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  • Sep
    29

    IEMS Seminar | A Theory of Feature Learning in Kernel Models | Feng Ruan

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    Abstract: A central phenomenon in modern machine learning is feature learning: rather than operating on a fixed representation of the data, successful models learn representations adapted to the prediction task. We study a tractable model of this phenomenon through a compositional variant of kernel ridge regression, where the kernel is applied after a learnable linear transformation. When the response depends on the input only through a low-dimensional predictive subspace, we show that optimizing the population objective automatically eliminates directions orthogonal to this subspace and, in certain regimes, exactly recovers it. Surprisingly, the same exact low-dimensional structure persists at finite sample sizes with high probability, even without explicitly penalizing the linear transformation to be low-dimensional.

    Bio: Feng Ruan is currently an assistant professor in Department of Statistics and Data Science at Northwestern University. His research focuses on the foundations of feature learning and stochastic and nonsmooth optimization, and is supported by an NSF CAREER Award.

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    TIME Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Sep
    14

    Welcome & Breakfast for New McCormick PhD Students

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM LR2, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, September 14, 2026 at 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

    LOCATION LR2, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Sep
    22

    Welcome & Luncheon for New Full-time Graduate Students

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    11:00 AM Ryan Family Auditorium, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

    LOCATION Ryan Family Auditorium, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Oct
    6

    IEMS Seminar | Zhaosong Lu

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Oct
    20

    IEMS Seminar | Aldo Scutari

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM B211, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION B211, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Nov
    10

    IEMS Seminar | Andi Wang

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, November 10, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Nov
    17

    IEMS Seminar | Salar Fattahi

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, November 17, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Nov
    24

    IEMS Seminar | James Kong

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

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    TIME Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Dec
    1

    IEMS Seminar | Rene Caldentey

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM TBD, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, December 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION TBD, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

  • Apr
    13

    IEMS Wassertrom Lecture | Dr. David Simchi-Levi

    Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)

    11:00 AM

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Tuesday, April 13, 2027 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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    CONTACT Nathan Keiller    nathan.keiller@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS)