News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Apr30
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: A coarse-grained model of the primary visual cortex
Speaker: Kevin K. Lin, University of Arizona
Abstract: Biologically realistic models of cortical circuits are challenging to build and simulate due to the large numbers of neurons, their complex connectivity and interactions, and the many unknown parameters. Reduced, or coarse-grained, models are more tractable, but when carried too far reduced models may become hard to interpret. This talk concerns a coarse-graining strategy inspired by ideas from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics that aims to balance biological realism and computational efficiency. I will show
that our strategy, when applied to the primate primary visual cortex, can faithfully reproduce the response of cortical circuits to external stimuli.Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/95622380807
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TIME Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May7
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Jon Rubin, University of Pittsburgh
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May13
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: The Nature of Artificial Intelligence - Reiss Lecture
Speaker: Melanie Mitchell, Santa Fe Institute
Abstract: AI is all around us—recognizing faces in photos, transcribing speech, answering questions, writing essays, generating code, and much more. But rapidly improving AI is poised to play a much bigger role in all of our lives. In this lecture, I will describe how contemporary AI works, how “intelligent” it really is, and what our expectations—and concerns—about its near-term and long-term prospects should be.
Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97956443317
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TIME Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
LOCATION L211, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May14
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Six Principles For Evaluating Cognitive Capabilities in AI Models - Reiss Lecture
Speaker: Melanie Mitchell, Santa Fe Institute
Abstract: Modern AI systems have exceeded human performance on many benchmarks meant to evaluate general cognitive capacities. However, it is often the case that benchmark performance does a poor job of predicting general capacities in real-world settings. In this article I describe several issues related to evaluation that can cause this mismatch, and propose six principles, inspired by developmental and comparative psychology, that need to be adopted to enable rigorous evaluation for AI systems. These principles are illustrated by case studies from the psychology and AI literature.
Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96257055494
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TIME Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May21
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Robert Hunt, University of Chicago
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Dashun Wang, Northwestern University
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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To subscribe to the Applied Mathematics Colloquia List send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU with the command:
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TIME Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Jun4
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Neil Ribe, Université Paris-Saclay
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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To subscribe to the Applied Mathematics Colloquia List send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU with the command:
SUBSCRIBE esam-seminar FirstName LastName
TIME Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)