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ESE Ph.D. Thesis Defense: “Graph Neural Networks for Communication in Multi-Agent Systems”

Room 313, Singh Center for Nanotechnology 3205 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Communication networks support a wide range of applications in multi-agent systems by solving core problems such as routing, scheduling, and resource allocation. In this thesis, we focus on data-driven routing and scheduling strategies using local information subject to constraints using Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). First, we study information routing in communication networks with constant channel […]

ESE Guest Seminar – “Efficient Computing for AI and Robotics: From Hardware Accelerators to Algorithm Design”

Raisler Lounge (Room 225), Towne Building 220 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The compute demands of AI and robotics continue to rise due to the rapidly growing volume of data to be processed; the increasingly complex algorithms for higher quality of results; and the demands for energy efficiency and real-time performance. In this talk, we will discuss the design of efficient tailored hardware accelerators and the co-design […]

ASSET Seminar: “Fake News, Echo Chambers, and Algorithms: A Data Science Perspective”

Amy Gutmann Hall, Room 414 3333 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, United States

Abstract: American democracy has been undermined by an “infodemic” of fake news, coupled with the widespread segregation of consumers into ideologically homogenous echo chambers by inscrutable algorithms deployed by rapacious social media platforms—or so we are told. In this talk, I will critically examine claims of this sort—made frequently by politicians, journalists, and public intellectuals—summarizing […]

Spring 2025 GRASP SFI: Haimin Hu, Princeton University, “From Gambits to Assurances: Game-Theoretic Integration of Safety and Learning for Human-Centered Robotics”

Levine 307 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT From autonomous vehicles navigating busy intersections to quadrupeds deployed in household environments, robots must operate safely and efficiently around people in uncertain and unstructured situations. However, today’s robots still struggle to robustly handle low- probability events without […]

CBE Seminar: “From Molecules to Supply Chains: Transforming Data to Decisions using Geometry, Optimization, and Machine Learning” (Victor Zavala, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Wu & Chen Auditorium

Abstract: We discuss how geometry, optimization, and machine learning are key technologies that are revolutionizing the way we think about data and the way we transform data into actionable models and decisions. Specifically, we explain how complex data (e.g., text, molecules, time series, images/video, supply chain flows) can be represented as geometrical objects and how […]

MSE Seminar: “Engineered Biomaterials for Regeneration, Therapy, and Beyond” Akhilesh K Gaharwar, Texas A&M University

Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Engineered biomaterials have emerged as powerful tools for a range of biomedical applications, including regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and additive manufacturing. These engineered biomaterials possess tunable biophysical properties, specific biochemical cues, and complex architecture, enabling precise control over cellular behavior. In this talk, I will outline three biomaterials-based approaches developed in our lab for biomedical […]

IDEAS/STAT Optimization Seminar: “Negative Stepsizes Make Gradient-Descent-Ascent Converge”

Amy Gutmann Hall, Room 414 3333 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, United States

Zoom link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/98220304722 Abstract: Solving min-max problems is a central question in optimization, games, learning, and controls. Arguably the most natural algorithm is Gradient-Descent-Ascent (GDA), however since the 1970s, conventional wisdom has argued that it fails to converge even on simple problems. This failure spurred the extensive literature on modifying GDA with extragradients, optimism, momentum, anchoring, […]

MEAM Master’s Thesis Defense: “Learning a Vision-Based Footstep Planner for Hierarchical Walking Control on Unstructured Terrain”

David Rittenhouse Laboratory Building, Room 4C4 209 S. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Bipedal robots demonstrate high potential in navigating challenging terrains through dynamic ground contact. However, current frameworks often depend solely on proprioception or use manually designed visual processing pipelines, which are fragile in real-world settings and complicate real-time footstep planning in unstructured environments. To overcome this problem, this work proposes a vision-based hierarchical control framework that […]

BE-Grace Hopper Distinguished Lecture: Melody Swartz, PhD “Immunoregulatory roles of lymphatic vessels in cancer and opportunities for immunoengineering”

Berger Auditorium (Room 13), Skirkanich Hall 210 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Tumor lymphangiogenesis, which involves both the activation and growth induction of surrounding lymphatic vessels, is well-known to correlate with tumor progression and metastasis in many solid tumors. While it is typically assumed that lymphangiogenesis supports an ‘escape route’ for cells to leave the primary tumor, the tumor-draining lymph node serves as the key site of […]

Spring 2025 GRASP on Robotics: Phillip Isola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Robots and Artificial Life from Visual Foundation Models”

Wu and Chen Auditorium (Room 101), Levine Hall 3330 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

This will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Wu and Chen and virtual attendance on Zoom. ABSTRACT I will talk about two ways we can design agents with the help of powerful vision/graphics models. In the first project, LucidSim, we augment a traditional robotics simulation engine (MuJoCo) with visual detail from an image […]