News & EventsDepartment Events & Announcements
Events
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Oct1
EVENT DETAILS
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New this quarter
Lunch will be served at 11:30. We warmly encourage you to arrive then and enjoy the food and conversation with colleagues before the talk.---
Wednesday / CS Seminar
October 1st / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Lane Gunderman, University of Illinois at ChicagoTalk Title
Designing Quantum Codes using Physics ConstraintsAbstract
Quantum computers are widely believed to enable massive computational speedups for certain tasks. The downside to quantum computers, due to their very nature, is that they require having reliable information that is extremely susceptible to noise. For this reason quantum error-correction is expected to be needed to perform reliable computations. In this talk I will discuss my work in improving the quality of error-correction through two different approaches. Firstly designing around different platform's qubit characteristics, such as mobility. Secondly, as many qubit devices are a simplification of the physics underlying these systems, I have developed methods for generating quantum error-correcting codes which are perhaps more suitable for these systems and can better leverage the true dynamics of the system.Biography
Lane is originally from Chicago (or Evanston depending on the year). He obtained Bachelor degrees in physics and math from MIT, then obtained his PhD from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo in Canada in the Fall of 2022. He then worked at Xanadu Quantum Technologies for about a year, then joined HRL for half a year, before joining UIC's ECE department, in the Fall of 2024.TIME Wednesday, October 1, 2025 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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Jul20
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessWe invite you to register for our upcoming Workshop on Advancing Theory, Research, and Practice for Generative AI in University-Level Computing Education, July 20, 2026 from 8 AM to 7 PM at Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies are rapidly changing how we learn and engage with computing. As we learn and teach in these changing times, what are the questions that we must be asking and what considerations do we need to keep in mind to support just, inclusive, and caring learning environments for students of all backgrounds and interests?
We invite researchers and practitioners who study or teach computing at the university-level to join us for an interactive one-day workshop. The workshop will consist of talks from four invited speakers interspersed with breakout sessions to continue discussion, plan changes to your classes, and foster new research projects and collaborations.
Our invited speakers are:
Kevin Lin (University of Washington)
Benji Xie (University of Denver)
Jamie Gorson Benario (Google)
Sepehr Vakil (Northwestern University)Register here by July 10.
More information about the workshop: https://sites.northwestern.edu/genaicomputinged/. This workshop is supported by the Northwestern Computer Science Department and Dolby Laboratories. Please contact Melissa Chen (melissac @ u.northwestern.edu) with questions.
Best,
Melissa Chen and Mike Horn, on behalf of the workshop organizersTIME Monday, July 20, 2026 at 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
LOCATION Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Melissa Chen melissac@u.northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Sep24
EVENT DETAILS
lesstba
TIME Thursday, September 24, 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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Sep28
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
September 28 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
TBATalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBA---
Zoom Link
Panopto LinkTIME Monday, September 28, 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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Oct5
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
October 5 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Brian Suchy, Software Engineer Google DeepMindTalk Title
Formal Relational Equivalence for SQL, GenAI, and BeyondAbstract
Verifying that complex query rewrites from database optimizers or AI-driven generators preserve exact bag semantics under three-valued logic is an NP-hard challenge. To address this, we present an MLIR-native compiler framework that formally reasons about relational algebra. By decoupling query semantics from specific execution engines and lowering queries into a unified Relational Algebra Intermediate Representation, our language-agnostic methodology definitively proves semantic equivalence across all possible database states.The core of the presentation will deep-dive into our multi-tiered proving architecture, which synthesizes several advanced academic methodologies. First, we utilize E-Graphs and Equality Saturation to rapidly explore the equivalence space and detect structural congruence between query abstract syntax trees using fast, algebraic rewrite rules. Second, we employ Semiring Arithmetic, treating relational algebra as expressions over K-relations to leverage algebraic simplification and canonical forms under semiring laws. Finally, we implement a First-Order Logic and SMT translation path, lowering Relational Algebra into Relational Calculus and then into First-Order Logic to evaluate constraints and domain-specific axioms using parallel solvers like Z3 and CVC5, which either formally proves equivalence or synthesizes concrete counter-examples.
Finally, we will discuss the practical implications of combining these formal mathematical methods with modern compiler design. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive understanding of how bridging database theory, equality saturation, and SMT solving can create robust solutions for verifying query optimizers, enforcing semantic correctness, and validating automated SQL generation at scale.
Biography
Brian Suchy is a Software Engineer within Google DeepMind.
In his time at Google he has worked on F1 Query (Google's internal SQL query engine), hardware development, and (of course) AI.
Prior to joining Google, Brian received his PhD student at Northwestern University, advised by Peter Dinda, with a focus on hardware/software codesign and memory management.Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Query Processing and Formal Logic
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Zoom Link
Panopto LinkTIME Monday, October 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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Oct29
EVENT DETAILS
lesstba
TIME Thursday, October 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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Nov19
EVENT DETAILS
lesstba
TIME Thursday, November 19, 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)