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Oct28
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Please join us in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Technological Institute for a seminar with Jeff Shamma, PhD.
Student Introduction by Hessam Shahbazi 3:45 pm - 3:55 pm.
Abstract: The framework of multi-agent game-theoretic learning explores how individual agent strategies evolve in response to the strategies of others. A central question is whether these evolving strategies converge to classical solution concepts, such as Nash equilibrium. This talk adopts a control-theoretic perspective by recognizing that learning agents interacting with one another form a feedback system. Learning dynamics are modeled as open dynamical systems that map payoffs, regardless of their source, into strategy updates, while the game itself provides the feedback interconnection. The focus is on uncoupled learning, where agents update strategies based solely on observed payoffs, without explicit knowledge of utility functions (their own or of others). This perspective enables the use of control-theoretic tools to both analyze and synthesize learning dynamics. We first exploit that convergence to Nash equilibrium corresponds to feedback stability. The main part of the talk establishes that uncoupled learning can, in general, lead to mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium, while highlighting that the required learning dynamics are not universal and may sometimes involve seemingly irrational behavior. We go on to show how a control-theoretic perspective supports compositional analysis of learning in games using game-theoretic extensions of passivity theory.
Bio: Jeff Shamma is Department Head of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and Jerry S. Dobrovolny Chair at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He previously held faculty positions at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and at Georgia Tech as the Julian T. Hightower Chair in Systems and Controls. Jeff received a PhD in Systems Science and Engineering from MIT in 1988. He is a Fellow of IEEE and IFAC, a past Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Control Systems Society, and a recipient of the IFAC High Impact Paper Award, AACC Donald P. Eckman Award, and NSF Young Investigator Award. Jeff has been a plenary/semi-plenary speaker at NeurIPS, World Congress of the Game Theory Society, and IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. He was Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems from 2020-2024. Jeff’s research focuses on decision and control, game theory, and multi-agent systems.
TIME Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM
LOCATION L440, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Lee Onysko lee.onysko@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
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Oct27
EVENT DETAILS
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Please join us in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Technological Institute for a Distinguished Seminar with Dr. Dana Anderson. This event will take place in Cohen Commons.
After seminar there will be a reception with refreshements from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
Abstract: A driven matter-wave oscillator provides the starting point for this introduction to circuit design for atomic quantum sensors and signal-processing systems. Functionally analogous to a laser, and more directly to a microwave transistor oscillator, it brings together a source of power, an active gain element, and frequency-selective feedback. Atomic systems have established roles in applications such as timekeeping, inertial sensing, radio-frequency detection, and quantum computing. The motivation behind this talk is to develop engineering principles, design heuristics, and computational tools that allow systems designers to build on those capabilities. The aspiration is a design practice in which knowledge and components can be reused across applications, supporting increasingly sophisticated systems. To this end, I will introduce alternating currents of electrically neutral atoms and the associated AC matter waves that interact with a sensed environment and carry signals. AC waves have a classically measurable phase and an oscillation frequency independent of the constituent particle energy. Their propagation and interaction with potential structures lead naturally to a description in terms of impedance, providing analytical tools and physical intuition familiar from microwave circuit design.In the implementations considered here, optical potentials define the circuit structures through which the atomic signals propagate. Nonlinear interactions among atoms provide a route to transistor action: a small matter-wave current can modulate the impedance presented to a much larger one. An appropriately configured interaction provides phase-sensitive gain, amplifying one signal quadrature while attenuating the orthogonal quadrature, with a Bose–Einstein condensate supplying energy to the signal. Combining gain with feedback leads to the driven oscillator introduced at the outset. The oscillator thus serves both as a source of AC matter waves and as a worked example of circuit design. I will conclude with examples illustrating how the same concepts can be applied to sensing and signal processing, and how computational design tools connect physical parameters to device requirements.
Bio: Dr. Dana Z. Anderson is the founder and Chief Science Officer of Infleqtion, where he guides the company’s scientific vision and quantum technology strategy across quantum computing, sensing, and precision timing. Over more than four decades, Anderson has advanced scientific discovery and technology through contributions ranging from early work on the LIGO gravitational-wave project to breakthroughs in optical neural networks, ultracold-atom systems, quantum sensing, and precision measurement. His work has helped translate fundamental advances in atomic physics into technologies with practical and commercial applications.
TIME Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM
LOCATION L482, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Lee Onysko lee.onysko@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
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Nov16
EVENT DETAILS
lessRegular registration for Winter quarter begins
TIME Monday, November 16, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov20
EVENT DETAILS
lessDissertation, PhD Final Exam, and change of grade forms due to TGS for Fall PhD candidates
TIME Friday, November 20, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov25
EVENT DETAILS
lessThanksgiving Vacation begins at 6:00 PM (No classes, University offices closed)
TIME Wednesday, November 25, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov30
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall Classes Resume
TIME Monday, November 30, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec5
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall classes end
TIME Saturday, December 5, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec7
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall Exams begin
TIME Monday, December 7, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec12
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall exams end
TIME Saturday, December 12, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec12
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessThe ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 12 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.
TIME Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION Pick-Staiger Concert Hall map it
CONTACT Andi Joppie andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science