News & EventsDepartment Events & Announcements
Events
-
Jul1
EVENT DETAILS
lessRight now, there are likely a dozen sensors within arm's reach of you. Consumer devices contain a wide range of general purpose sensors, enabling them to process and transmit data into meaningful metrics such as activity, air quality, sleep score, and heart rate. These sensors, and the embedded systems that control them, are ubiquitous, low-power, and
inexpensive. However, for a researcher exploring novel applications, consumer devices are largely useless due to limited customization and proprietary data pipelines. This means new applied engagements require a significant amount of bespoke technological infrastructure, essentially starting from scratch to fill a new sensing need. These underpinning
technology subsystems, which I call "technical scaffolding," receive little academic credit and are reported inconsistently in the text. This practice, however, constrains systems' ability to bridge the gap between prototypes and real-world deployments, thereby capping their potential impact. This dissertation provides a retrospective analysis of first-hand
experience in development and deployment. I present and review the development of FaceBit, a smart face mask for respiratory sensing, and of FlexiBLE, a toolkit for rapid prototyping of embedded sensing devices, and their use in implantable bioelectronics and wearable studies. I then shift to environmental science, with a qualitative study on the use
of field sensors, and finally to the development and field deployments of Makak, a system co-designed with Ojibwe Tribal Nations and organizations to conserve Manoomin (wild rice). Additionally, I provide a novel scoping review of ACM literature in embedded sensing systems to categorize how works are grounded in their applied context, what engineering
details are included and made available, and how systems are evaluated. Using these sources as evidence, I present eleven candidate framework components across three pillars: architectural patterns, an interoperability mechanism, and co-development practices. The goal is to promote shared tooling that enables generalizable, field-ready research
apparatus across mobile health, environmental conservation, and beyond, without having to rebuild scaffolding for each siloed development cycle.TIME Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION Mudd Library, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Jensen Smith jensen.smith@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
-
Jul2
EVENT DETAILS
lessVisualizations are highly effective at communicating data-relevant information. However, they can also exacerbate misinformation if not appropriately designed, making visualization literacy (i.e., the ability to both accurately interpret and create well-formed visualizations) essential for informed decision-making in today's society. Existing studies of visualization literacy largely focus on low-level readings of well-formed visualizations, which are not representative of what it means to be literate with visualizations in a world where not all information is well formed. I advance the understanding of visualization literacy by developing enhanced measurements of higher-level skills (e.g., critical thinking, visual mapping), examining how visualization literacy measurements are designed and used, and grounding educational interventions in this broadened understanding. To address the specific challenges, such as how to reliably capture complex cognitive abilities, how to evaluate open-ended tasks with vast solution spaces, and how to scale assessment beyond manual expert judgment, I (1) develop a Critical Thinking Assessment for Literacy in Visualizations (CALVI), a validated measurement that tests people's susceptibility to misleading visualizations, (2) co-design an educational game with high school
students for teaching critical thinking in visualization interpretation, (3) develop an Assessment for the Visual Encoding Ability in Visualization Construction (AVEC), a validated measurement that tests people's ability to visually encode data for creating well-formed visualizations, and (4) investigate factors that make visualization literacy hard to operationalize through conducting an autoethnography with users and designers of assessments. My thesis clarifies what constitutes visualization literacy and outlines concrete steps for the research community to systematically advance this understanding.TIME Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
LOCATION Mudd 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library) map it
CONTACT Jensen Smith jensen.smith@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)
-
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)
-
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)
-
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
---
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)
-
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)
-
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)