This calendar is your conduit to the events in Plan-It Purple that pertain specifically to the McCormick School of Engineering. If you would like to list an event on the calendar, please consult the list of department contacts.
Event List
ChBE Seminar: Andres Garcia, Georgia Institute of Technology
Thursday May 1, 2008 at 9:00 AM — Tech LR4
BioArtificial Materials for Enhanced Tissue Repair
Professor Andres Garcia
Georgia Institute of Technology
Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 9:00 AM
The Technological Institute, Lecture Room 4
2145 Sheridan Road
Refreshments will be served at 8:45 AM
Event URL: http://www.chem-biol-eng.northwestern.edu/news/seminars/
For more information, contact:
Allison Sillers
a-strick@northwestern.edu
847-491-2773
Chemical & Biological Engineering Colloquia
[Show detail]
ENERGY - THE CHALLENGE FOR THE 21st CENTURY
Friday May 2, 2008 at 8:30 AM — Ryan Auditorium, Tech, 2145 Sheridan Road
NORTHWESTERN - ARGONNE SYMPOSIUM
(Organized under the auspices of the Heilborn Lectures 2007-2008)
ENERGY - THE CHALLENGE FOR THE 21st CENTURY
Friday, May 2, 2008, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Ryan Auditorium, Tech
KEYNOTE LECTURE
Steve Chu, Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
“The World’s Energy Problem and What We Can Do About It.”
LECTURES
Phillip Finck, Associate Director, Idaho National Laboratory
“Nuclear Energy in the US.”
Steve Long, Director, Energy Biosciences Institute, University of Illinois
“Plentiful Biofuels from Crops.”
William Banholzer, Chief Technology Officer, Dow Chemical Company
“Changes in the Energy Market.”
Michael Grätzel, Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne
“Power from the Sun.”
PANEL DISCUSSION
William Banholzer, Steve Chu, Phillip Finck, John Gibbons, Michael Grätzel, William Halperin,
Steve Long, and Mark Ratner (Julio Ottino and Sunil Chopra - Moderators)
Friday, May 2, 2008, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Ryan Auditorium
Technologicial Institute, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208
(Reception 5:00 - 6:00 pm)
For more information, contact Pamela Horstmann at (847) 491-3644, or pmh@northwestern.edu. This event is sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
For more information, contact:
Pamela Horstmann
pmh@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-3644
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
[Show detail]
Civil and Environmental Eng and Mechanical Eng Seminar: Dr. Thomas Hopp
Friday May 2, 2008 at 12:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Rd., Tech Institute, Room M152
Civil and Environmental Engineering and
Mechancial Engineering Feature
Northwestern Alumnus
Dr.Thomas Hopp
System Director, The Aerospace Corporation
Friday, May 2, 2008, Noon - 1:00pm
Room: M152, Tech
The Wideband Global SATCOM Program
Abstract: Dr. Hopp will present an overview of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Program. The Department of Defense’s SATCOM architecture will be described. WGS will provide high data rate communications support to all U.S. Services and Agencies across the spectrum of operations, from peacetime and disaster relief operations to full theater war. The program includes participation by the Australian Ministry of Defence as an international partner. The functions of the WGS system, and some of its technologies will be described. The engineering challenges involved in building and launching an operational military satellite system will be discussed. A brief summary of Dr. Hopp’s career development at The Aerospace Corporation will also be included.
Bio: Dr. Thomas Hopp is the System Director at The Aerospace Corporation for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Block II program. The Block II program is a $1.1Billion project to build, launch, and deploy three WGS satellites. The WGS satellites are the Department of Defense’s next generation of wideband communications satellites. Dr. Hopp is responsible for the management of The Aerospace Corporation’s effort in support of the program, a manpower budget of ~$15 Million. Since joining The Aerospace Corporation in 1987, he has held positions of increasing responsibility in both the Engineering and Space Programs Groups. Dr. Hopp has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University.
For more information, contact:
Arlene Preus
a-preus@northwestern.edu
847 467-6510
McCormick - Mechanical Engineering
[Show detail]
CBB Seminar: Simultaneous estimation of trees & multiple sequence alignments - Dr. Tandy Warnow
Friday May 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Cook Hall, room 3118 A&B, 2220 Campus Drive
CBB Seminar: Simultaneous estimation of trees and multiple sequence alignments
Tandy Warnow - University of Texas at Austin
Professor - Computer Sciences
Abstract:
The inference of evolutionary history presents enormous computational and mathematical challenges which are particularly exacerbated when dealing with very large datasets (containing thousands of sequences) or when sequences evolve under complex models of evolution. In this talk, I will describe some of the recent progress in large-scale phylogenetics, focusing on simultaneous estimation of multiple sequence alignments and phylogenies.
For more information, contact:
Suzana Han
suzana@northwestern.edu
847-467-1972
McCormick - Computational Biology and Bioinformati
[Show detail]
Environmental Engineering & Science Seminars
Friday May 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Rd/ A230
Dr.Jim Waples from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will present his talk entitled "Applied Alchemy 101: Measuring transport rates in Aquatic Systems."
For more information, contact:
Neal Blair
n-blair@northwestern.edu
847-491-8790
McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering
[Show detail]
Seminar: Creating S&T Professional & Institutional Change via Subversion, Revolution, & Meteorology
Friday May 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Room, Tech Room L324
Dr. Debra Rolison
Surface Chemistry Branch
Navala Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
The inability of research universities to diversify their faculty is a national disgrace in that these universities recruit for students that reflect the face of America, but have not yet incorporated that pool of talent onto their faculty. Similar difficulties are apparent among the scientific staff of national/federal laboratories. The U.S. must escape our still too-white and too-male universe to stay at the forefront of science―a leader would not stand still for less. But how can one person change the world of science?―especially the concerned junior scientist at the undergraduate, graduate student, or postdoctoral level? Subvert the standard operating procedure. Create a microclimate that shows―over time―how new patterns of operation and inclusiveness yield productive, innovative science. Use the scientific capital and street credentials accrued over time, thanks to the humane microclimate and research productivity of one's team, to challenge the status quo with reasoned and bold arguments for change. Remember the importance of uppity behavior and applying "tipping point" mechanisms to move beyond initial reactions of dismissal (such as greeted my audacious suggestion in March 2000 to withhold federal funds from non-diversified chemistry departments through application of Title IX) to―over time―accepted inevitability. Ask the leaders of our S&T institutions the following: how good can American science, engineering, mathematics, and technology (STEM) be when we are missing two-thirds of the talent? Learn to demand that our world of science be one that truly relishes the talent residing across the American populace.
For more information, contact:
Professor Manijeh Razeghi
razeghi@eecs.northwestern.edu
847-491-7251
Center for Quantum Devices (CQD)
[Show detail]
EECS SEMINAR: "Unconstrained Multi-Projector Displays"
Monday May 5, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Technological Institute - Room L324
EECS SEMINAR
Aditi Majumder, Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
University of California, Irvine
"Unconstrained Multi-Projector Displays"
Early generations of tiled multi-projector displays were expensive, driven by cost prohibitive monolithic rendering machines which justified the use of expensive rigid optical and mechanical infrastructure to register the images from the many projectors. Current generation multi-projector displays use commodity projectors, are driven by inexpensive PC clusters, and hence are very affordable. To support scalability, common due to reduced cost, automatic camera-based registration techniques have been explored in the last decade. But, despite the low cost and the supposed flexibility imparted by the automated registration, these displays are still quarantined to hi-tech environments that can provide a critical mass of 'educated' users. This is due to two reasons. First, these displays are still very constrained in terms of the devices, environment and architecture used, resulting in an utterly complicated deployment, unreasonable to expect of 'layman' users. Second, perfect seamlessness is yet to be successfully achieved in these, especially when built of commodity products. This talk presents the advances made to remove such constraints and bring in an hitherto unrealized ease in deployment that can be achieved by almost anyone. Methodologies will be presented that allow imperfect/uncalibrated devices, flexible driving architecture, and new generation devices and still achieve perceptually seamless displays. Thus, we advance the frontiers towards self-calibrating, flexible, reconfigurable and hence truly scalable displays.
Aditi Majumder is an assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science in University of California, Irvine. She received her BE in Computer Science and Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India in 1996 and PhD from Department of Computer Science, Universi
Event URL: http://www.eecs.northwestern.edu/events/
For more information, contact:
Brooke Hildebrand
brooke@eecs.northwestern.edu
847-491-3451
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
Swinney: Emergence of Spatial Patterns in Physical,...
Monday May 5, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech M416
Edward L. Reiss Memorial Lectures
Title: Emergence of Spatial Patterns in Physical, Chemical and Biological Systems
Speaker: Professor Harry Swinney, University of Texas
For more information, contact:
Danielle Jackson
danielle-jackson@northwestern.edu
847-491-5586
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
Annual ChBE Debates
Monday May 5, 2008 at 6:00 PM — Tech LR3
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Technological Institute, Lecture Room 3
6:00 pm
Panera will be served at 5:45 pmTopic for the 2008 Debates:
"Cognitive enhancers are becoming greater temptations for both students and professors in increasingly competitive academic environments. In order to ensure a level playing field, universities should not allow these drugs to be taken unless warranted by a medical condition."
Event URL: http://www.chem-biol-eng.northwestern.edu/news/events/debates/2008.html
For more information, contact:
Allison Sillers
a-strick@northwestern.edu
847-491-2773
Chemical and Biological Engineering
[Show detail]
Mu Sigma Recruiting Event
Monday May 5, 2008 at 6:00 PM — Tech Bldg Room L150
Dhiraj Rajaram from Mu Sigma, which specializes in business analytics, is looking to recruit people
(For permanent employment as well as summer internships) with excellent quantitative skills
(Statistics and data analysis, optimization, etc.)For business decision support models.
Mu Sigma helps clients institutionalize analytics in their organizations using global delivery. We are headquartered in Chicago USA with delivery center in Bangalore India. Mu Sigma's scientific community, which consists of practitioners from leading educational institutions in the United States, enable us to deploy cutting edge analytics for our clients. Talent from the best educational institutions (ISI, IITs, IIMs) in India is recruited to serve clients cost effectively. Our best-in-class processes leverage expertise in statistics and econometrics in the areas of marketing,risk and supply chain. The techniques our professionals use range from conventional statistical and operations research techniques to advanced artificial intelligence techniques.
For more information, contact:
Adam Cebulski
a-cebulski@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-4394
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Seminar by: Kartik Sivaramakrishnan, North Carolina State University
Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Tech Bldg Room M228
Topic: A parallel interior point decomposition algorithm for block-angular semidefinite programs
Speaker: Kartik Sivaramakrishnan, Asst. Professor
Abstract: Semidefinite programming is widely regarded as "linear programming for the 21st century" and has a variety of applications in science and engineering. Interior Point Methods (IPMs) are currently the most popular techniques for solving SDPs. However, SDPs with matrix dimension n > 5000, and number of equality constraints m > 10,000 cannot be solved by current primal-dual IPM implementations on serial workstations.
We propose a "two-stage decomposition algorithm" to improve the scalability of primal-dual IPMs in solving large scale SDPs. In the 1st stage, we exploit the sparsity and/or symmetry in the underlying SDP to preprocess it into an equivalent SDP in the "block-angular" form. In the 2nd stage, we solve the preprocessed SDP in an iterative fashion between a quadratic
master problem and decomposed and distributed subproblems (smaller SDPs) in a parallel and distributed computing environment. We report our computational experiences with the algorithm on the distributed "Henry2" cluster at NC State University. We also compare our algorithm with the OpenMP version of CSDP, that is a parallel primal-dual IPM implementation for SDP.
For more information, contact:
Gwen Hoffman
g-hoffman2@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-3576
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
'Dorn Lecture' Dr. Patricia Dehmer, Deputy Director for Science Programs US Dept of Energy
Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech L211
For more information, contact:
Peggy Adamson
p-adamson@northwestern.edu
1 847 491 3587
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
[Show detail]
Design:Chicago
Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM — James L. Allen Center
Design:Chicago will host its' 2nd annual conference at the James L. Allen Center on May 6th 2008. The event is sponsored by Northwestern University's Segal Design Institute. The conference recognizes the strength of design in the Chicago area, which hosts many national and local design firms, as well as being home to 4 major institutes teaching design. Additionally the conference recognizes the depth of work being done locally and internationally being done by Chicago's architectural community.
The conference will take the format of short presentations supported by a panel discussion. Design:Chicago is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Event URL: http://designchicago.northwestern.edu
For more information, contact:
Walter Herbst
walter@hlb.com
847-467-3375
Segal Design Institute
[Show detail]
Seminar by: Barry Smith, Georgia Institute of Technology
Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech Bldg Room M228
Topic: ROAR: Robust Operational Aircraft Routing
Speaker: Barry Smith
Abstract: Due to the complexity of the planning process, airlines generally do not fully account for crew scheduling, maintenance planning and operations while building their flight schedules. As a result, timetables are inefficient and sometimes infeasible with respect to these processes. We developed an intra-fleet swapper that generates aircraft routing solutions to better accommodate the needs of crew, maintenance and operations. These solutions can be further improved by swapping across fleets. We developed a fast origin-destination revenue management model to estimate the revenue impacts of capacity changes due to these inter-fleet swaps. The best set of swaps is found by solving a quadratic mixed integer program. The resulting solutions are more robust relative to crew, maintenance and operations as well as more profitable.
For more information, contact:
Gwen Hoffman
g-hoffman2@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-3576
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Swinney: Dynamical Systems Invariant Curves as Barriers...
Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech M416
Edward L. Reiss Memorial Lectures
Title: Dynamical Systems Invariant Curves as Barriers to Transport in Oceanic Flows
Speaker: Professor Harry Swinney, University of Texas
For more information, contact:
Danielle Jackson
danielle-jackson@northwestern.edu
847-491-5586
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
DoS Models and Counter-Measures
Wednesday May 7, 2008 at 11:00 AM — Tech Institute L324
Although there has been considerable progress in developing models and analysis techniques for the protection of confidentiality and integrity in network protocols, there has been less progress on models and analysis techniques for availability. A variety of approaches have been attempted to address Denial of Service (DoS) threats on the internet, but the problem is far from resolved, and existing techniques are not easy to model uniformly or compare rigorously. We will focous on a technique called selective verification that exploits the bandwidth limitations of adversaries as a DoS counter-measure and analyze its effectiveness using a shared channel model.
For more information, contact:
Lianna Wright
lwright@ccc.edu
847-491-7132
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
ChBE Seminar: M.Thackeray, Argonne National Laboratory
Thursday May 8, 2008 at 9:00 AM — Tech LR4
The Evolving Lithium Battery Economy - A Personal Perspective
Dr. Michael Thackeray
Argonne National Laboratory
Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 9:00 AM
The Technological Institute, Lecture Room 4
2145 Sheridan Road
Refreshments will be served at 8:45 AM
Event URL: http://www.chem-biol-eng.northwestern.edu/news/seminars/
For more information, contact:
Allison Sillers
a-strick@northwestern.edu
847-491-2773
Chemical & Biological Engineering Colloquia
[Show detail]
Mechanical Engineering Seminar: Prof. Eiji Osawa, Shinshu Univ, Japan
Thursday May 8, 2008 at 11:00 AM — 2133 Sheridan Rd. Ford Bldg, ITW auditorium, Rm 1.350
Recent Progress in the R&D of Single-Nano Diamond Particles
Abstract: In the past 40+ years, R&D in detonation nanodiamond has long suffered from the persistent covalent aggregation among primary particles. Although the nature of this tight assembly has not yet been thoroughly understood, it is most likely that, as in all other nanocarbons including soot (carbon black) and carbon nanohorn formed by the bottom-up processes, primary particles of nanodiamond were glued to each other through C-C bonding as they are formed under high-temperature high-pressure conditions to form secondary particles of 60-200 nm in size. It was impossible to disintegrate the covalent aggregates since its discovery in 1963 until 2002, when we applied wet stirred-media milling with zirconia beads to disintegrate them by brute force. The resulting colloid is diaphanous, although pitch black in high concentration, but surprisingly stable. Dried residue from the milled colloid is van der Waals aggregates of primary particles, and can be re-dispersed quickly in water and a few organic solvents by sonication to form stable colloidal solution which is transparent and forms no precipitates after long-standing.
Dispersed single-nano diamond (DSND) particles, as we temporarily call them, have a narrow size-distribution of 4.6±0.7nm irrespective of its origin and methods of determination. They behave distinctly different from the previously commercialized covalent aggregates (under the name of Ultradispersed Diamond) and exhibit long-dreamed size-dependent behavior of semi-quantum particles, a new breed in science and technology. Here we report some of our recent results obtained during preliminary scanning of the applicative possibilities of DSND particles.
For more information, contact:
Arlene Preus
a-preus@northwestern.edu
847 293-7417
McCormick - Mechanical Engineering
[Show detail]
Mornings @ McCormick: "Self-Assembly and Applications of Nanostructured Materials"
Friday May 9, 2008 at 7:30 AM — McCormick School of Eng., 2145 Sheridan, JBC Commons, 4th Floor, Evanston
Mornings @ McCormick: "Self-Assembly and Applications of Nanostructured Materials" presented by Professor Bartosz Grzybowski, McCormick's Chemical and Biological Engineering Department.
Self-assembly of nanoscopic components into higher-order architectures defines the forefront of
fundamental nanoscience research and is important for the development of new materials with
potential applications in optoelectronics, high-density data storage, catalysis, and biological
sensing.
This presentation will focus on how electrostatic and photoinduced dipole-dipole forces acting
between nanoscale components can mediate their self-assembly into fundamentally new types of
functional materials with applications in electronics (photoactive materials), metallurgy (“plastic
metals”), data storage (self-erasing “nanopaper”) and biomedical coatings (antibacterial and
antifungal)
Event URL: http://www.industry.northwestern.edu/mornings
For more information, contact:
Debra Daniel
d-daniel@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-8670
McCormick Office of Corporate Relations
[Show detail]
Environmental Engineering & Science Seminars
Friday May 9, 2008 at 2:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Rd./ A230
Professor Chris Wolverton from the department of Material Sciences & Engineering here at Northwestern will present his talk entitled "Discovery of Novel Hydrogen Storage Materials:An Atomic-Scale Computational Approach."
For more information, contact:
Neal Blair
n-blair@northwestern.edu
847-491-8790
McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering
[Show detail]
Hosoi: Optimizing Low Reynolds Number Locomotion
Friday May 9, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Tech M416
Applied Math Colloquium
Title: Optimizing Low Reynolds Number Locomotion
Speaker: Anette (Peko) Hosoi, MIT
Abstract: In this talk I will discuss two optimization topics related to low Reynolds number locomotion: optimal stroke patterns in linked swimmers and optimal fluid material properties in adhesive locomotion. In the first case, we begin by optimizing stroke patterns for Purcell's 3-link swimmer modeled as a jointed chain of three slender links moving in an inertialess flow. We then go on to investigate uniflagellate and biflagellate organisms and compare the
optimized results to biological data. In the second case, we analyze adhesive locomotion used by common gastropods such as snails and slugs. Such organisms crawl on a solid substrate by propagating muscular waves of shear stress on a viscoelastic mucus. Using a simple mechanical model, we derive criteria for favorable fluid material properties to lower the energetic cost of locomotion.
For more information, contact:
Danielle Jackson
danielle-jackson@northwestern.edu
847-491-5586
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
EECS "Meet the Faculty" SEMINAR: "Thermal-Aware Design Automation"
Friday May 9, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Technological Institute - Room L324
EECS "Meet the Faculty" Seminar
Dr. Seda Ogrenci Memik, Assistant Professor
Computer Engineering & Systems Division
Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
"Thermal-Aware Design Automation"
Steady miniaturization and large-scale integration lead to increasing power densities. As a result, on-chip temperatures are rising steadily as technology is scaling down. Making matters worse, power management techniques such as clock gating, voltage islands, and power gating may lead to drastic temporal and spatial variations of chip temperatures. As a result, temperature has become one of the most important challenges in design of integrated circuits.
Seda Ogrenci Memik's research group attacks the problem of thermal-aware design along three avenues. First, they tackle the problem at design time. They develop thermal-aware synthesis algorithms and tools for embedded processor design. For various stages of hardware/software co-synthesis, they aim to enable effective control of peak temperature and uniform thermal profiles. Particularly, they focus on incorporating thermal-awareness into synthesis (such as resource selection, allocation, and assignment, task scheduling, and memory allocation), and system management (such as DRAM system control). Second, they develop a self-adjusting paradigm to design structures with inherent resilience towards dynamic effects of temperature. Finally, they approach the problem from the management perspective. They developed a systematic approach to design of thermal monitoring infrastructures for microprocessors systems. This entails, design of thermal sensing schemes and allocation and placement of thermal sensors in a given system.
Event URL: http://www.eecs.northwestern.edu/events/
For more information, contact:
Brooke Hildebrand
brooke@eecs.northwestern.edu
847-491-3451
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
Attracting and Retaining Under-Represented Groups at Northwestern
Monday May 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM — Tech Institute, Room L324, 2145 Sheridan Road
Female Researchers in EECS [FREECS] host a day with Jane Margolis and Allan FisherThis first event of the day features Allan Fisher (Carnegie Mellon), Jane Margolis (UCLA), Larry Henschen (NU, EECS), Bryna Kra (NU,Math), Penny Warren(NU, Associate Dean, The Graduate School). Panel discussion about the steps that Northwestern is taking and can take to increase participation by all under-represented groups in science and engineering. Jane and Allan will participate along with leaders from across Northwestern. If you would like to attend the panel, please rsvp to Kate Lockwood by Monday, May 5 so that we can plan for the catered lunch. Allan Fisher, then Associate Dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science and Jane Margolis, a social Scientist who won the Nico Habermann award in 2005, are the coauthors of the celebrated volume “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing” which describes the steps they took to turn around the enrollment of undergraduate women in the computing fields at CMU (increasing enrollment of undergraduate women from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 2000) – steps which have become the basis for programs around the country in computing and other fields.
Jane is also the author of the brand new volume “Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing” which describes her work with high school students in the LA public school system. Allan and Jane are both board members of the National Center for Women in Technology.Other events are at 4:00 p.m. in Francis Searle, room 1-4210 and at 7:30 p.m. in Cohen Commons (4th floor, L-wing of the Tech Institute). Look for details in the Calendar.
Event URL: http://articulab.northwestern.edu/freecs/events.html
For more information, contact:
Kate Lockwood
kate@cs.northwestern.edu
847-727-9594
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
FASTFORWARD FOR EFFICIENT PIPELINE PARALLELISM
Monday May 12, 2008 at 1:00 PM — Ford Engineering Center Room 3-340
The industry wide shift to parallel architectures is a serious problem for sequential applications. This is because, application developers could rely on increases in transistor count and fabrication technology to increase performance without the need for parallel algorithm designs. The question today is, "how do we continue to increase the performance of sequential applications on parallel platforms?" We believe that fine-grain thread level parallelism (TLP) is a viable approach for many applications on general-purpose multicore/multiprocessor machines given: 1) a low overhead software-only core-to-core communication primitive, and 2) the ability to control timing jitter between threads.
For more information, contact:
lianna wright
lianna-w@northwestern.edu
847-491-7132
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
FASTFORWARD FOR EFFICIENT PIPELINE PARALLELISM
Monday May 12, 2008 at 1:00 PM — Ford Engineering Center Room 3-340
The industry wide shift to parallel architectures is a serious problem for sequential applications. This is because, application developers could rely on increases in transistor count and fabrication technology to increase performance without the need for parallel algorithm designs. The question today is, "how do we continue to increase the performance of sequential applications on parallel platforms?" We believe that fine-grain thread level parallelism (TLP) is a viable approach for many applications on general-purpose multicore/multiprocessor machines given: 1) a low overhead software-only core-to-core communication primitive, and 2) the ability to control timing jitter between threads.
For more information, contact:
lianna wright
lianna-w@northwestern.edu
847-491-7132
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
What in the World is Going on at the STB" - Wm. Sippel of Fletcher & Sippel LLC
Monday May 12, 2008 at 3:00 PM — Jacobs Center, Room G40 - 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL
Attorney Bill Sippel will discuss the different approaches that the Surface Transportation Board seems to be taking in relation to the regulation of the nation's railraods - which many believe is more pro-regulatory than previously. Over the past several years, the Board has revised how it calculates the railroads’ cost of capital, prescribed new requirements for how railroads calculate fuel surcharges, looked at “paper barriers” (“rail interchange commitments” as the Board refers to them), looked at just what constitutes a rail transportation “contract”, and will shortly hold a 2-day public hearing to examine issues related to the railroads’ common carrier obligation. The Board also recently turned down a shortline transaction with a Class I. Does this mean that the era of creating new shortlines is coming to an end?”
The questions the Board is asking and the direction the Board may be going will have a profound effect on the rail industry, shippers and rail labor. Are we looking at a new way of doing things? Or, does your view of where we may be headed depend on whether you are a railroad, a shipper, or a rail employee?
BIO: Bill Sippel has over 31 years of experience advising and representing clients in a wide range of railroad regulatory matters before federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Illinois Commerce Commission. He specializes in dealing with issues relating to rail line sales and acquisitions, line abandonments, line constructions, rail mergers and consolidations, and issues relating to competition and common carriage. He has been involved in virtually every major rail merger over the past 25 years.
Event URL: http://transportation.northwestern.edu/sandhouse/
For more information, contact:
Diana Marek
d-marek@northwestern.edu
847-491-2280
Transportation Center - Sandhouse Gang
[Show detail]
Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in Computing
Monday May 12, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Francis Searle 1-421
Female Researchers in EECS [FREECS] host a day with Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher. This is the second event featuring Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher. Reception following the talk.
Event URL: http://articulab.northwestern.edu/freecs/events.html
For more information, contact:
Kate Lockwood
kate@cs.northwestern.edu
847-727-9594
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
Dinner and discussion with Jane Margolis, Allan Fisher, and graduate students across McCormick
Monday May 12, 2008 at 7:30 PM — Tech Institute Cohen Commons (4th Flr, L-Wing), 2145 Sheridan Road
In case you haven’t heard about Jane and Allan, Allan Fisher, then Associate Dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science and Jane Margolis, a social Scientist who won the Nico Habermann award in 2005, are the coauthors of the celebrated volume “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing” which describes the steps they took to turn around the enrollment of undergraduate women in the computing fields at CMU (increasing enrollment of undergraduate women from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 2000) – steps which have become the basis for programs around the country in computing and other fields.
Jane is also the author of the brand new volume “Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing” which describes her work with high school students in the LA public school system. Allan and Jane are both board members of the National Center for Women in Technology.
Event URL: http://articulab.northwestern.edu/freecs/events.html
For more information, contact:
Kate Lockwood
kate@cs.northwestern.edu
847-727-9594
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
Brown Bag Session by: Prof. Iravani
Tuesday May 13, 2008 at 12:40 PM — Tech Bldg Room C211
Industrial Brown Bag
For more information, contact:
Yao Cheng
yaocheng2009@u.northwestern.edu
(847) 491-4394
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Seminar by: Marshall Fisher, University of Pennsylvania
Tuesday May 13, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech Bldg Room M228
Topic: Retail Assortment Optimization
Speaker: Marshall Fisher
Abstract: We consider the problem of choosing, from a set of N potential SKUs in a retail category, K SKUs to be carried at each store so as to maximize sales or a defined profit function.
Assortments can vary by store, subject to a maximum number of different assortments.
We describe an approach in which we view a SKU as a set of attribute values, use sales history of the SKUs currently carried by the retailer to estimate the demand for attribute values and from this, the demand for any potential SKU, including those not currently carried by the retailer. We also introduce a model of substitution behavior, estimate the parameters of this model and consider the impact of substitution in choosing assortments.
We use maximum likelihood estimation to fit the parameters of our model and describe several alternative heuristics for choosing SKUs. We describe application of this approach to optimize assortments for tow real examples, tires and snack foods, which produced sales lifts of 52% and 48% respectively. This is joint work with Ramnath Vaidyanathan, a PhD student in Operations and Information Management at Wharton.
For more information, contact:
Gwen Hoffman
g-hoffman2@northwestern.edu
(847) 491-3576
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Nanotechnology Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday May 13, 2008 at 5:30 PM — Pancoe Abbott Auditorium
Guest Speaker: Professor Fraser Stoddart
Professor Stoddart is a pioneer in the fields of nanoscience and organic chemistry and recently joined the Northwestern University faculty as the Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry and Director of the new Center for Chemistry in Integrated Systems. A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, Stoddart was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a Knight Bachelor in her 2007 New Year's Honors List for his services to chemistry and molecular nanotechnology.
Discussion Moderator: Dr. Stuart Ray Sarbacker
Director of Undergraduate Studies and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religion.
Town Hall Meetings Series
Nanotechnology has been heralded as having the potential to lead to the next industrial revolution. But, what is nanotechnology? What are the possible applications and how might it impact our world?
The Town Hall meetings series include an informative lecture by world-renown scientists and engineers, followed by your questions. The goal of these meetings is to provide an opportunity for the community to learn the fundamentals about nanotechnology and to explore the larger questions about the smallest technology. We invite you to join us! Sponsored by the International Institute for Nanotechnology and the Northwestern University Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center and Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.
Event URL: http://www.nsec.northwestern.edu/townhalls.htm
For more information, contact:
Denise Dooley
nanotechnology@northwestern.edu
847-467-4862
International Institute for Nanotechnology
[Show detail]
National Medal of Science Symposium
Wednesday May 14, 2008 at 8:00 AM — James Allen Center
The National Medal of Science Symposium celebrates the accomplishments of two Northwestern University faculty members, Professor Jan Achenbach and Professor Tobin Marks, who were awarded the National Medal of Science by President George W. Bush at the White House in July 2007. Achenbach and Marks are Northwestern’s first two National Medal of Science medalists.
The National Medal of Science Symposium is free and open to the public, but online registration is required.
Event URL: http://www.nmss.northwestern.edu
For more information, contact:
Carol Berry
cberry@northwestern.edu
847-491-3195
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Scienc
[Show detail]
Hilliard Symposium
Thursday May 15, 2008 at 8:30 AM — Mc Cormick Tribune Center
Keynote Speaker Professor Christopher Schuh of MIT and several Materials Science and Engineering PhD Students presenting research talks.
For more information, contact:
Peggy Adamson
p-adamson@northwestern.edu
847 491 3587
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
[Show detail]
ChBE Seminar: O.Yaghi, UCLA
Thursday May 15, 2008 at 9:00 AM — Tech LR4
Molecular fuel tanks
Professor Omar Yaghi
University of California, Los Angeles
Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 9:00 AM
The Technological Institute, Lecture Room 4
2145 Sheridan Road
Refreshments will be served at 8:45 AM
Event URL: http://www.chem-biol-eng.northwestern.edu/news/seminars/
For more information, contact:
Allison Sillers
a-strick@northwestern.edu
847-491-2773
Chemical & Biological Engineering Colloquia
[Show detail]
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Colloquia, Speaker Prof. Wei Cai, Stanford
Thursday May 15, 2008 at 10:00 AM — 2133 Sheridan Rd., Ford Building, ITW Auditorium, Rm 1.350
Surface Controlled Dislocation Multiplication in
Metal Micro-pillars,
Wei Cai and Christopher R. Weinberger
Abstract: Understanding plasticity and strength of crystalline materials in terms of the dynamics of microscopic defects has been a goal of materials research in the last seventy years. The size-dependent yield stress observed in recent experiments of sub-micrometer metallic pillars provides a unique opportunity to test our theoretical models, allowing the predictions from defect dynamics simulations to be directly compared with mechanical strength measurements.
While easy escape of dislocations from sub-micrometer pillars is expected and provides a plausible explanation of the observed size-effect, we predict the opposite to be true in body-centered-cubic (BCC) pillars through a series of Molecular Dynamics and Dislocation Dynamics simulations. Under the combined effects from the image stress and the atomistic core, a dislocation nucleated from the surface of a BCC pillar generates one or more dislocations moving in the opposite direction before it exits from the surface. The process is repeatable so that a single nucleation event is able to produce a much larger amount of plastic deformation than that in face-centered-cubic (FCC) pillars. This self-replication mechanism calls for a different explanation of the size-dependence of yield stress in FCC and BCC pillars.
For more information, contact:
Arlene Preus
a-preus@northwestern.edu
847 467-6510
McCormick - Mechanical Engineering
[Show detail]
BME Seminar: William Murphy, University of Wisconsin. "Bio-inspired Assembly of Functional Materials
Thursday May 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech M345
Control over the molecules that cells encounter in their local environment is a common theme in natural tissue development. Similarly, schemes to mimic development and “engineer” functional tissues are likely to benefit from control over the cell’s local signaling environment. This concept is particularly important in stem cell-based applications, in which local signaling can direct cell fate. We are interested in assembling biomaterials that are capable of actively communicating with stem cells. To achieve cell-material interaction, we use specific, reversible interactions to build biomaterials with new capabilities, including bio-responsiveness and regulated soluble signaling. Approaches highlighted in this talk will include non-covalent assembly of biomolecules (e.g. proteins, DNA) on engineered surfaces and within synthetic hydrogels.
Event URL: http://www.bme.northwestern.edu
For more information, contact:
Virginia Lorenzo
v-lorenzo@northwestern.edu
847-491-5635
McCormick - Biomedical Engineering Department
[Show detail]
SWE Spring Banquet
Thursday May 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM — Hilton Garden Inn
Please Join The Society of Women Engineers for an evening of dinner, entertainment, awards/ scholarships, and speakers.
For more information, contact:
Lindsay Janes
l-janes@u.northwestern.edu
240.475.0772
Society of Women Engineers
[Show detail]
CCSS Seminar Presentation
Friday May 16, 2008 at 12:00 PM — Ryan Hall/Nano Bldg. ,Room 4003
Date/Time: Friday, May 16, 2008, 12 noon
Guest Speaker: Chelsey Baertsch, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University
Title: "Ethanol oxidation over metal oxide catalysts: Mechanism fundamentals and applications for catalytic gas sensors"
Location: Ryan Hall, Room 4003
Host: Prof. Linda. Broadbelt, Chemical & Biol. Engrg.
Event URL: http://www.northwestern.edu/catalysis/calendar.html
For more information, contact:
Jasmine N. Tucker
j-tucker4@northwestern.edu
847-491-4354
Center for Catalysis and Surface Science
[Show detail]
CBB Student Presentations - Omar Akbik & Cheryl Lee
Friday May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Cook Hall, room 3118 A&B, 2220 Campus Drive
CBB Student Presentations
Independent Component Analysis of fMRI Acupuncture with attention to Auditory and Visual Cortex - Omar Akbik
Research Advisors:
Todd Parrish, Department of Radiology
JiPing Wang, Department of Statistics
Direct-to-Consumer Personal Genome Service: A review of its nature, availability and public perception - Cheryl Lee
Research Advisor:
Simon Lin, Feinberg School of Medicine
For more information, contact:
Suzana Han
suzana@northwestern.edu
847-467-1972
McCormick - Computational Biology and Bioinformati
[Show detail]
Environmental Engineering & Science Seminars
Friday May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Rd. /A230
Mr. Brian Staley of North Carolina State University will present his talk entitled"The Effect of Microbial Community Structure & Spaital Heterogeneity on Methanogensis Initation in Refuse."
For more information, contact:
Neal Blair
n-blair@northwestern.edu
847-491-8790
McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering
[Show detail]
Salac: Fast Marching Methods: Time Advancement and...
Friday May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Tech M416
Applied Math Colloquium
Title: Fast Marching Methods: Time Advancement and Non-Graded Cartesian Grids
Speaker: David Salac, Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University
Abstract: Previous implementations of the fast marching method for
level sets have been limited to the reinitialization and
velocity extension procedures. Here the fast marching
method is adapted for use as a
time-advancement scheme. The scheme avoids the time-step
restrictions of standard PDE-based level set advancement
and is capable of modeling
interface velocities which contain a sign change.
Unlike other unconditionally-stable time-advancement
methods, such as the semi-implicit
level set method, it is not necessary to solve a
non-linear set of implicit equations.
This fast marching method scheme
will also be demonstrated for use on non-graded
Cartesian grids with adaptive remeshing.
We use quadtree data structures and an automated
meshing algorithm to describe general shapes in two dimensions.
Combining the fast marching method with non-graded
Cartesian grids results in a scheme which is
both fast and memory efficient. This will
allow for the investigation of material systems which
would be difficult using other methods.
This talk is part of the ESAM RTG seminar series.
For more information, contact:
Alvin Bayliss
a-bayliss@northwestern.edu
847-491-7221
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
2008 NICO Complexity Conference
Monday May 19, 2008 at 8:30 AM — Allen Center
AM Leg - "Connecting the Nets: Network Evolution" will feature the following:
Neo Martinez (PEaCE Lab)- "Dynamics and Robustness in Complex Network: How Does Nature Keep it Together and How Does it Fall Apart?"
Neil Johnson (U of Miami)- Complex Laws for Next-Generation Wars: from Iraq and Global Terrorism, to Street Gangs and Online Guilds"
Michelle Girvan (U of Maryland)- “Modularity: Mechanisms and Measurements”
PM Leg - "Outbreaks" will include:
James Fowler (UC San Diego)- “The Dynamic Spread of Happiness in a Large Social Network”
Alex Vespignani - “The Impact of Mobility Networks on the Worldwide Spread of Epidemics”
Vittoria Colizza - “Do the Rich Really Take it All?
A Student Poster Board presentation will close the day's activities. Please e-mail for entry information.
Event URL: http://www.northwestern.edu/nico/complexity-conference/
For more information, contact:
Tanya Stanfield
complexity-conference@northwestern.edu
847-467-1348
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
[Show detail]
EECS SEMINAR: "Development of a High Power Sum-Frequency Sodium Laser for ‘Laser Guide Star’ Appl.
Monday May 19, 2008 at 11:00 AM — Technological Institute - Room L324
EECS Seminar
Dr. Renu Tripathi
Palomar Observatory at Caltech
“Development of a High Power Sum-Frequency Sodium Laser for ‘Laser Guide Star’ Application”
Adaptive optics (AO) systems require a reference source in order to correct for the atmospheric distortion of light. Sufficiently bright stars are not available in all parts of the sky, which limits the usefulness of natural guide star adaptive optics. However, one can create an artificial guide star by shining a laser into the atmosphere. Lasers that can excite the D2 line in sodium (Na) atoms present in the mesosphere (about 50 km to 80-90 km altitude above Earth's surface) are of significant interest to the astronomical scientific community. The return signal received from backscattering serves as an artificial bright star. When imaged through a ground-based telescope onto a wavefront sensor, this provides a dynamic map of the atmospheric distortion or turbulence. This information is then used to adaptively correct the phase errors through feedback onto deformable mirrors used in the telescope to significantly improve their resolution.
During the talk, I will discuss my efforts to develop a high power sum-frequency sodium laser system based on sum-frequency mixing of two (1064 nm and 1319 nm) diode-pumped, pulsed and mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers. I will describe my continued effort in improving the system to obtain higher average optical power by virtue of better cavity design, efficient mode-locking and nonlinear wave-mixing. Currently, the laser operates with an average power of 8W at 500 Hz repetition rate and with 10% duty cycle. I will show the critical component development in the laser system and briefly discuss the projection from the launch telescope, laser beam quality and the photon number density in the return signal. I will also show some early results obtained using the table-top laser system operating in conjunction with the adaptive optics (AO) system at the Caltech’s Palomar observator
Event URL: http://www.eecs.northwestern.edu/events/
For more information, contact:
Brooke Hildebrand
brooke@eecs.northwestern.edu
847-491-3451
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
[Show detail]
Rinzel: Dynamics of perceptual bistability
Monday May 19, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech M416
Applied Math Colloquium
Title: Dynamics of perceptual bistability
Speaker: J. Rinzel, New York University (Courant Institute)
Abstract: When visualizing an ambiguous scene (such as the Necker cube) one may perceive ongoing random alternations between the possible interpretations. Dynamical models implement competition as reciprocal inhibition between neuronal populations; dominance alternates - while slow negative feedback, adaptation, sets the basic time scale (seconds) for switching. When adaptation is strong enough it overcomes dominance and alternations occur intrinsically and periodically; noise perturbs the regularity. In a different framework, attractor-based dynamics, adaptation is weak and switches are induced by noise operating on a bistable system. We find that statistics of the observed alternations provide constraints that favor an operating range near the transition zone between the parameter regimes for the two mechanisms. In some paradigms one can manipulate stimulus cues to bias the competition away from equal dominance. We have proposed that the percent of time dominant is a measure for the likelihood of valid interpretation of the scene.
For more information, contact:
Beth Siculan
b-siculan@northwestern.edu
847-491-3345
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
2008 NICO Complexity Conference
Tuesday May 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM — Allen Center - Tribune Auditorium
Final leg of the conference called "Webs of Collaboration" will include the following:
Pierre Azoulay (MIT) - "Superstar Extinction"
Waverly Ding (UC Berkely) - "Network and Academic Entrepreneurship in the U.S."
Gueorgi Kossinetts (Cornell) - “The Structure and Dynamics of Social Communication Networks”
Event URL: http://www.northwestern.edu/nico/complexity-conference/
For more information, contact:
Tanya Stanfield
complexity-conference@northwestern.edu
847-467-1348
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
[Show detail]
Brown Bag Session by: Prof. White
Tuesday May 20, 2008 at 12:40 PM — Tech Bldg Room C211
Industrial Engineering Brown Bag
Speaker: Prof. William White
For more information, contact:
Yao Cheng
yaocheng2009@u.northwestern.edu
(847) 491-4394
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Hands-on Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling Using NetLogo
Wednesday May 21, 2008 at 8:00 AM — Chambers Hall, Lower Level Classroom
Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a powerful technique that allows a new look into complex systems and situations. ABM has been used to create robust simulations of social and natural phenomena in areas as diverse as engineering, political science, biology, business processes, materials science, evolution, public health, and anthropology. The agents used in ABM are autonomous entities with properties and behaviors, thus they have a close relationship to real world objects and are easy to develop and analyze. This workshop will utilize a hands-on approach to learning ABM using NetLogo. NetLogo is a free, widely-used ABM development environment created by long-time NICO member, Uri Wilensky who also directs the Center for Connected Learning (CCL) and Computer-Based Modeling. The workshop will start out with a discussion of ABM concepts, techniques and examples. After that workshop participants will be led through the development of a set of models that start from a seed model and build in complexity to create a highly generalizable and useful end model.
The workshop will be run by NICO Post Doc Bill Rand, who will be professor of Marketing, Decision & Information Technology and Computer Science at the University of Maryland starting in Fall 2008.
Interested parties should send an e-mail including their name, affiliation, contact information, and e-mail address, to complex@northwestern.edu.
Event URL: http://www.northwestern.edu/nico/complexity-conference/
For more information, contact:
Tanya Stanfield
complex@northwestern.edu
847-467-1348
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
[Show detail]
Sketching Workshop and Pictionary
Wednesday May 21, 2008 at 6:30 PM — FORD Classrooms - main floor
On Wednesday, May 21st at 6:30pm in the EDC Classrooms, there will be a short sketching workshop provided by Steven Ward - one of the current Intro to Industrial Design professors - followed by a game of Pictionary. We will raffle off a sketch book to one attendee and the winning team at Pictionary will receive a small prize for their success. This event is part of McCormicks Engineering Week, hosted by the MSAB. It will be tons of fun so please come!!!
For more information, contact:
Liz Abrahamson
eaa@u.northwestern.edu
301-996-1601
Segal Design Institute
[Show detail]
ChBE Student Seminars: A.Czyzewski & R.Sillers, Northwestern University
Thursday May 22, 2008 at 9:00 AM — Tech LR4
Title TBA
Ann Czyzewski
Northwestern University
Title TBA
Ryan Sillers
Northwestern University
Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 9:00 AM
The Technological Institute, Lecture Room 4
2145 Sheridan Road
Refreshments will be served at 8:45 AM
Event URL: http://www.chem-biol-eng.northwestern.edu/news/seminars/
For more information, contact:
Allison Sillers
a-strick@northwestern.edu
847-491-2773
Chemical & Biological Engineering Colloquia
[Show detail]
CBB Seminar: Synchronized firing and visual signaling in the primate retina - E. J. Chichilnisky
Friday May 23, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Cook Hall, room 3118 A&B, 2220 Campus Drive
CBB Seminar:
Synchronized firing and visual signaling in the primate retina
E. J. Chichilnisky - Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Associate Professor - Systems Neurobiology Laboratories
Abstract:
Synchronized firing has been hypothesized to play a role in the function of many neural circuits. In the retina, synchronized firing has been observed in several species, but its impact on visual signals remains unclear. First, no previous studies have examined synchronized firing in the retina of primates, the dominant model for human visual system function. Second, synchronized firing has been studied almost entirely on the basis of recordings from pairs of cells, but may occur at a much larger scale. Third, capturing the full structure of synchronized firing and its impact on visual processing presents substantial analytical challenges. As a consequence, the overall structure of synchronized firing and its impact on visual signals remains unclear. Using large-scale recordings from the primate retina in vitro, we have characterized the full structure of synchronized firing in populations of hundreds of retinal ganglion cells. Using two novel analysis methods, we find that the large-scale structure of synchronized firing can be explained
by simple interactions between neighboring cells in the network.
Further, accounting for this structure in decoding the retinal signal can yield up to 20% improvement in visual performance. Thus, synchronized firing in the primate retina may be understood with simple models and may represent a significant aspect of visual signaling to the brain.
For more information, contact:
Suzana Han
suzana@northwestern.edu
847-467-1972
McCormick - Computational Biology and Bioinformati
[Show detail]
Hansen: Singular Velocities Within a Low Reynolds Number...
Friday May 23, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Tech M416
Applied Math Colloquium
Title: Singular Velocities Within a Low Reynolds Number Fluid
Speaker: David Hansen, Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University
Abstract: Fluids in the Stokes (creeping) flow regime have been well-studied and are typically well-behaved.
Most of the time, their flow fields can be
represented by linear combinations of Stokes singularities
For problems described with spherical coordinates, these singularities involve decaying
radial velocities multiplying spherical harmonics.
Inspired by problems in
low-Reynolds number streaming flow, we study a case of an axisymmetric flow
above a plane, where seemingly benign boundary conditions on the plane
theoretically require logarithmically singular velocities along the axis of
symmetry. Such a flow would exhibit arbitrarily large velocity values, yet
still fulfill the conditions for Stokes flow. I will analyze this problem
using analytical and numerical methods and discuss its relation to
applications in microfluidics.
This talk is part of the RTG seminar series.
For more information, contact:
Alvin Bayliss
a-bayliss@northwestern.edu
847-491-7221
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
Brown Bag Session by: Prof. Klabjan
Tuesday May 27, 2008 at 12:40 PM — Tech Bldg Room M228
Industrial Engineering Brown Bag
Speaker: Prof. Klabjan
For more information, contact:
Yao Cheng
yaocheng2009@u.northwestern.edu
(847) 491-4394
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
Watson: Undercooled Herring Crystals Violate the Wulff...
Tuesday May 27, 2008 at 4:00 PM — Tech M416
Applied Math Colloquium
Title: Undercooled Herring Crystals Violate the Wulff Construction
Speaker: Professor Stephen J. Watson, Glasgow University
For more information, contact:
Edla D'Herckens
e-dherckens@northwestern.edu
847-491-5397
McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Appli
[Show detail]
Brown Bag Session by: Prof. Linetsky
Thursday May 29, 2008 at 12:40 PM — Tech Bldg Room C211
Industrial Engineering Brown Bag
Speaker: Prof. Linetsky
For more information, contact:
Yao Cheng
yaocheng2009@u.northwestern.edu
(847) 491-4394
Industrial Engineering/ Management Sciences
[Show detail]
CBB Student Presentations - Pamela Shaw & Kenji Wellman
Friday May 30, 2008 at 2:00 PM — Cook Hall, room 3118 A&B, 2220 Campus Drive
CBB Student Presentations
Pamela Shaw
Research Advisor:
Richard Longnecker, Department of Microbiology-Immunology
Kenji Wellman
Research Advisor:
Luis A. N. Amaral, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
For more information, contact:
Suzana Han
suzana@northwestern.edu
847-467-1972
McCormick - Computational Biology and Bioinformati
[Show detail]
Environmental Engineering & Science Seminars
Friday May 30, 2008 at 2:00 PM — 2145 Sheridan Rd. / A230
Ms. Luciana Zanella of Northwestern University will present her talk entitled "The Chemistry of a la Grande Jatte's fading color."
For more information, contact:
Neal Blair
n-blair@northwestern.edu
847-491-8790
McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering
[Show detail]
