Physical Sciences in Oncology Center PSOC@Penn Spring 2021 Webinar Series Mondays at 12:00 noon (EST) For webinar links, please contact manu@seas.upenn.edu.
Machine learning has led to powerful advances in robotics: deep learning for visual perception from raw images and deep reinforcement learning (RL) for learning controls from trial and error. Yet, these black-box techniques can often require large amounts of data, have results difficult to interpret, and fail catastrophically when dealing with out-of-distribution data. In this […]
Unlike the problem of safe task and motion planning in a completely known environment, the setting where the obstacles in a robot's workspace are not initially known and are incrementally revealed online has so far received little theoretical interest, with existing algorithms usually demanding constant deliberative replanning in the presence of unanticipated conditions. Moreover, even […]
Abstract: For successful integration of autonomous systems such as drones and self-driving cars in our day-to-day life, they must be able to quickly adapt to ever-changing environments, and actively reason about their safety and that of other users and autonomous systems around them. Even though control-theoretic approaches have been used for decades now for the […]
Abstract Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a versatile class of nanoporous materials synthesized in a “building-block” approach from inorganic nodes and organic linkers. By selecting appropriate building blocks, the structural and chemical properties of the resulting materials can be finely tuned, and this makes MOFs promising materials for applications such as gas storage, chemical separations, sensing, […]
The slowdown in transistor scaling and the end of Moore's law indicate a need to invest in new computing paradigms; specialized hardware devices, such as FPGAs and ASICs, are a promising solution as they can achieve high processing capabilities and energy efficiency. However, a major barrier to the global success of specialized computing is the […]
Abstract: Complex real-world environments continue to present significant challenges for fielding robotic teams, which often face expansive spatial scales, difficult and dynamic terrain, degraded environmental conditions, and severe communication constraints. Breakthrough technologies call for integrated solutions across autonomy, perception, networking, mobility, and human teaming thrusts. As such, the DARPA OFFSET program and the DARPA Subterranean […]
Machine learning techniques have been successful for processing complex information, and thus they have the potential to play an important role in data-driven decision-making and control. However, ensuring the reliability of these methods in feedback systems remains a challenge, since classic statistical and algorithmic guarantees do not always hold. In this talk, I will provide […]
Physical Sciences in Oncology Center PSOC@Penn Spring 2021 Webinar Series Mondays at 12:00 noon (EST) For webinar links, please contact manu@seas.upenn.edu.
Soft elastic solids, such as elastomers and hydrogels, are used in many practical applications ranging from adhesives to biocompatible scaffolds for tissue engineering. Biological cells and tissues have very similar mechanical properties as those of soft materials. Such solids undergo large deformations and can respond to forces such as interfacial tension, gravity, and residual stresses […]
The efficient use of electrical energy is a foundation of modern society. Power electronics is at the core of electrical energy conversion and greatly impacts a system’s size, performance, and cost. High-performance miniaturized power electronics can be a key enabling technology for many emerging applications, such as electric vehicles (EV), medical devices, and soft- and […]
Coupled with powerful function approximators such as deep neural networks, reinforcement learning (RL) achieves tremendous empirical successes. However, its theoretical understandings lag behind. In particular, it remains unclear how to provably attain the optimal policy with a finite regret or sample complexity. In this talk, we will present the two sides of the same coin, […]
Physical Sciences in Oncology Center (PSOC@Penn) Spring 2021 Webinar Series. For webinar link, contact manu@seas.upenn.edu.
The financial and environmental cost of turbulence is staggering: manage to quell turbulence in the thin boundary layers on the surface of a commercial airliner and you could almost halve the total aerodynamic drag, dramatically cutting fuel burn, emissions and cost of operation. Yet systems-level tools to model scale interactions or control turbulence remain relatively […]
Surpassing the fundamental limits that govern all electromagnetic structures, such as reciprocity and the delay-bandwidth-size limit, will have a transformative impact on all applications based on electromagnetic circuits and systems. For instance, violating principles of reciprocity enables non-reciprocal components such as isolators and circulators, which find application in full-duplex wireless radios, radar, bio-medical imaging, and […]
Abstract: The field of robotics has evolved over the past few decades. We’ve seen robots progress from the automation of repetitive tasks in manufacturing to the autonomy of mobilizing in unstructured environments to the cooperation of swarm robots that are centralized or decentralized. These abilities have required advances in robotic hardware, modeling, and artificial intelligence. […]
Scaling up next-generation photonic systems in a resource-efficient manner is a ubiquitous challenge for quantum technologies such as quantum networks, quantum simulation and computation, and for classical technologies such as photonic neural networks, LiDAR and communications. From a fundamental perspective, high-dimensional lattices hold promise for realizing and manipulating exotic states of light and matter, complementing […]
This seminar will be held virtually on Zoom (check email or contact ksas@seas.upenn.edu). This seminar is jointly hosted by the Department of Bioengineering and the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics. Proteins mediate the critical processes of life and beautifully solve the challenges faced during the evolution of modern organisms. Our goal is to design a […]
Abstract: The digitization of practically everything coupled with advances in machine learning, the automation of knowledge work, and advanced robotics promises a future with democratized use of machines and wide-spread use of AI, robots and customization. While the last 60 years have defined the field of industrial robots, and empowered hard bodied robots to execute […]
Physical Sciences in Oncology Center PSOC@Penn Spring 2021 Webinar Series Mondays at 12:00 noon (EST) For webinar links, please contact manu@seas.upenn.edu.
Turbidity currents are sediment-laden turbulent shear flows that run over a sloping bed, submerged beneath a deep layer of quiescent ambient fluid, driven by the excess hydrostatic pressure. As the current travels downslope, the flow interacts with the ambient fluid layer above through entrainment at the interface. In this process, the ambient fluid is continuously […]
Abstract: Robotics is playing an increasing role in many domains, and advanced robots will eventually be applied in a variety of ways as partners to a range of users including factory workers, logistics personnel, and first responders to name a few. End-users and stakeholders are calling for developments that enable teaming of humans with robots. […]
Abstract Bacterial motility is central to processes in agriculture, the environment, and medicine. While motility is typically studied in homogeneous environments, many bacterial habitats—e.g., soils, sediments, and biological gels/tissues—are heterogeneous porous media. Here, we use studies of E. coli in transparent 3D porous media to demonstrate how confinement in a heterogenous medium fundamentally alters motility. In particular, […]
Across the globe, physicists in academia and industry alike are competing to be the first to build a scalable universal quantum computer. Amongst the multitudes of quantum computing architectures, solid-state quantum processors based on spins in silicon are emerging as a strong contender. Silicon is an ideal material to host spin qubits: it supports long […]
From factories to households, we envision a future where robots can work safely and efficiently alongside humans. For robots to truly be adopted in such dynamic environments, we must i) minimize human effort while communicating and transferring tasks to robots; ii) endow robots with the capabilities of adapting to changes in the environment, in the […]
Physical Sciences in Oncology Center PSOC@Penn Spring 2021 Webinar Series Mondays at 12:00 noon (EST) For webinar links, please contact manu@seas.upenn.edu.
In structural materials engineering, we often aim to create materials that are simultaneously strong, tough and lightweight- a combination classically considered mutually exclusive. Biogenic composite materials such as bone exhibit a combination of these properties exceeding that of their constituents, a feat generally credited to their hierarchal structure, down to the nanoscale. In this talk, […]
Recent advances in nanofabrication technology have allowed for the realization of ultra-low loss nanophotonic waveguides and is opening up exciting opportunities for next-generation nonlinear photonic circuits with higher integration density, advanced functionalities, and ultralow energy consumption. Those features are critical for advancing photonic technologies in both classical and quantum domains. In this talk, I will […]
Abstract: Innovations in hardware and control have created a new class of orthoses or exoskeletons to augment and assist human movement. These designs enable forces and torques to be applied to nearly any segment of the body. However, predicting how an individual will adapt their movement in response to external assistance remains incredibly challenging. These […]
Abstract Glycosylation is a common and complex post-translational modification that is orchestrated in all mammalian cells. Glycan structures thus formed either absolutely control or fine-tune various biological processes. These include the half-life of biologics in circulation, the rates of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion interaction during inflammation, tumorigenesis and the kinetics of cancer metastasis. The pattern of […]
Quantum technologies have the potential to revolutionize sensing, communication, and computation. To realize this potential, it will be necessary to scale the size and complexity of engineered quantum systems by several orders of magnitude, without sacrificing coherence or fidelity. Trapped ion qubits provide unparalleled coherence and are a leading platform for current small-scale quantum technology […]
This event will be held virtually on zoom - check email or contact ksas@seas.upenn.edu. General anesthesia is a drug induced state that is critical for safely and humanely allowing a patient to undergo surgery or an invasive diagnostic procedure. During the last 10 years the study of the neuroscience of anesthetic drugs has been an […]
It is becoming more difficult and expensive to continue developing internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles to meet the increasingly tight emissions goals addressing global climate change. Over the last few years, automobile manufacturers have been turning their attention toward electrification as the most practical and cost-effective way of providing personal transportation options that will […]
