News & Events

Department Events & Announcements

Events

• Feb

  21

  CS Seminar: Understanding Deep Learning Through Phenomena Discovery and Explanation (Yuan Cao)

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  Wednesday / CS Seminar
  February 21st / 12:00 PM
  In Person / Mudd 3514

  Speaker
  Yuan Cao, University of Hong Kong

  Talk Title
  Understanding Deep Learning Through Phenomena Discovery and Explanation

  Abstract
  Deep learning has achieved great success in many applications. However, the success of deep learning has not been well understood in theory. In this talk, I will discuss some recent efforts to bridge the gap between theory and practice through phenomenon discovery and explanation. In the first part of this talk, I will discuss the phenomenon of “benign overfitting” in deep learning, and present our recent results characterizing benign and harmful overfitting in training convolutional neural networks (CNNs). In the second part of the talk, I will discuss the recently discovered phenomenon on the generalization gap between Adam and stochastic gradient descent in image classification tasks. I will present an intuitive explanation for this generalization gap and provide a rigorous theoretical guarantee to support the explanation. Overall, this talk will provide insights into the “feature learning” procedure of neural networks, and how it is related to various interesting phenomena in deep learning.

  Biography
  Yuan Cao is an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and Department of Mathematics at the University of Hong Kong. Before joining HKU, he was a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA. He received his B.S. from Fudan University and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Yuan’s research interests include deep learning theory, non-convex optimization, and high-dimensional statistics. He has published research papers in top machine learning journals (JMLR, ML, TMLR) and conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, COLT, AAAI, IJCAI, etc), including a spotlight presentation in NeurIPS 2019, a long talk in ICML 2021, and an oral presentation in NeurIPS 2022.

  Research Interests/Area
  deep learning theory, non-convex optimization, high-dimensional statistics

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  TIME Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Aug

  14

  Undergraduate Quantum Summer School

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  All Day Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  Innovation in Quantum Pedagogy, Application, and its Relation to Culture (IQ-PARC), funded by the Department of Defense — National Defense Education Program, is extending an invitation to underrepresented students nationwide (including military-connected students) to participate in a summer school focused on quantum technologies, to be held at Northwestern University. Join us for presentations by faculty and industry partners introducing quantum technologies, cutting-edge research areas, and related job opportunities particularly in the areas of national security.

  This effort aims to foster an inclusive environment that encourages participation from all corners of the academic community. Successful applicants will receive up to $1,000 USD to cover travel and lodging expenses in Evanston, IL.

  Priority application deadline: May 15, 2024.

  Decisions will be sent by June 15, 2024.

  Register Now

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  TIME Wednesday, August 14, 2024

  LOCATION Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Dongyang Li    lidongyang@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Aug

  15

  Undergraduate Quantum Summer School

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  All Day Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  Innovation in Quantum Pedagogy, Application, and its Relation to Culture (IQ-PARC), funded by the Department of Defense — National Defense Education Program, is extending an invitation to underrepresented students nationwide (including military-connected students) to participate in a summer school focused on quantum technologies, to be held at Northwestern University. Join us for presentations by faculty and industry partners introducing quantum technologies, cutting-edge research areas, and related job opportunities particularly in the areas of national security.

  This effort aims to foster an inclusive environment that encourages participation from all corners of the academic community. Successful applicants will receive up to $1,000 USD to cover travel and lodging expenses in Evanston, IL.

  Priority application deadline: May 15, 2024.

  Decisions will be sent by June 15, 2024.

  Register Now

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  TIME Thursday, August 15, 2024

  LOCATION Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Dongyang Li    lidongyang@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Sep

  16

  Computer Science Incoming MS Placement Exam

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILS

  *Applicable to new MS students. Does not apply to BSMS and BAMS students.

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  TIME Monday, September 16, 2024

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT MS Student Help    ms-help@cs.northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Sep

  16

  Computer Science PhD Orientation

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

  8:00 AM Mudd Hall (Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library))3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

  EVENT DETAILS

  New Ph.D. students and CS-affiliated faculty, all CS-affiliated Ph.D. students are welcome to attend the Fall 2024 Ph.D. orientation. This full day orientation various panels to orient PhD affiliates with the department and get answers to questions about PhD life.

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  TIME Monday, September 16, 2024 at 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT PhD Student Help    phd-student-help@cs.northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Sep

  24

  Fall 2024 Classes Begin (No Northwestern Monday in Fall)

  University Academic Calendar

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILS

  Fall 2024 Classes Begin (No Northwestern Monday in Fall)

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  TIME Tuesday, September 24, 2024

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Sep

  25

  CS Seminar

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Sep

  30

  Last day to add a class or change a section for Fall (Last day for tuition adjustment related to enrollment changes (to or from full-time). No reductions are made to bills for dropped or swapped classes after this date)

  University Academic Calendar

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILS

  Last day to add a class or change a section for Fall (Last day for tuition adjustment related to enrollment changes (to or from full-time). No reductions are made to bills for dropped or swapped classes after this date)

  more less

  TIME Monday, September 30, 2024

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Sep

  30

  CS Seminar

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Monday, September 30, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Oct

  2

  CS Seminar

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• Oct

  7

  CS Seminar

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Monday, October 7, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)