» Fowler School of Engineering Seminar Series
More speakers to come this semester! Be sure to check back!
Seminar Series Fall 2022
Sept. 15: Pamela Peralta-Yahya, Georgia Institute of Technology
Sept. 15, 2022
Pamela Peralta-Yahya, Georgia Institute of Technology
Talk Title: Enabling tools for drug discovery and chemical bioproduction
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Andrew Lyon
Abstract:
In humans, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) detect a myriad of chemical signals, from hormones and neurotransmitters to odors and flavors, ultimately resulting in genomic transcriptional changes. Transduction of these signals results in the regulation of multiple biological process, from cell migration and proliferation, to inflammation and immune responses. In the first part of the talk, I will cover the development and application of GPCR-based assays for 1) the discovery of drug leads that target medically-relevant GPCRs, 2) the deorphanization of olfactory GPCRs to enable their study outside the olfactory tissue, and 3) the rapid screening of chemical producing microbes toward high-throughput metabolic engineering applications. In the second part of the talk, I will focus on our engineering of biological systems for the production of chemicals from renewables. In particular, I will highlight our recent work on 3rd generation biorefineries and how we are producing chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide.
Pamela Peralta-Yahya:
Pamela Peralta-Yahya graduated from Macalester College in 2003 with a double major in Chemistry and Biology. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry with Prof. Virginia Cornish at Columbia University and was a postdoctoral researcher under the advisement of Prof. Jay Keasling at the University of California, Berkeley/Joint BioEnergy Institute. In 2012, Prof. Peralta-Yahya joined the faculty at Georgia Tech, where she conducts research at the interface of biochemistry and engineering; she was tenured as an Associate Professor in 2019. Her laboratory brings together principles, concepts and techniques from organic chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering to expand the sensing and synthetic capabilities of biological systems. Specifically, her research group focuses on engineering G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-based sensors for biotechnology and biomedical applications, and the engineering of biological systems for the production of chemicals from renewables. Her research has resulted in 34 publications and several patents. Prof. Peralta-Yahya has been recognized for her research by awards including a DARPA Young Faculty Award (2014), a DuPont Young Professor Award (2014), a Kavli Fellowship (2016) and an NIH MIRA Award (2017).
Sept. 20: Dr. Kenneth Lamb, Cal Poly Pomona
Sept. 20, 2022
Dr. Kenneth Lamb, Cal Poly Pomona
Talk Title: The Intersection of maker spaces, entrepreneurship and leadership development
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Hosts: Nicole Wagner/Nasim Estakhri
Abstract:
Hands-on learning in maker spaces can be a great way to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, as well as teamwork, communication and visioning skills that develop future leaders. I hope we can discuss ideas on how to use maker spaces to be more than a place to learn how to make cool stuff.
Kenneth Lamb:
Kenneth Lamb is the Faculty director of the Student Innovation Idea Labs at Cal Poly Pomona which is the office that oversees the campus maker spaces and the extra-curricular entrepreneurial programming. He is also the lead faculty for the Engineering Leadership program in their college of engineering as well as a professor of civil engineering.
Sept. 26: Cassandra Donatelli, Fowler School of Engineering
Sept. 26, 2022
Cassandra Donatelli, Fowler School of Engineering
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Oct. 4: Emad Arasteh, Fowler School of Engineering
Oct. 4, 2022
Emad Arasteh, Fowler School of Engineering
Talk Title: System Level Modeling and Simulation: Designing Future Computer Systems12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Abstract:
The emerging software applications increasingly require more computation and storage resources. To meet the demand of these new software applications, we need to rethink the traditional design of computer systems by early attention to efficiency and programmability. Electronic System-Level (ESL) design using SystemC enables effective performance estimation, design space exploration, and gradual refinement. In this talk, I present our latest research findings on increasing model parallelism and early detection of memory bottlenecks for Deep Neural Networks (DNN).
Emad Arasteh:
Emad Arasteh is an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in Fowler School of Engineering at Chapman University. He received the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from University of California, Irvine and M.Sc. degree in electronic design from Lund University in Sweden. His current research interests include system-level modeling and design of embedded systems, deep neural networks, programming models for processing-in-memory, and simulation of computational models on massively parallel computers. Previously, he worked on a wide range of hardware and software systems for telecommunication, security, multimedia, and semiconductor industries.
Oct. 10: David Cuccia, Modulim
Oct. 10, 2022
David Cuccia, Modulim
Talk Title: Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI): quantitative microvascular insights that empower clinicians to save limbs and lives
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Alex Kurz
More information
David Cuccia:
Dr. David Cuccia is CTO and founder of Modulim, an Irvine-based medical device company, focused on improving lives for patients with Diabetes and vascular disease. David has a B.S. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from UC Irvine. He founded Modulim in 2007, based on his dissertation work on SFDI, and raised $21M in grant and private venture capital to bring SFDI to market. David has co-authored over 100 publications and has more than 4,000 citations in biomedical optics journals. David is also a Senior Fellow for SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineers, and in 2015 he was inducted into the inaugural class of UC Irvine's Engineering Hall of Fame.
Oct. 17: Anne Marie Piper, UCI
Oct. 17, 2022
Anne Marie Piper, UCI
Talk Title: Rethinking Design for Accessibility
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: LouAnne Boyd
More information
Abstract:
Approximately 61 million Americans, or one in four U.S. adults, have a disability that affects daily life. Despite the prevalence of disability across the lifespan, accessibility is typically an afterthought in technology design. Discussions of accessibility often center on checklists of requirements and whether or not a system has particular features. In this talk, I will argue for a view of accessibility that is collaboratively negotiated, situated, and enacted through sociomaterial relations. Grounded in extensive field work, I will present three cases of design for accessibility that shift how we think about building systems with and for individuals with disabilities. These projects detail new systems for collaborative meaning-making in the context of dementia, online social advocacy among blind and visually impaired older adults, and ability-diverse group work and design. Collectively, these projects reveal the interactive nature of accessibility that is often missing in individualistic system design and call attention to the importance of the social and political dimensions of accessibility alongside the technological.
Anne Marie Piper:
Anne Marie Piper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics at The University of California, Irvine. Her research in human-computer interaction and accessible computing aims to create more equitable and inclusive digital experiences for people of all ages and abilities. Anne Marie's prior and ongoing work focuses on designing new technologies for collaborative work among ability-diverse teams of professionals and academics; developing accessible content production tools for blind artists, writers, and musicians; and leveraging the arts as a form of expression and resource for designing alongside people with dementia or speech-language impairments. Her research and teaching has been recognized with an NSF CAREER Award, UC-Irvine , Alumnae of Northwestern Award for Curriculum Development, Best Paper Awards and Nominations at ACM CHI, CSCW, DIS, and ASSETS, and a UC-San Diego Interdisciplinary Scholar Award. Anne Marie received her PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego, MA in Education from Stanford University, and BS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. Prior to joining UC-Irvine, she was a tenured faculty member at Northwestern University.
Oct. 24: Tom Bell, Fowler School of Engineering
Oct. 24, 2022
Tom Bell, Fowler School of Engineering
Talk Title: Software Engineering and the Law
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Alex Kurz
More information
Abstract:
Why should software engineers care about the law? For lots of reasons, ranging from making it rich to keeping out of jail. This presentation will open with a quick overview of some of the most important legal issues that software engineers face today. The discussion will then focus on cryptocurrencies, DAOs, prediction markets, and other forms of decentralized finance.
Prof. Tom W. Bell:
Prof. Tom W. Bell earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago, practiced law in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., and served as a policy director for the Cato Institute before joining the faculty of Chapman University Fowler School of Law. He teaches all of the first-year common law courses and electives in high-tech, entertainment, and intellectual property. Bell writes about special jurisdictions, copyright, Internet law, prediction markets, and the Third Amendment (the one about quartering troops). He created Ulex, the open source legal system, used in Próspera ZEDE’s Roatán Common Law code and the Catawba Indian Nation’s Digital Economic Zone. Bell recently recorded an updated audio version of Your Next Government? From the Nation State to Stateless Nations (Cambridge University Press 2018). He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Special Jurisdictions and advises The Seasteading Institute (pro bono), Pronomos Capital, and Free Society Project, among others.
Nov. 1: Dr. Qiang Huang, USC
Nov. 1, 2022
Dr. Qiang Huang, USC
Talk Title: Engineering-Informed Machine Learning for Additive Manufacturing Accuracy Control
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Yuxin Wen
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Abstract:
As a trend of future manufacturing (FM), consumer demand increasingly shifts to personalization and customization. One key technological barrier is to ensure quality and reduce costs for low-volume production of a huge variety of products. Transforming experience-driven quality control (QC) into fabrication-aware, computation-driven QC is at the forefront of technological 
competition in FM. Physical modeling and simulation of additive manufacturing (AM) is still computationally prohibitive for timely QC. Applying popular AI techniques to automate QC not only demands large amounts of costly AM data, but also falls short of gaining engineering insights for knowledge generalization and adaptation. This talk presents engineering-informed machine learning research for AM. Topics include domain-informed convolution modeling and learning of layer-by-layer fabrication for shape accuracy prediction; optimal compensation of 3D shape deviation; and engineering-informed transfer learning based on effect equivalence.
Dr. Qiang Huang:
Dr. Qiang Huang is currently a Professor at the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles. His research focuses on AI and Machine Learning for Manufacturing, in particular, Machine Learning for Additive Manufacturing (ML4AM). He was the holder of Gordon S. Marshall Early Career Chair in Engineering at USC from 2012 to 2016. He received IISE Fellow and ASME Awards, NSF CAREER award, and 2021 IEEE CASE Best Conference Paper Award, 2013 IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering Best Paper Award, among others. He has five patents on ML4AM. He is a Department Editor for IISE Transactions and an Associate Editor for ASME Transactions, Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering.
Nov. 7: Lauren Perry, Aerospace Corporation
Nov. 7, 2022
Lauren Perry, Aerospace Corporation
Talk Title: Failure is not an Option: Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence in High-Consequence Environments
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Erik Linstead
More information
Lauren Perry is a Senior Project Engineer in the Space Applications Group at The Aerospace Corporation. Her work incorporates AI/ML technologies into traditional software development programs for the intelligence community, DOD, and commercial customers. Previously, she was the analytical lead for a DOD project established to improve joint operability within the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Family of Systems and enhance air warfare capability. Perry was also a reliability engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. She has a background in experimental design, applied statistics, and statistical engineering for the aerospace domain.
Nov. 15: Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad, Syracuse University
Nov. 15, 2022
Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad, Syracuse University
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Nasim Estakhri
Talk Title: Modeling the Interdependent Power Grid Uncertainties
12-1 p.m.
Location: Ideation Zone
Host: Erik Linstead
More information
Abstract:
The ever-growing reliance on power systems has initiated research and developments in what we refer to as Smart Grids. What constitutes a smart grid is a collection of modernizations that occur at various levels in power systems, namely distribution, transmission, and generation of power. Enhanced real-time situational awareness and increased integration of renewable energy resources are two critical aspects of the smart grids that ensure sustainable and reliable sources of electricity. However, the unprecedented increase in intermittent wind and solar energy resources along with growing severe weather patterns has the potential to put these objectives at odds with each other. In this talk, the impacts of increased uncertainty in grid operations and planning on real-time situational awareness, and specifically on the ability to predict impending failures, will be explored. Next, data-driven generation uncertainty models and predictive failure models as possible solutions for enhancing situational awareness will be discussed.
Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad:
Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. Prior to that, she held positions at the University of Idaho and Tucson Electric Power Company. She received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ in 2012. Her research interests include uncertainty quantification for power system operations and planning, real-time power system operations, and power system resiliency. Dr. Eftekharnejad’s research has been funded by several federal and non-federal grants, and she is the recipient of the 2022 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. She is an associate editor of the IEEE PES Transactions on Sustainable Energy and IEEE PES Letters.