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  • Mar
    26

    CS Colloquium - Ashwin Pananjady - "Statistics meets computation: Trade-offs between interpretability and flexibility"

    Department of Computer Science

    12:00 PM Room 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/339193711
    Meeting ID: 339 193 711

    Title:
    Statistics meets computation: Trade-offs between interpretability and flexibility

    Abstract

    Modeling and tractable computation form two fundamental but competing pillars of data science; indeed, fitting models to data is often computationally challenging in modern applications. At the same time, a "good" model is one that imposes the right kind of structure on the underlying data-generating process, and this involves trading off the competing objectives of interpretability and flexibility. With a focus on balancing these tensions, I present tractable methodological solutions for fitting flexible models in some canonical machine learning tasks.

    The bulk of the talk will focus on a class of “permutation-based" models, which present a flexible alternative to parametric modeling in a host of inference problems involving data generated by people. I introduce a set of algorithmic tools that handles structured missing data and breaks a conjectured computational barrier, demonstrating that carefully chosen non-parametric structure can significantly improve robustness to mis-specification while maintaining interpretability. To conclude the talk, I draw on this perspective to study modeling and computation in high-dimensional regression and reinforcement learning. A focus on exploiting structure in these contexts leads to novel algorithmic as well as statistical insight.

    Biography

    Ashwin Pananjady is a PhD student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California Berkeley, advised by Martin Wainwright and Thomas Courtade. His interests lie broadly in statistics, machine learning, information theory, and optimization, and include ranking and permutation estimation, high-dimensional statistics, and reinforcement learning. He is a recipient of the inaugural Lawrence Brown PhD student award from the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, an Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award from UC Berkeley, and the Governor's Gold Medal from IIT Madras.

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    TIME Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

    LOCATION Room 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Pam Villalovoz    pmv@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science

  • May
    29

    Bagel Thursday

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    9:00 AM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • May
    29

    Computer Science End of Year Awards

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    2:30 PM Cohen Commons, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION Cohen Commons, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Jun
    4

    CS Seminar: Reusing Deep Learning Models: Challenges and Directions in Software Engineering: An Update (George K. Thiruvathukal)

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    12:00 PM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Jun
    5

    Final Project Demos- Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing Class

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    9:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Jun
    15

    2024-2025 Commencement Ceremony

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Sunday, June 15, 2025

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

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Jun
    16

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM 2705 Ashland Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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    CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    16

    Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    2:00 PM 2705 Ashland Ave

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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    CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science