News & EventsDepartment Events & Announcements
Events
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Apr10
EVENT DETAILS
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In the US, unhealthy behaviors — such as sedentary lifestyle, overeating, substance use, and tobacco use — account for approximately 40% of the risk of premature deaths. While successful changes to these unhealthy behaviors can mitigate the risk of harm, behavior change is often difficult because of high self-management burden. Fortunately, mobile phones can reduce the burden of self-management because they can deliver the right intervention at the right time by using data-capture and computational capabilities of the phone.
Creating such just-in-time interventions, however, is a complex multi-disciplinary challenge. Mashfiqui Rabbi, postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, works in two areas of just-in-time interventions. First, he designs new therapeutic interventions that use fine-grained mobile data and AI. These therapeutic interventions use novel computational algorithms and mobile data to dynamically personalize interventions to the individual in ways that were previously unachievable (e.g., relating treatments to one’s daily routine). Second, he works on engagement interventions, where the goal is to keep people engaged in frequent self-report both to collect data to advance science in behavior change as well as to provide individual states that cannot yet be sensed. Engagement interventions are critical in mobile health because most people stop using health apps after only a few days. In his talk, “Computational Interventions for Behavior Change,” Rabbi will present one novel therapeutic intervention and one engagement intervention. MyBehavior is a novel therapeutic intervention that provides personalized and low-burden suggestions to improve physical activity and dietary intake. SARA is an engagement intervention that optimizes timely incentives to increase the self-reporting of substance use data from a youth population. After discussing MyBehavior and SARA, Rabbi will outline his future plans to make more effective therapeutic/engagement interventions and his long-term vision of creating behavior change interventions for mental health.
Mashfiqui Rabbi is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, where he works with Susan Murphy, professor of statistics and computer science. Prior to his postdoc, he earned a PhD in information science from Cornell University. For his thesis, he created the MyBehavior app, which is the first mobile recommender system to automatically generate personalized health feedback from mobile phone data. Rabbi’s work has been published in Ubicomp, Journal of Medical and Internet Research, and IEEE Pervasive Computing, and he has been featured in MIT Technology Review, New Scientist, The Economist, Mashable, and The New York Times. He has received several pilot grants from Cornell University, the University of Michigan, and Pennsylvania State University.TIME Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Brianna Mello brianna.mello@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science
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Dec11
EVENT DETAILS
lessThursday / CS Seminar
December 11 / 10:00 AM
In Person / Mudd 3514Speaker
Danli Luo, University of WashingtonTitle: Bridging Computation and Matter: Programming Intelligence into Physical Systems
Abstract:
Scientific discovery faces an asymmetry: machine learning models can predict thousands of novel materials in seconds, simulations can systematically explore vast design spaces, yet physical validation requires months of manual experimentation. While software is programmable and rapidly iterable, physical experimentation remains fragmented across specialized, infrastructure-heavy labs and tacit expertise. This gap raises a central question: how can physical experimentation match the programmability of software? My research addresses this by bridging computation and matter through programmable materials, fabrication systems, and laboratory infrastructure that introduce software-like adaptability into materials, biological processes, and experimental workflows. I pursue this vision through three interconnected research thrusts: materials that encode intelligent behaviors without electronics; fabrication platforms that harness biological growth as a controllable manufacturing process; and modular automation systems that transform experiments into self-optimizing workflows. In this talk, I will present systems ranging from self-burying seed carriers to mycelium-based bio-fabrication platforms to modular lab automation frameworks that learn from execution and optimize protocols in real time, illustrating a pathway toward democratizing experimental access, accelerating materials discovery, and bridging the programmability gap between software and physical reality.Bio: Danli Luo is a PhD candidate in Human-Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, with an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research reimagines scientific instrumentation by embedding programmability and physical intelligence directly into materials, biological processes, and experimental workflows. Drawing from human-computer interaction, robotics, and bio-inspired design, she develops materially intelligent instruments, adaptive fabrication platforms, and autonomous laboratory systems used by restoration ecologists, materials scientists, synthetic biologists, chefs, and educators. Her work has been published in Nature, Science Advances, RSC Advances, CHI, and UIST, featured on the cover of Nature, exhibited at the London Design Biennale, and licensed by Fortune 500 companies. Danli’s honors include MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, Heidelberg Laureate Forum Young Researcher, and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Honorable Mention.
TIME Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Dec13
EVENT DETAILS
lessThe ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 13 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.
TIME Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION Pick-Staiger Concert Hall map it
CONTACT Andi Joppie andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Jan5
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
January 5 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Ari HoltzmanTalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Monday, January 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Jan12
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
January 12 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Rana Hanocka, UChicagoTalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Monday, January 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Jan14
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS Seminar
January 14 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Heng Ji, UIUCTalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Jan28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Jan29
EVENT DETAILS
lessCS Community! Join us for our monthly free bagels and coffee while mingling with fellow faculty and students.
TIME Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb2
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
February 2 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
TBATalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Monday, February 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb25
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS Seminar
February 25 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
TBATalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom: TBA
Panopto: TBATIME Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Feb26
EVENT DETAILS
lessCS Community! Join us for our monthly free bagels and coffee while mingling with fellow faculty and students.
TIME Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)