News & EventsDepartment Events & Announcements
Events
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Oct9
EVENT DETAILS
lessFriday / CS Seminar
October 9 / 12:00 PM
In Person / Tech L361Speaker
Yusuf Pisan, University of Washington BothellTalk Title
Teaching an LLM Tutor to Withhold the AnswerAbstract
LLMs are good at answering homework questions, and for a tutor that is the problem. Learning requires a struggle. A tutor that hands the student the answer is not doing its job. Tutor's job is to withhold information and guide the student towards the answer. We call this refusal-under-knowledge: the tutor knows the answer, the student can see that it knows and asks directly, and the tutor still has to hold back while staying warm and useful. Standard LLM safety refuses content a model should not produce. A tutor has to refuse content it can produce.The tutor's response to the student has to be warm, Socratic, factually grounded and not reveal the answer. When students push back, the tutor's job becomes harder. What information the tutor withholds cannot be checked by reading its prompt. It has to be measured against real student behavior, including deliberate attempts to extract the answer, and adjusted until it holds. So rather than writing a better prompt, we enforce withholding outside the model that generates the response and calibrate that enforcement against evidence.
Biography
PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern University (1998). Teaching Professor at the Computing & Software Systems division of University of Washington Bothell, where I have taught since 2017. Before Seattle: 20 years in Sydney at UTS, and visiting appointments at Harvey Mudd, USC, WPI, and ITU Copenhagen.My research group T4G (Tech for Good) works on CS education, AI systems, and video games. I founded the UTS Games Studio and the Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment. I received the UWB Distinguished Teaching Award in 2023.
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Education, Qualitative Reasoning, LLMs, Tutoring Systems
TIME Friday, October 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
LOCATION TCHL361, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Oct13
EVENT DETAILS
lessTuesday / Theory Seminar
October 13 / 1:00pm
Mudd 3514
Speaker: Ravi Kannan
Talk Title: Learning Mixtures with separation based on latent dimension
Abstract:
There is a rich literature on learning mixture distributions assuming separation of componnt means based on the number of clusters k and the ambient dimension d. There are many application areas in which the means of the clusters lie in an m dimensional sub-space with m << k. Addressing this point, we prove that a separation depending upon m (the dependence on m being √ m) suffices and indeed the classical SVD-based algorithm (“project to m dimensional SVD space and cluster in the projection”) learns under this separation provided the matrix of means has a high enough m th singular value. The proof uses the “sine theta” theorem which bounds the sensitivity of singular space. Our lower bound on the m th singular value, we prove is satisfied in a natural Bayesian mixture learning set-up, where a prior is assumed on the set of means. We also prove that under the separation assumption, we get a perfect clustering of the sample.
TIME Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Indira Munoz indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
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Oct14
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS/ECE Seminar
October 14 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Yuhao Zhu, University of RochesterTalk Title
Programming and Architecting Heterogeneous Physical Intelligence: A Sensing-Computing-Human Co-Optimization ApproachAbstract
Future computers will be integrated into embodied systems that operate in complex real-world environments, such as autonomous robots and smart wearable/Extended Reality (XR) glasses. These systems must continuously sense and interpret the physical world while also generating information that engages human perceptual and cognitive systems.
This talk argues that programming and architecting future computer systems must integrate sensing and human cognition into the computing stack, and presents my lab’s work toward this vision. First, I will discuss the co-design of sensing and computation, where we design novel computational image sensors and compile visual programs across heterogeneous sensing and computing hardware. Second, I will discuss co-optimizing computing with humans, where we build computational models of human visual perception, which provides perceptual, not numerical, specifications and constraints for navigating the enormous design space of visual programs. Together, these projects point toward an exciting future of computing that jointly reasons about machines, the physical world, and human cognition.
Biography
Yuhao Zhu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and an Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science, all at University of Rochester, where he and his students are mostly drawn to research problems at the intersection of computer architecture, compilers, sensing, and human factors. With his collaborators and students, he has won multiple IEEE Micro Top Picks in Computer Architecture for "novelty and potential for long-term impact", along with best paper awards/nominations at MICRO, HPCA, ASPLOS, and IEEE VR.Research Areas: Computer architecture, graphics, imaging
TIME Wednesday, October 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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Oct21
EVENT DETAILSmore info
less
The SkAI Colloquia series features presentations from leading scholars and researchers working at the intersection of Astro and AI.
This SkAI Colloquium is co-sponsored by NU CS Department and NNCI as part of NNCI’s Distinguished Speakers series.Speaker: Anima Anandkumar
Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences,
Division of Engineering and Applied Science, CaltechTalk title and abstract will be made available on the SkAI Institute Event web page closer to the date of the event.
TIME Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
LOCATION Auditorium
CONTACT Gema Tinoco Gema.Tinoco@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR SkAI Institute
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Oct22
EVENT DETAILS
lesstba
TIME Thursday, October 22, 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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Oct28
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS Seminar
October 28 / 11:00 AM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Aaron ShawTalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBATIME Wednesday, October 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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Nov4
EVENT DETAILS
lessWednesday / CS Seminar
November 4 / 12:00 PM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Haoqi Zhang, Northwestern UniversityTalk Title
Computational Ecosystems: Advancing Human Values Through Integrative Computing and Changing PracticeAbstract
Despite decades of computing advances, some human problems and core human values have remained difficult to solve or promote at scale. Instead of advancing individual technologies, I focus our attention on making major leaps in system-level thinking and orchestration. Specifically, I describe my efforts to design, build, and study computational ecosystems that interweave effective practices, interactional structures, and intelligent systems to form new, integrative solutions. Computational ecosystems emphasize (1) combining wedges of human and machine intelligence to make effective practices feasible; and (2) creating processes, interactions, and communities that sustain and deepen practice.
In the first half of my talk, I will share examples of computational ecosystems we built over the last decade that transform how we plan, coordinate, learn, connect, and innovate. The second half of my talk will share our more recent efforts to support human practices and human experiences computationally. I will close with a few thoughts on why we need computational ecosystems, especially if we intend to not only meet our consequentialist aims but to deepen our engagement in intrinsically valuable human activities.
Biography
Haoqi Zhang is an associate professor in Computer Science and Design at Northwestern University, where he also holds a courtesy appointment in Learning Sciences. His work advances the design of integrated socio-technical models that solve complex problems and advance human values. His research work bridges across Computer Science, Design, Learning Science, Psychology, and Philosophy, and is generously supported by the National Science Foundation.
Haoqi received his PhD in Computer Science and BA in Computer Science and Economics from Harvard University. At Northwestern he founded and directs the Design, Technology, and Research (DTR) program, which provides an original model for learning and growing through research for over 180 students (read the DTR annual letters, available at dtr.northwestern.edu/letters; and watch the DTR documentary, Forward, at http://forward.movie). With Matt Easterday, Liz Gerber, and Nell O’Rourke, Haoqi co-directs the Delta Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab and design studio across computer science, learning sciences, and design.
TIME Wednesday, November 4, 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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Nov9
EVENT DETAILS
lessMonday / CS Seminar
November 9 / 11:00 AM
Hybrid / Mudd 3514Speaker
Mohit BansalTalk Title
TBAAbstract
TBABiography
TBATIME Monday, November 9, 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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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)
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Dec4
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Friday, December 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
CONTACT Wynante R Charles wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)