular environments at molecular and atomic levels. Recently we have implemented a GPU-based implementation of CellPACK that speeds up the process by orders of magnitude, in what we
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  KAUST Cell Visualization Summit 2019

  Nov 4, 08:30 - Nov 6, 10:00

  B9 H2 R2325

  visual computing nanovisualization visualization

  You are invited to attend the KAUST Cell Visualization Summit 2019 organized by the Nanovisualization group from the Visual Computing Center (VCC). The summit will focus on the technological advancement that can lead to an in-silico virtual and visual representation by integrating current knowledge into a unified structural and dynamic model of a living cell. Each keynote speaker will relate to one of the technological aspects (modeling, visualization, and interaction). Keynote speakers Arthur Olson Graham Johnson Anders Ynnerman For more information about the summit, please click here. If you

Oct 27 - Nov 10, 2019

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  Efficient and Accurate Numerical Methods for Transient Electromagnetic Analysis - 2019

  Hakan Bagci, Associate Dean for Students, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering

  Nov 3, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Hakan Bagci is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering (EE) and Principal Investigator of the Computational Electromagnetics Laboratory (CEML). His scientific contribution are in advancing high-speed and long-distance communication, energy transfer, and medical imaging. Bagci’s research interests are in various aspects of applied and theoretical computational electromagnetics with emphasis on Time-domain integral-equations and their fast marching-on-in-time-based solutions and solvers to the characterization of wave interactions on complex integrated and electrically large system of photonics and optics.

Oct 27 - Nov 3, 2019

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  Energy-conserving and energy-stable discretizations of differential equations

  David Ketcheson, Professor, Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences

  Oct 31, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  numerical discretization energy stability energy conservation Runge-Kutta methods

  Abstract Many physical models are characterized by the property that some measure of energy is conserved or is non-increasing in time. This property may be challenging to guarantee in numerical discretizations; often it requires the use of costly implicit methods. I will review some approaches to energy stability and describe a new approach that guarantees energy stability with a general class of explicit schemes that are a simple modification of standard Runge-Kutta methods. Brief Biography David Ketcheson is an Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (AMCS) and

Oct 20 - Oct 27, 2019

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  Selected applications of splines of arbitrary manifold topology

  Pieter Barendrecht, PhD Student, Computer Science, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

  Oct 24, 14:00 - 15:00

  B1 L4 R4214

  Abstract There are many intriguing aspects and applications of splines, in particular in the setting of arbitrary manifold topology. In this talk we will take a look at a recently published spline-based subdivision scheme for three-valent meshes (i.e. meshes composed of mostly hexagons), providing us with a good understanding of subdivision surfaces in general. We then move on to study improved quadrature rules for the well-known Catmull-Clark subdivision scheme for quad-dominant meshes, something long-awaited by spline-based numerical methods such as isogeometric analysis. Finally, we shift
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  Key Enabling Techniques and Practical Considerations for Signal and Information Processing in 5G Cellular Network

  Chung-An Shen, Associate Professor, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

  Oct 22, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Digital signal processing Cellular Networks 5G networks

  Abstract The 5th Generation (5G) wireless communication provides considerably enhanced user experiences and offers possibilities of more intriguing applications. In order to fulfil the requirements of 5G like low-latency, energy efficient, and high reliability, many enabling technologies from the physical layer signal processing to the design of network architecture are proposed which all increase the demand for more computing capabilities. This talk gives an overview of the practical considerations, challenges, and techniques for the 5G cellular network. In particular, this talk contains two
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  Magnetic Polymer Composite Transducers for Integrated Systems

  Mohammed Asadullah Khan, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Oct 21, 14:30 - 15:30

  B3 L5 R5220

  Compact, autonomous computing systems with integrated transducers are imperative to deliver advances in healthcare, navigation, livestock monitoring, point of care diagnostics, remote sensing, internet-of-things applications, smart cities etc. Reflecting this need, there has been sustained growth in the market for transducers. Polymer based transducers, which meld highly desirable properties such as low cost, light weight, high manufacturability, biocompatibility and flexibility, are quite attractive. Doping polymers with magnetic materials results in the formation of magnetic composite polymers, enhancing the attractive traits of polymer transducers with magnetic properties. This dissertation is dedicated to the development of magnetic polymer transducers, which are suitable for energy harvesting and saline fluid transduction.
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  Finding the linchpins of the dark web: Understanding and detecting malicious infrastructure

  Dr. Sumayah Alrwais, Assistant Professor, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA

  Oct 21, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Cyber attacks and defenses Web and Network security cybersecurity malicious infrastructure detection

  In this talk, Sumayah will survey a number of malicious hosting infrastructures for different services and approaches to detecting them. Among them are works on an emerging trend of Bulletproof hosting services reselling infrastructure from lower-end service providers, use of residential proxy as a service to avoid server-side blocking and DNS based hosting infrastructure.

Oct 13 - Oct 27, 2019

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  Hybrid integration of materials for ultraviolet detection

  Tien Khee Ng, Principal Research Scientist, Photonics Laboratory

  Oct 20, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  semiconductors electronics optoelectronics AlInGaN-based lasers LED silicon-based photodetectors solving technological challenges ultraviolet detection Optical communications

  Semiconductors are pervasive in consumer electronics and optoelectronics, and the related optical devices are deemed disruptive that Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 was awarded to the inventors of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which “has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources”. While AlInGaN-based lasers and LEDs, and silicon-based photodetectors are currently matured, unconventional usage based on the materials has demonstrated their further potential, including solar-hydrogen generation, indoor-horticulture, and high-speed communication.

Oct 13 - Oct 20, 2019

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  Monte Carlo Computation

  Oct 17, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Abstract Abstract text. Brief Biography Ajay Jasra received his Ph.D. degree in statistics from Imperial College London in 2005. Since 2011 he has been a tenured associate professor at the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Between 2005-2008 he has held various post-doctoral positions at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Tokyo. He was also Chapman Fellow of Mathematics at Imperial College London in that period. Between 2008-2011 he was assistant professor, with
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  Digital Health: promises and pitfalls

  Prof. Paulo Esteves-Veríssimo, University of Luxembourg, SnT, CritiX

  Oct 17, 11:00 - 12:00

  B9 L3 R3223

  global digital health strategy data science genomics owner privacy ICT risks

  This talk will try to clarify some misconceptions about what digital health (DH) is, and what it should not be.
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  Resilient Computing: when Dependability meets Cybersecurity

  Prof. Paulo Esteves-Veríssimo, University of Luxembourg, SnT, CritiX

  Oct 16, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2 R2325

  resilient computing dependability cybersecurity accidental faults dynamic protection sustainability SDN autonomous vehicles digital health blockchain

  Computing and communications infrastructures have become commodities that transact huge quantities of data and are pervasively interconnected, inside countries, and worldwide. Modern societies largely depend on them.
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  Use Mathematics and get a SPARQL Query Engine (almost) for Free! It’s MAGiQ!

  Panagiotis Kalnis, Professor, Computer Science

  Oct 14, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  sparse matrix algebra RDF engine MAGIQ SPARQL queries RDF graphs optimization CPU GPU

  Existing RDF engines are designed for specific hardware architectures; porting to a different architecture (e.g., GPUs) entails enormous implementation effort. We explore sparse matrix algebra as an alternative for designing a portable, scalable and efficient RDF engine.

Oct 6 - Oct 20, 2019

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  Engineering Organic Electronics for Biology - 2019-10-13

  Sahika Inal, Associate Professor, Bioengineering

  Oct 13, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  bioelectronics Implantable devices soft conducting polymers organic electrochemical transistors

  The field of bioelectronics combines the worlds of electronics and biology with the aim of developing new tools for biomedical research and healthcare. The majority of implantable devices are mechanically stiff and the mechanical properties mismatch with soft tissue causes an immune response which results in their rejection from the body. Another limitation is associated with the fact that most devices utilize metal electrodes to record from/stimulate tissue. These electrodes offer limited coupling with ion fluxes used by cells to communicate with each other, resulting in low efficiency. Such challenges can be overcome with the integration of soft, conducting polymers displaying mixed (ionic and electronic) conduction. In this talk, I will present approaches that leverage the properties of organic conducting materials in order to develop bioelectronic devices interfacing with the body. These devices include organic electrochemical transistors for measuring metabolites, neural activity and integrity of cellular layers.

Oct 6 - Oct 13, 2019

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  Modeling, studying, and forecasting the circulation and Climate of the Red Sea

  Ibrahim Hoteit, Professor, Earth Science and Engineering

  Oct 10, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Abstract The talk will present the integrated data-driven modeling system that we are developed to study and predict the circulation and the climate of the Red Sea. I will first describe the modeling system and summarize our key findings on the Red Sea general circulation, including its dominant eddy activity, the striking seasonally overturning circulation, and the occasional northern deep water formation events, and discuss their impact on the Red Sea ecosystem. I will then focus on our efforts to develop a regional ensemble data assimilation and forecasting system, presenting recent
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  Learning for Visual Data Synthesis and Analysis

  Dr. Timo Ropinski, Professor, Visual Computing, Ulm University, Germany

  Oct 7, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Deep learning visual data synthesis visual data analysis estimation and segmentation Monte carlo methods

  Abstract In this talk, I will present our recent advances in deep learning to synthesize and analyze visual data, such as images, volumes, and point clouds. The presented approaches are loosely aligned along the classical computer graphics rendering pipeline, whereby both structured and unstructured data are handled. I will first present concepts for learning in object space, i.e., directly on the data to be rendered. To realize different visual tasks, such as normal estimation and segmentation, I will discuss how Monte Carlo integration can be used to realize convolutions on point cloud data

Sep 29 - Oct 13, 2019

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  Strong, Versatile and Invisible - Magnetic Transducers

  Oct 6, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Abstract Magnetic transducers have enabled technological progress for more than 2000 years ago, from the compass to contemporary biomedical or spintronic devices. Magnetic fields can produce large forces and act across large distances while being harmless to living beings. Today, modern cars employ more than 100 magnetic sensors, trains float above the ground and magnetic resonance imaging provides medical images without using harmful radiation. Recent advancements in fabrication technologies are paving the way for better performances and new applications. For instance, we can control, detect

Sep 29 - Oct 6, 2019

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  Task-driven Automated Data Visualization

  Dr. Yunhai Wang, Professor, Computer Science, Shandong University, China

  Oct 2, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2 R2325

  data visualisation visualisation techniques parameters time series data high dimensional data EdWordle ShapeWordle

  Abstract By providing visual representations of data, visualization can help people to carry out many data analysis tasks more effectively. Given a data set, however, there are often too many possible visualization techniques, with each technique having many parameters to be tuned. This arises the question is if it is possible to automatically design a visualization that is best suited to pursue a given task on given input data. With my group, I developed a number of techniques to achieve this goal for different data sets such as time-series data, high-dimensional data, text as well as graphs
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  BGP hijacks: the next generation stealthy Command and Control for botnets

  Dr. Marc Dacier, Chair of the Digital Security department and a full Professor at Eurecom, France

  Sep 30, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  botnets C2C malware command and control

  Abstract It is well known that malware spreading over the Internet aim at transforming vulnerable devices into bots that can be misused by attackers. These armies of bots constitute what is commonly called "botnets" and they are given tasks (such as spamming, dosing, etc..) to do through a "command and control" infrastructure (C2C). Identifying and neutralizing these C2C has been the subject of an arms race between white and black hats for years. In this talk, we will briefly explain how C2C works and how they have been (and still are being) detected. We will then present some very strange

Sep 22 - Oct 6, 2019

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  Virtual sensing: methods and applications

  Sep 29, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  virtual sensors effective estimation methods non-measurable variables optimization sustainable desalination health monitoring

  Abstract Due to the inherent complexity, physical or economical constraints, a number of important physical and biological systems are inaccessible. Only few, often indirect, experimental data are available to extract information or to manipulate and control the system. Introduced as a promising technology to respond to the growing need for reliable, accurate, fast, robust and low-cost sensing strategies, virtual sensors are gaining importance in several fields. These sensors combine the available data with effective estimation methods and algorithms to access non-measurable variables of

Sep 22 - Sep 29, 2019

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  Statistics of Extremes

  Raphaël Huser, Associate Professor, Statistics

  Sep 26, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  extreme environmental events probabilities risks univariate extremes Spatial extremes

  Extreme environmental events such as droughts, floods and heat-waves take place in space and time, and it is necessary to take this into account when evaluating their risks and estimating their probabilities. During this seminar, I will review some classical and more recent work on this topic, focusing on the modeling of univariate and spatial extremes. The ideas will be illustrated by applications to peak river flow data from the UK, and heavy rainfall close to Jeddah.
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  Point cloud and volume data reconstruction and visualization

  Dr. Ciril Bohak, Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

  Sep 25, 13:00 - 14:00

  B1 L2

  point cloud volume data reconstruction visualization real-time rendering web-based framework

  Abstract Our ongoing research on the reconstruction of aerial point cloud data includes reconstructing the parts of the data that are not captured by the airplane mounted LiDAR system due to the shadowing effect and lack of reflections. We are developing methods for reconstructing (1) building walls, (2) reconstruction of bridges and underlying terrain; (3) reconstruction of water surfaces of lakes and rivers, and (4) reconstruction of terrain overhangs. In all the cases we are merging the point cloud data with cadaster data or digital terrain model data for filling the gaps in the point cloud
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  Exploring FPGAs for Virtualized In-Network Acceleration

  Dr. Suhaib Fahmy, Associate Professor, Computer Engineering, University of Warwick, UK

  Sep 24, 12:00 - 13:00

  B2 B3 A0215

  FPGA data centers streaming applications accelerators big data cloud computing

  Abstract With increasing connectivity and reliance on machine intelligence to process ever-growing amounts of data, the question of how to arrange the required connectivity and computation arises. Traditional cloud computing approaches that centralize compute capability in a data center do not scale well to large scale distributed data sources that must then transmit data over constrained networks. Similarly, computing at the very edge of the network is often constrained by limited computational capacity and a lack of access to shared data. In-network computing has been proposed as a way of

Sep 15 - Sep 22, 2019

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  High friction limits for Euler flows

  Athanasios Tzavaras, Professor, Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences

  Sep 19, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  High friction limits Euler flows

  Abstract Brief Biography Athanasios (Thanos) Tzavaras is a Professor in the Applied Mathematics and Computational Science program (AMCS) and Principal Investigator of the Applied Partial Differential Equations (AppliedPDE) research group at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. Professor Tzavaras' research focus lies on Nonlinear Analysis, Continuum Physics, and Kinetic Theory. Tzavaras obtained a Diploma in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and subsequently moved to the USA, where he obtained M
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  Visible Light Communications in the UK: Recent Progress and Future Outlook

  Dr. Paul Anthony Haigh,Lecturer in Communications, Intelligent Sensing and Communications Group,Newcastle University

  Sep 17, 13:00 - 14:00

  B2 L5 R5220

  Visible light communications

  Abstract Visible light communications (VLC) is a hot topic in internet access networks, developing rapidly over the last decade. It has become one of the main candidate technologies to complement existing radio infrastructure in 5G and beyond technologies due to its inherent advantages such as high bandwidth and room-to-room security. In this talk, I will discuss several of the key developments that have occurred within the context of the UK research community, with particular focus on polymer photoactive components based on research that has occurred through my time at University College
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  Representation Learning for Personalized Recommendation

  Prof. Xiangliang Zhang

  Sep 16, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  recommender systems e-commerce industry personalized recommendations learning representations user privacy

  Abstract Recommender systems have already been successfully used in e-commerce industry and have been influencing our daily lives. We may all have got (personalized) recommendation of news, music, movies, videos, books, restaurants, hotels, etc. This talk will introduce the recent research in my group about promoting personalized recommendation by learning representations for users/objects to recommend. Examples of applications will be given for recommendation of the next movie to watch, the interesting research papers to read, the useful datasets to explore, and interesting places to visit

Sep 8 - Sep 22, 2019

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  Waves Functional Materials - 2019-09-15

  Ying Wu, Professor, Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences

  Sep 15, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1 R2322

  Wave functional materials wave propagation control metamaterials Metasurfaces effective medium redirection emission rate

  Wave functional materials are artificial materials that can control wave propagation as wished. In this talk, I will give a brief review of the progress of wave functional materials and reveal the secret behind the engineering of these materials to achieve desired properties.

Sep 8 - Sep 15, 2019

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  Waves in Complex Media: Theories and Applications

  Ying Wu, Professor, Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences

  Sep 12, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  We focus on the theoretical modeling and numerical simulation of classical wave propagation in complex systems, such as periodic structures and random media. In this talk, I will give an overview of the research conducted in our group by emphasizing on three major aspects: numerical method, homogenization, and applications in artificial materials.
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  Study of III-nitride Nanowire Growth and Devices on Unconventional Substrates

  Aditya Prabaswara, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 12, 09:30 - 11:00

  B3 L5 R5209

  semiconductors III-nitride nanowires optoelectronics

  This thesis aims to investigate the microscopic characteristics of the nanowires and expand on the possibility of using transparent amorphous substrate for III-nitride nanowire devices. In this work, we performed material growth, characterization, and device fabrication of III-nitride nanowires grown using molecular beam epitaxy on unconventional substrates including silicon substrates and fused silica substrates. We also investigated the effect of various nucleation layers on the morphology and quality of the nanowires.
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  Distributed Algorithms for Computing a Common Fixed Point of a Group of Nonexpansive Operators

  Dr. Xiuxian Li, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  Sep 9, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  Distributed algorithms nonexpansive operators

  This talk is concerned with the problem of seeking a common fixed point for a finite collection of nonexpansive operators over time-varying multi-agent networks in real Hilbert spaces. Each operator is assumed to be only privately and approximately known to each individual agent, and all agents need to cooperate to solve this problem by local communications over time-varying networks. To handle this problem, inspired by the centralized inexact Krasnosel’ski˘ı-Mann (IKM) iteration, two distributed algorithms, called distributed inexact Krasnosel’ski˘ı-Mann (D-IKM) iteration and distributed inexact block-coordinate Krasnosel’ski˘ı-Mann (D-IBKM) iteration, are proposed. It is shown that the two algorithms can converge weakly to a common fixed point of the family of nonexpansive operators.

Sep 1 - Sep 15, 2019

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  Laser lighting and its application in visible light communications

  Boon Ooi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 8, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 R2322

  laser-lighting Visible light communications Underwater communication high-speed transmitters high-speed receivers

  This talk provides an overview of the latest laser-based lighting and Gbit/s VLC and underwater communications. Recent progress of visible wavelength high-speed transmitters and receivers will also be discussed.

Sep 1 - Sep 8, 2019

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  Data assimilation and optimal control in the context of UAV-based flash flood monitoring

  Christian Claudel, Assistant Professor, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UT-Austin

  Sep 4, 10:00 - 11:00

  B5 L5 R5209

  UAV flood monitoring control systems

  Flash floods are one of the most common natural disasters worldwide, causing thousands of casualties every year. The emergence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) gives the possibility to monitor these events over large geographical areas. In this talk, we focus on the problem of trajectory planning for a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles sensing flooding conditions.
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  Zero in on computational challenges in Nanopore sequencing

  Xin Gao, Program Chair, Computer Science

  Sep 2, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  bioinformatics machine learning Nanopore Sequencing DNA sequences

  In this talk, I will first give an overview of the research activities in Structural and Functional Bioinformatics Group (http://sfb.kaust.edu.sa). I will then focus on our efforts on developing computational methods to tackle key open problems in Nanopore sequencing. In particular, I will introduce our recent works on developing a collection of computational methods to decode raw electrical current signal sequences into DNA sequences, to simulate raw signals of Nanopore, and to efficiently and accurately align electrical current signal sequences with DNA sequences. Then, I will further introduce their applications in clinical and environmental fields.

Aug 25 - Sep 8, 2019

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  Flexible, Wearable, Disposable Wireless Communication and Sensing Systems Through Additive Manufacturing - 2019

  Atif Shamim, Program Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 1, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  additive manufacturing sensors electronics

  With the advent of wearable sensors and internet of things (IoT), there is a new focus on electronics which can be bent so that they can be worn or mounted on non-planar objects. Due to large volume (billions of devices), there is a requirement that the cost is extremely low, to the extent that they become disposable. The flexible and low-cost aspects can be addressed through additive manufacturing technologies such as inkjet, screen and 3D printing. This talk introduces additive manufacturing as an emerging technique to realize low cost, flexible and wearable wireless communication and sensing systems.
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  Interesting Problems in Estimation and Control on Smart Road Vehicles

  Professor Rajesh Rajamani, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota

  Sep 1, 11:00 - 12:00

  B1 L2 R4214

  Estimation Theory autonomous driving University of Minnesota

  A number of exciting vehicle automation and active safety systems are being developed by research groups around the world. This talk focuses on novel sensors, estimation algorithms and control systems that can fill critical gaps in the automation technologies under development. The first part of this seminar describes interesting sensing and estimation solutions that can significantly improve the effectiveness of active safety systems. The second part of the seminar describes the development of a new class of narrow commuter vehicles designed to address traffic congestion, improve highway mobility and provide very high fuel economy. The final part of the seminar describes the development of a smart bicycle with instrumentation that can track trajectories of nearby vehicles on the road and provide warnings to the motorist, if a potential car-bicycle collision is detected.

Aug 25 - Sep 1, 2019

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  Knowledge-based methods in biomedicine

  Robert Hoehndorf, Associate Professor, Computer Science

  Aug 26, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  Biostatistics artificial intelligence gene-disease associations drug targets

  The life sciences have invested significant resources in the development and application of semantic technologies to make research data accessible and interlinked, and to enable the integration and analysis of data. Utilizing the semantics associated with research data in data analysis approaches is often challenging. Now, novel methods are becoming available that combine symbolic methods and statistical methods in Artificial Intelligence. In my talk, I will describe how to apply knowledge-based methods for the analysis of biological and biomedical data, in particular identification of gene-disease associations and drug targets.

Aug 18 - Sep 1, 2019

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  Compliant Electronics for Unusual Environments

  Amani Almuslem, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Aug 25, 17:00 - 18:00

  B3 L5 R5209

  compliant electronics Implantable devices

  Abstract Compliant electronics are an emerging class of electronics which offer physical flexibility in their structure. Such mechanical flexibility opens up opportunities for wide ranging applications. Nonetheless, compliant electronics which can be functional in unusual environments are yet to be explored. Unusual environment can constitute a harsh environment where temperature and/or pressure is much higher or lower than the usual room temperature and/or pressure. Unusual environment can be an aquatic environment, such as ocean/sea/river/pond, industrial processing related liquid and bodily
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  UV light emitter – challenges and new approaches – an example of device oriented R&D at PORT

  Prof. Detlef Hommel, Polish Center for Technology development, Wroclaw University

  Aug 25, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H1

  UV Emitter PORT

  The Wroław Research Center EIT+ was established in 2007 and renamed in 2018 into Polish Center for technology Development. This year PORT became an institute of the Łukasiewicz Network having similar goals like the Fraunhofer Society in Germany as an applied center for R&D. The presentation will concentrate on my research projects on deep-UV emitters. Going from UV-B (320-280nm) to UV-C (280-200nm) the external quantum efficiency decreases drastically and no breakthrough was obtained here based on high-Al content AlGaN. New, unconventional material combinations are needed to overcome these problems. One idea here is to add a small amount of arsenic to (Al,Ga)N to shift the valence band upwards and to increase the hole concentrations which is crucial for increasing the efficiencies of UV-C emitters. Results will be presented confirming this approach. Another idea is connected with strain engineering by using w-BN. This will allow to shift the unwanted TE to TM transition towards larges bandgaps (higher Al-contents).

Jul 28 - Aug 4, 2019

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  Saudi Summer Internship 2019 - E-Poster Competition

  Internship Participants

  Jul 31, 11:00 - 13:00

  Campus Library

  Student Internship Programs saudi vision 2030

  We invite all members of the community to visit the first ever E-poster competition at KAUST for the SSI. The Saudi Summer Internship (SSI) is currently in it’s 7th year. This year CEMSE welcomes over 40 undergraduate students from Saudi Arabia to KAUST. With 25 interns being female, and 12 universities represented, 2019 is the largest and most diverse cohort of the SSI that the division has welcomed since it’s inception. All students have an excellent academic record in their home institution in areas related to Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. The students undertake a 12 week research program, supplemented with graduate skills and academic courses and are mentored by faculty and researchers in the CEMSE Division.
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  Part 3: Boundary Control of Continuum Problems

  Professor Mamadou L. Diagne, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  Jul 31, 10:30 - 15:00

  B9 L3 R3131

  Partial Differential Equations

  Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) are often used to model various complex physical systems. Representative engineering applications such as heat exchangers, transmission lines, oil wells, road traffic, multiphase flow, melting phenomena, supply chains, collective dynamics, and even chemical processes governing the state of charge of Lithium-ion battery, extrusion, reactors to mention a few. Generally, key aspects of these processes operating mode are driven by convection phenomena with a spatiotemporal dynamic that cannot be approximated straightforwardly using a finite-dimensional representation. This course will explore the boundary control of several class of PDEs via the well-known backstepping method.
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  Study of ultraviolet AlGaN nanowires light-emitting diodes

  Davide Priante, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 30, 16:00 - 17:00

  B3 L5 R5209

  photonics optoelectronics nanofabrication

  Ultraviolet (UV) group III-Nitride-based light emitters have been used in various applications such as water purification, medicine, lighting and chemical detection. Despite attractive properties such as bandgap tunability in the whole UV range (UV-C to UV-A), high chemical stability and relative low cost, the low quantum efficiency hamper the full utilization. This thesis aims to show alternative solutions to such problems by employing nanowires (NWs) structures, and target the eventual application of reliable and high power NWs-based light-emitting devices, enabling large-scale production using the established silicon foundry processes. Here, we present the improvement of injection current and optical power of AlGaN NWs LEDs by involving a metal bilayer thin film with a dual purpose: eliminate the potential barrier for carrier transport, and inhibit the formation of silicide.