News & Events

Department Events & Announcements

Events

• Jan

  16

  CS/ME Seminar: Embodied Intelligence in Highly-capable Mesoscale Robots (Baxi Chong)

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

  3:00 PM ITW, Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center

  EVENT DETAILS

  Thursday / CS/ME Seminar
  January 16th / 3:00 PM
  Hybrid / Ford ITW

  Speaker
  Baxi Chong, Georgia Tech

  Talk Title
  Embodied Intelligence in Highly-capable Mesoscale Robots

  Abstract
  Mesoscale robots (1-10 cm in height, 0.01-2 kg in weight) offer unique advantages over their macro and micro counterparts, particularly their ability to navigate confined spaces while maintaining high mobility. Despite their potential, mesoscale robotics remains an underexplored area of research. In the first part of my talk, I will outline the challenges associated with mesoscale locomotion, such as terrain uncertainty and complex dynamics. To address these challenges, I will introduce the paradigms I developed in my prior work to study embodied intelligence (EI) at the mesoscale. Specifically, I will discuss how mechanical intelligence (MI) emerges from passive dynamics in reptile- and centipede-like robots, enabling novel capabilities such as guaranteed robustness, sand-swimming, and obstacle-aided locomotion. I will also present my research vision to integrate computational intelligence with MI, inspired by theories and algorithms from signal transmission, to further advance EI in mesoscale robots. In the second part of my talk, I will explore a co-design problem: how variations in morphology can enhance MI for specialized tasks such as burrowing, load-carrying, and climbing. Using tools from geometric mechanics, I will demonstrate how these insights can inform robot design. I will conclude by discussing the broader implications of mesoscale robotics, including advancing our understanding of evolutionary biology and enabling modular, reconfigurable robot systems for diverse real-world applications.

  Biography
  Dr. Baxi Chong is a postdoctoral fellow at the CRAB (Complex Rheology And Biomechanics) Lab in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech. His research focuses on locomotion with mechanical intelligence. Specifically, Dr. Chong studies a diversity of unconventional (e.g., multi-legged, elongated, or cable-driven) robots, and how/why their special body plans can introduce benefits to locomotion in specific environments. Dr. Chong contributed to over 10 research articles on high-impact journals such as Science, Science Robotics, PNAS, and IJRR. His scientific work has been featured in several media outlets, including BBC, Physics World, Forbes, and Nature Research Highlight. Besides the contribution to science, Dr. Chong’s research laid the theoretical foundation for a start-up company (Ground Control Robotics, Ltd) where he currently serves as the leader in the robophysics research team. Dr. Chong has been recently recognized by the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for his contribution in fundamental science and industry.

  Research/Interest Areas
  Robotics, biomechanics, geometric mechanics
  ---
  Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/94754754723?pwd=arUzeYm97ASgmPDuNl8FMbWoaXfcSc.1
  Panopto: https://northwestern.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=1aecbb8a-d8b7-4ba6-9983-b261012d3cac
  DEI Minute: tinyurl.com/cspac-dei-minute

  more less

  TIME Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

  LOCATION ITW, Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

• May

  29

  Bagel Thursday

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

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

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

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

  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)

• May

  29

  Computer Science End of Year Awards

  Department of Computer Science (CS)

  2:30 PM Cohen Commons, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Dear CS Community,
  You're warmly invited to the Computer Science Award Celebration on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Cohen Commons! Join us as we recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions of our CS community this year.

  Event Details:
  📅 Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025
  🕓 Time: 2:30-4PM
  📍 Location: Cohen Commons (Technological Institute)

  Light refreshments and cookies will be served, and all members of the CS department are welcome!

  Please RSVP by May 23rd so we can plan accordingly: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/2ba023053257473387bc29200e2587e7

  Register Now

  more less

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

  LOCATION Cohen Commons, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  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

  Wednesday / CS Seminar
  June 4th / 12:00 PM
  Hybrid / Mudd 3514

  Speaker: George K. Thiruvathukal

  Talk Title: Reusing Deep Learning Models: Challenges and Directions in Software Engineering: An Update

  Abstract: Deep neural networks (DNNs) achieve state-of-the-art performance in many areas, including computer vision, system configuration, and question-answering. However, DNNs are expensive to develop, both in intellectual effort (e.g., devising new architectures) and computational costs (e.g., training). Re-using DNNs is a promising direction to amortize costs within a company and across the computing industry. As with any new technology, however, there are many challenges in re-using DNNs. These challenges include both missing technical capabilities and missing engineering practices. We discusschallenges in current approaches to DNN re-use. We summarize studies of re-use failures across the spectrum of re-use techniques, including conceptual (e.g., re-using based on a research paper), adaptation (e.g., re-using by building on an existing implementation), and deployment (e.g., direct re-use on a new device). We outline possible advances that would improve each kind of re-use.

  In this update of my invited presentation at IEEE Services 2023 at the John Vincent Atanasoff Sypmposium on Modern Computing, I will include information about our work in progress on the use of Deep Learning and Pre-Trained Models (PTMs) in science and engineering applications and our efforts to conduct automated longitudinal analysis of same.

  Biography: https://gkt.sh/about/

  more less

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  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

  Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing has been working on some awesome projects this quarter, ranging from sensing plants to UV glasses that help you understand your screen time. We would love to invite everyone in the CS department to our poster and demo presentations.

  Where: Mudd 3rd floor Lobby (right in front of the elevator)
  When: June 5th, 9:30-10:50 am
  
  Here are the mid-term evaluation videos
  Harmful Wavelength Detection Glasses
  (really funny and fun to watch) Battery-Free Photosynthesis Sensors for Scalable, Real Time Plant Metabolism Sensing
  Biodegradable repackaging of Chips
  Brace yourself : Smart Knee Health Monitoring System
  From Textile to Motion: Electrohydraulic Actuators with Knitted Electrodes for Everyday Applications
  Adaptive Lighting Growth Environment for Plants

  more less

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

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  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

  2024-2025 Commencement Ceremony

  more less

  TIME Sunday, June 15, 2025

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  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

  McCormick School of Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.

  more less

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

  LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  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

  McCormick School of Engineering Undergraduate Convocation. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.

  more less

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

  LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

  ADD TO CALENDAR

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

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science