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  • Jan
    28

    CAE Seminar- Differentiable Simulations and Interactive World Models for autonomous manipulation of deformable media- Krishna Kumar

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    Abstract: This talk introduces a framework for creating interactive, physically-realistic world models by merging advanced computer vision with differentiable physics simulations. Traditional approaches to building world models often force a trade-off between high visual fidelity and accurate physics. Our work bridges this gap by leveraging differentiable programming to build high-fidelity, interactive digital twins directly from real-world sensor data. We demonstrate how modern computer vision techniques, including Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and 3D Gaussian Splatting, can reconstruct detailed 3D scenes from sparse video inputs. The core of our methodology is the integration of these reconstructions with fully differentiable physics engines, such as the Differentiable Material Point Method (DiffMPM). This novel combination enables us to solve challenging inverse problems: by comparing simulated outcomes with real-world observations, we use gradient-based optimization to automatically infer latent physical properties, such as soil friction angles and material stiffness, directly from video. To overcome the computational demands of these physics solvers, we utilize Graph Neural Simulators (GNS) as a learned surrogate model that significantly accelerates simulation time. GNS represents physical systems as graphs of interacting particles, achieving speedups of over 100x compared to traditional methods while generalizing effectively to new scenarios. We also present a hybrid GNS-MPM approach that interleaves the learned simulator with the numerical solver to ensure long-term accuracy and conservation of physical laws. The practical applications of this framework are highlighted through several key examples in robotics and autonomy. We present a system for generating Dynamic Costmaps from drone footage, where real-time 3D reconstruction and GNS-powered weather simulations predict terrain changes to enable safer navigation for autonomous vehicles. We also apply these methods to critical challenges in lunar exploration, such as simulating rover-regolith interaction to mitigate operational hazards. Ultimately, this research paves the way toward interactive "X2Sim" systems that can generate complex physical simulations from natural language or video prompts, opening a new paradigm for the design, control, and optimization of autonomous systems.

    Bio: Dr. Krishna Kumar is a J. Neils Thompson Centennial Teaching Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a Core-Faculty at the Oden Institute of Computational Sciences. His research is at the intersection of AI/ML, numerical simulations, and robotics. He directs a $7M NSF-funded national ecosystem for AI integration in engineering and received an NSF CAREER Award in 2024. His research involves developing physical AI and control methods for autonomous manipulation of deformable materials and navigation in extreme environments. As an educator, he received the Dean's Outstanding Teaching Award and runs coding clubs for kids at Austin Public Libraries.

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    TIME Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    11

    Undergraduate Cocktail Reception

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    6:30 PM 1026 Davis St Upstairs

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

    LOCATION 1026 Davis St Upstairs   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    12

    CEE Graduation and Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM 1702 Chicago Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, June 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION 1702 Chicago Ave   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    14

    Spring 2026 Commencement

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Sunday, June 14, 2026

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Jun
    15

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

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    CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    15

    Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    2:00 PM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, June 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

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    CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    19

    Juneteenth - University Closed

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, June 19, 2026

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Jul
    3

    Independence Day (observed) - University Closed

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, July 3, 2026

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Sep
    16

    CEE Faculty Retreat

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    10:00 AM 1702 Chicago Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION 1702 Chicago Ave   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Sep
    16

    CEE Department BBQ

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    4:00 PM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Sep
    23

    Fall 2026 Classes Begin

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, September 23, 2026

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar