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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260327T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260327T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T212420Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T154711Z
UID:10001424-1774612800-1774616400@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Mechanics Seminar: Professor Xiangru Xu
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). Professor Xiangru Xu is a professor at UW-Madison. \n\n\n\nTitle: Safe Control for Learning-Enabled Autonomous Systems \n\n\n\nAbstract: This talk presents recent advances in provably safe control for learning-enabled autonomous systems. In the first part\, I will discuss reachability analysis and controlled invariance of neural network control systems. I will introduce methods for safety verification and safe control synthesis based on forward and backward reachable set computations using constrained and hybrid zonotopes\, together with an interval-based invariance operator for computing the maximum controlled invariant set. In the second part\, I will present hierarchical safe control architectures that integrate a high-level optimization-based motion planner with a low-level safety filter\, providing formal guarantees of continuous-time safety constraint satisfaction. I will demonstrate their effectiveness through two case studies: safe trajectory planning and tracking for quadrotors\, and occlusion-free visual servoing of robotic manipulators. \n\n\n\nBio: Xiangru Xu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and held postdoctoral positions at the University of Michigan and the University of Washington. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and the Best New Application Paper Award from IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control\, Control Theory and Technology\, and Autonomous Intelligent Systems\, and is a member of the IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/mechanics-seminar-professor-xiangru-xu/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260327T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260327T110000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260317T143742Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T143950Z
UID:10001495-1774605600-1774609200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Yun Zhao
DESCRIPTION:Microresonator-based quantum photonics\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYun Zhao\n\n\n\nAbstract: As the only quantum information carrier at atmospheric pressure and temperature\, photons play a versatile role in the quantum information ecosystem. Recent progress in fabricating high-quality-factor microresonators has enabled unprecedented control of photons through nonlinear optical interactions. Here\, I will focus on optical squeezing\, which is a foundational process in both photonic quantum metrology and computing. I will first discuss the generation of squeezed vacuum states on a CMOS-compatible platform. Then I will present a fundamentally new way of applying optical squeezing in optical frequency metrology\, with applications in optical frequency division and narrow-linewidth lasers. Finally\, I will briefly discuss other micro- resonator-based applications\, including quantum frequency conversion and spatial light modulation. \n\n\n\nBio: Yun Zhao is currently a postdoc at Stanford University in the Applied Physics department\, advised by Prof. Amir Safavi-Naeini. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University\, advised by Prof. Alexander Gaeta. He has broad research interests in quantum and nonlinear photonics. His work spans optical squeezing\, Kerr frequency comb\, frequency conversion\, optical frequency division\, and spatial light modulation\, etc. He served as the postdoctoral community chair for the DOE Codesign Center for Quantum Advantage in 2023 and 2024 and hosted a webinar series for the center’s graduate students and postdocs.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-quantum-engineering-seminar-series-dr-yun-zhao/
LOCATION:2534 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-1.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260326T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260326T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260116T194600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T154848Z
UID:10001413-1774540800-1774544400@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Laura Grossenbacher
DESCRIPTION:The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Laura Grossenbacher is the Director of Technical Communication with the College of Engineering at UW-Madison. \n\n\n\nTitle: Navigating Ethical Challenges in Mechanical Engineering Research and Industry Contexts: Strategies for Ethical Leadership – and Followership \n\n\n\nAbstract: This workshop will provide a brief background on engineering ethics challenges and the behavioral science that suggests we must think both with and beyond a Code of Ethics to deal with the moral ambiguities that can emerge in complex workplace contexts\, including in university research labs and large engineering organizations. We will explore questions that engineering leaders should ask themselves – but also some “followership” strategies for those engineers who are not yet leaders.My hope is to engage the ME 903 students in discussion of a couple of unique cases to practice voicing\, listening\, and productively responding to the values of their peers. \n\n\n\nBio: Laura Grossenbacher is Director of Undergraduate Program Review and Director of the Technical Communication Program in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and has been teaching courses in engineering communication and ethics for over twenty-five years to both undergraduates and graduate students in the UW Madison College of Engineering. Since year 2012 she has been developing ethics cases for use with a variety of different Professional Engineering groups\, including engineers working for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation\, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources\, American Transmission Company\, Madison Gas and Electric\, WE Energies\, Realtime Utility\, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District\, and the American Water Resources Administration; she has also held ethics workshops for the Wisconsin Structural Engineering Code Refresher Annual Conference\, the Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association\, the Wisconsin Society for Landscape Architects\, and the American Society for Heating\, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. \n\n\n\nHer ethics workshops are designed to engage engineers and other professionals in discussing and applying codes of ethics\, moral theory\, and behavioral science to practical cases.She is a member of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE)\, and a current co-chair\, with Rider Foley\, of the Online Ethics Center Community of Practice in Teaching Engineering Ethics. Her most recent conference workshops have been for the annual ABET Symposium and at the American Society for Engineering Education on using applied ethics cases to interrogate challenges with power and inclusivity.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/me-903-graduate-seminar-professor-dakotah-thompson/
LOCATION:3M Auditorium\, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building\, 1513 University Ave\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-12-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260326T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260326T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260319T135955Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260319T135958Z
UID:10001499-1774526400-1774530000@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE RISE-AI SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Andrew Wagenmaker
DESCRIPTION:Physical Agents that Learn from Experience\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract: Humans fundamentally learn through interaction with the physical world\, yet modern AI-based approaches in robotics rely primarily on learning from static\, offline sources of data. While this approach has enabled exciting capabilities in some domains\, it has proven notoriously difficult to scale to the demands of fully open-world autonomy.  \n\n\n\nDr. Andrew Wagenmaker\n\n\n\nIn this talk\, I will investigate how we can overcome the limitations of learning with only static data sources\, and enable robots to learn from experience as they interact with the physical world. In particular\, I will consider how we can collect the experience—explore—that allows for learning and improvement\, and how the limited sources of data that are often available to us in the physical world—simulators and human demonstrations—can enable this. I will consider how simulators\, even coarse simulators that are insufficient for obtaining effective task-solving policies\, can enable efficient exploration\, and how the resulting exploration allows for learning performant task-solving robotic behaviors. I will then show how generative robot policies trained on human demonstrations can be utilized to achieve highly focused exploration and enable fast online improvement\, and how we can pretrain generative policies on human demonstrations that can themselves collect the experience necessary to learn and improve. Across these examples\, I will argue that the insights gained through rigorous analysis are key to uncovering the algorithmic approaches that enable learning from experience\, and ultimately bringing AI to the physical world. \n\n\n\nBio: Andrew Wagenmaker is a postdoctoral scholar in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley working with Sergey Levine. Previously\, he completed a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Washington\, where he was advised by Kevin Jamieson. Andrew’s research focuses on learning in dynamic\, interactive settings\, spanning fundamental algorithm development to practical approaches for real-world learning and decision-making\, particularly toward enabling efficient learning in robotic systems. His work has been recognized by a Best Paper nomination at the Conference on Robot Learning\, and he is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-rise-ai-seminar-series-dr-andrew-wagenmaker/
LOCATION:Orchard View Room – Third Floor – Discovery Building\, 330 N. Orchard St.\, Madison\, 53715
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260324T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260324T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260320T193426Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260320T193430Z
UID:10001500-1774368000-1774371600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar Series: Carl D. Laird
DESCRIPTION:Carl D. LairdJohn E. Swearingen Professor and Department HeadCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh\, Pennsylvania  \n\n\n\nSystems\, Surrogates\, Solutions: Optimization and Machine Learning for Decision-Making at Scale\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEmerging global challenges are pushing the limits of today’s scientific computing tools. To overcome these barriers\, our group develops open-source solutions for large-scale optimization problems. At the intersection of data science and mathematical programming\, new capabilities support optimization-based decision-making with embedded machine-learning and data-driven models. Leveraging high-level languages like Python\, we are democratizing these capabilities\, placing powerful tools in the hands of a broader research community. Two vignettes illustrate the effectiveness of these capabilities to tackle challenging science and engineering problems at scale. \n\n\n\nThe first vignette highlights our rapid-response work during COVID-19. The pandemic exposed significant challenges in mitigating emerging infectious diseases. I will discuss our work to efficiently estimate county-level transmission parameter dynamics using a fully-coupled\, national-scale model. With full spatio-temporal transmission parameter profiles\, we were able to estimate the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the spread of COVID-19. Our current work focuses on developing accessible\, advanced optimization capabilities that enable inference on very large-scale\, nonlinear dynamic systems.  \n\n\n\nMachine learning (ML) models are increasingly used as surrogates for complex processes within engineering. Here\, I will discuss the need for surrogates in large-scale decision-making and introduce the Optimization and Machine Learning Toolkit (OMLT)\, a Python framework developed in collaboration with Imperial College London and Sandia National Laboratories. This package supports solution of mathematical programming problems with embedded ML models. I will showcase several applications that illustrate the use of machine learning surrogates\, including for example\, process design and operations\, bioprocess modeling\, and process family design. We will discuss our most current work on the use of conformal methods for optimization under uncertainty and advanced decomposition approaches for training hybrid models.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/cbe-seminar-series-carl-d-laird/
LOCATION:Wisconsin
CATEGORIES:Chemical & Biological Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_CBE-sem-series-web-header-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260324T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260324T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260227T163616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T120233Z
UID:10001478-1774353600-1774357200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Alex Honghyuk Kim
DESCRIPTION:Development of Novel III–V Semiconductor Heterostructures: Overcoming Physical Limits\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlex Honghyuk Kim\n\n\n\nAbstract: Recent advances in the epitaxial growth of III–V compound semiconductors have enabled high-performance electronic and photonic devices. However\, conventional III–V and III–N material systems remain fundamentally limited by intrinsic physical and chemical constraints\, including substrate-dependent lattice and bandgap properties. These limitations hinder progress in emerging applications such as neuromorphic photonics\, monolithic integration with silicon photonics\, and full-color micro-LED arrays. In this talk\, strategies to overcome these intrinsic limitations will be discussed\, with a focus on the development of novel III–V compound semiconductor material systems enabled by precise control of lattice mismatch\, phase stability\, and miscibility gaps. The role of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in kinetic material design will be highlighted\, together with the realization of chemically and physically metastable III–V heterostructures beyond conventional epitaxial limits. \n\n\n\nBio: Alex Honghyuk Kim is an Assistant Professor in the School of Semiconductor Convergence Engineering at Hanyang University\, South Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison\, where his research focused on the epitaxial growth of III–V compound semiconductors for advanced optoelectronic applications. His research interests include MOVPE-based epitaxy of III–V compound semiconductor materials\, metastable heterostructures\, and the design and characterization of advanced optoelectronic devices. Prior to joining Hanyang University\, he held research positions at Lumileds LLC\, Northwestern University\, and the Korea Photonics Technology Institute. He has authored and coauthored over 30 peer-reviewed journal papers and currently serves as a co-principal investigator on multiple nationally funded semiconductor research projects.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-semiconductor-materials-seminar-series-dr-alex-honghyuk-kim/
LOCATION:2355 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-2.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260323T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260323T160000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260313T134115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T153320Z
UID:10001494-1774278000-1774281600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Mihir Pendharkar
DESCRIPTION:Closing the Loop: Shrinking Materials Discovery Cycles for the Quantum Era\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract:  As utility-scale quantum computing appears on the horizon\, the field faces a scaling challenge comparable in magnitude to the pursuit of artificial general intelligence. Success in this endeavor hinges on reducing decoherence by improving materials systems at the fundamental electronic device scale — the single-qubit level — and\, crucially\, developing tools that enable rapid experimental feedback. This talk explores two paradigms where shrinking the characterization loop has catalyzed breakthroughs in quantum materials as well as materials for quantum hardware. \n\n\n\nThe first part focuses on the development of high-mobility III-V semiconductor quantum wells and quantum wires (nanowires). By optimizing the integration of superconductors with these low-dimensional electron systems\, we have realized the high-quality hybrid interfaces necessary for topological quantum computing. I will highlight how rapid feedback was the primary driver for achieving proof-of-concept devices. \n\n\n\nIn the second part\, I will address the “imaging bottleneck” in 2D moiré heterostructures. While these systems offer a rich playground for correlated quantum physics\, the inability to rapidly visualize moiré superlattices has historically limited materials optimization. I will present the development of Torsional Force Microscopy (TFM)\, a technique that enables the visualization of moiré landscapes in minutes\, bypassing the need for weeks-long cryogenic transport measurements. \n\n\n\nFinally\, I will put forward a vision for improved materials\, device geometries\, and rapid feedback techniques that can be ported to superconducting qubit platforms\, with the hope of providing a boost to bridge the gap between laboratory prototypes and useful quantum computers. \n\n\n\nDr. Mihir Pendharkar\n\n\n\nBio: Mihir Pendharkar is a researcher at Stanford University\, where he works with Prof. David Schuster on advancing materials for superconducting qubit-based quantum computing. As a Q-FARM Bloch Postdoctoral Fellow working with Prof. David Goldhaber-Gordon\, Mihir developed Torsional Force Microscopy (TFM) to image moiré superlattices and atomic lattices in 2D materials. This imaging technique has since been adopted by four major AFM manufacturers and dozens of research institutions worldwide. Mihir earned his MS and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of California\, Santa Barbara working with Prof. Chris Palmstrom\, where his doctoral research specialized in Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) of superconductor-semiconductor hybrid heterostructures for Majorana Zero Mode-based topological quantum computation.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-semiconductor-materials-seminar-series-dr-mihir-pendharkar/
LOCATION:3609 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-2.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260323T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260323T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260121T162320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T202428Z
UID:10001437-1774267200-1774270800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:BME Seminar Series: Christopher Konop\, PhD
DESCRIPTION:How Serious Fun (and Mild Panic) Led Me from Academia to Venture Innovation\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChristopher Konop\, PhDInnovation and Commercialization SpecialistIsthmus ProjectUW Health \n\n\n\nAbstract:Most scientific careers don’t follow a straight line—and mine certainly didn’t. I’ve moved from academia to startups\, consulting\, and eventually venture innovation. I’ll share a few brief stories from building WiSolve\, stepping into life‑science consulting\, and helping develop the Isthmus Project to spark conversation and address the career-development questions that are top of mind for graduate students and postdocs. I’m glad to offer practical insights\, hot tips\, and lessons learned along the way. Spoiler: none of it would have been possible without great mentors and a generous network. \n\n\n\nPrint PDF
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/bme-seminar-series-8/
LOCATION:1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building\, 1550 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Biomedical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Seminar-Graphic-Fall2024-1.avif
ORGANIZER;CN="Department of Biomedical Engineering":MAILTO:bmehelp@bme.wisc.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260320T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260320T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T212217Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T135744Z
UID:10001423-1774008000-1774011600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Mechanics Seminar: Professor Debanjan Mukherjee
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). Professor Debanjan Mukherjee is a professor at University of Colorado Boulder. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: The Biofluid Dynamics Of Thrombosis: what doors can custom in silico models open for us? \n\n\n\nAbstract: Thrombosis\, or the pathological clotting of blood in the human body\, is the key underlying cause of severe cardiovascular disease like heart attack and stroke; which together comprise major global causes of death and disability. Fluid dynamics plays an intricate underlying role in pathological clot initiation\, formation and growth\, and subsequent clot deformation and potential fragmentation (or embolization). There exists a significant body of evidence on this underlying role of flow\, and flow-mediated transport from in vivo murine models\, and microfluidic assays with whole human blood. Yet\, the recapitulation of dynamic clot-flow interactions within real human vascular segments continues to remain a major challenge; and there are currently limited avenues to probe and understand these interactions via standard-of-care imaging. Here\, we will showcase custom numerical modeling frameworks that we have developed over the years to address the aforementioned challenge; enabling deep quantitative insights on local clot-flow interactions\, clot mechanical response to flow-induced loading\, and biochemical transport within and around clots. We will specifically illustrate approaches that resolve key features of real human clots\, such as heterogeneous structure and micro-composition\, and their interplay with locally non-linear fluid flows. We will also illustrate numerical methods that help model and investigate physiologically critical processes such as clot contraction mechanics\, which are otherwise challenging to replicate in an in silico setting. We will close by showcasing our efforts on releasing these computational modeling tools to the broader community as open-source tools. \n\n\n\nBio: Debanjan Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is also a program faculty for the Biomedical Engineering program\, and a faculty council member at the BioFrontiers Institute at CU Boulder. He leads an inter-disciplinary flow physics and biofluids research group named FLOWLab. Prof. Mukherjee completed his undergraduate studies at IIT Madras in India\, and subsequently his doctoral and post-doctoral training at the University of California\, Berkeley. He has received several awards in recognition of his work: including the National Institutes of Health Trailblazer Award for new and early-career investigators; the ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award; the American Heart Association post-doctoral fellowship award; and has recently been selected as a Research and Innovation Office Faculty Fellow and a Dean’s Excellence Fellow in Generative AI at the University of Colorado Boulder.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/mechanics-seminar-professor-dabanjan-mukherjee/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260318T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260318T110000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260303T203811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T203814Z
UID:10001482-1773828000-1773831600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Hezi Zhang
DESCRIPTION:Quantum Computing Systems: Toward Scalable and Efficient Quantum Computation\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHezi Zhang\n\n\n\nAbstract: Quantum computing has emerged as a transformative frontier of computation. In recent years\, quantum hardware has scaled at an unprecedented rate. As this momentum continues\, the central challenge is shifting upward in the stack—from hardware-level feasibility toward system-level scalability. This talk will focus on quantum computer architecture and compiler systems\, introducing the challenges and opportunities to efficiently harness device capabilities and lower the demands on hardware technology\, thereby accelerating timelines for practical quantum advantage. \n\n\n\nBio: Hezi Zhang is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department at the University of California\, San Diego (UCSD). She received her M.S. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) and her B.S. in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Her current research interests lie in quantum computing architecture and compiler optimization\, including supporting scalable quantum computing and exploring different quantum computing paradigms.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-quantum-engineering-seminar-series-hezi-zhang/
LOCATION:2534 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-1.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260317T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260317T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260213T215030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260213T215423Z
UID:10001462-1773763200-1773766800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Founder's Day Lecture: Nedim Emil Altaras
DESCRIPTION:Room 1610 Engineering Hall \n\n\n\nNedim Emil AltarasSVP Technical Development LeadModerna Therapeutics\, Cambridge\, MA \n\n\n\nPressure Is a Privilege: Industrializing an mRNA Platform for Speed\, Scale\, and Reliability\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs a chemical engineer\, I think of our profession as the discipline of translating fundamentals into working systems: reducing complex problems to first principles\, quantifying constraints\, and designing processes that perform in the real world. Over the past decade at Moderna\, that mindset was tested in the most consequential setting. I built the Technical Development capabilities that supported pandemic readiness and then worked from Day 1 of the Covid-19 pandemic to translate an mRNA vaccine from sequence to reproducible clinical and commercial supply. \n\n\n\nThis lecture is about industrialization—moving from a working process to a scalable\, controlled manufacturing system. It is not simply “making more.” It is establishing a platform that can execute with short cycle times while maintaining process capability and product quality. I will describe what it takes to industrialize an mRNA platform when time becomes the first-class design constraint: parallelizing development\, standardizing unit operations/interfaces\, and using modular manufacturing approaches so performance can be robustly replicated across equipment\, sites\, and teams.  \n\n\n\nThe same platform and operational discipline that proved itself under pandemic pressure has continued to translate beyond a single product—supporting additional licensed vaccines and extending into therapeutics\, including individualized oncology programs and rare-disease efforts.  \n\n\n\nI will frame the experience around three engineering priorities: speed\, scale\, and reliability. Speed comes from clear decision rules under uncertainty\, risk-based development plans\, and rapid feedback from analytics and manufacturing. Scale is achieved by designing robustness to variability\, building standard work for technology transfer\, and ensuring consistent execution across the network. Reliability—and the assurance to defend it—is built through characterization\, a defined control strategy\, comparability to enable lifecycle changes\, and documentation discipline that makes data and decisions defendable. \n\n\n\nUltimately\, pressure is a privilege because it reflects responsibility: responsibility to solve problems that matter\, to build systems that hold up under scrutiny\, and to translate engineering work into human impact with life changing mRNA medicines.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/founders-day-lecture-nedim-emil-altaras/
LOCATION:Wisconsin
CATEGORIES:Chemical & Biological Engineering,Seminar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260317T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260317T110000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260226T192925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T193013Z
UID:10001476-1773741600-1773745200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Shai Tsesses
DESCRIPTION:Unlocking New Capabilities for Quantum Computation with Neutral Atom Arrays\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Shai Tsesses\n\n\n\nAbstract: Neutral atom arrays have become a frontrunner in the race for utility scale quantum computation [1]\, building on their reconfigurability [2]\, scalability [3] and high fidelity for all operations [4] – idling\, detection\, single- and two-qubit gates. However\, they still suffer from key bottlenecks that constrain their operational speed and their implementation of deep quantum circuits. In this talk\, I will show how my recent work can bend these constraints and sometimes completely break them. I will present results on accelerated detection of the atoms via high-lying energy states (Rydberg states) [5] and introduce novel protocols for reconfigurable multi-qubit gates [6]\, promoting improved circuit implementation speed for error correction. I will then update on our current progress in building a continuously operating neutral atom quantum processor\, which mitigates the negative influences of atom loss\, and present a new scheme we developed to operate atom array systems for this purpose [7]. Lastly\, I will touch on the final frontier – how to increase system size to a utility scale number of qubits and provide my own solution to it: free electron quantum interconnects between neutral atom quantum processing modules. \n\n\n\nBio: Dr. Shai Tsesses is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT–Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms\, working with Prof. Vladan Vuletić. At MIT\, he is leading a team developing the next generation of neutral atom quantum processors\, able to implement deep and high-fidelity quantum circuits. Dr. Tsesses earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology\, where he made key experimental contributions to topological and quantum nano-photonics\, as well as free-electron–light interactions. His research explores the frontiers of light–matter interaction\, bridging atomic physics\, electron beam physics\, and quantum information science. He has authored more than 30 publications in leading journals such as Science and Nature\, and is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards\, including the Rothschild and Adams Fellowships\, as well as the OPTICA Tingye Li Innovation Prize.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-quantum-engineering-seminar-series-dr-shai-tsesses/
LOCATION:2317 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-1.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260316T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260316T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260121T162225Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T194054Z
UID:10001436-1773662400-1773666000@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:BME Seminar Series: Wan-Ju Li\, PhD\, FIOR
DESCRIPTION:From Development to Repair: Using Skeletal Development Principles to Advance Stem Cell-Mediated Cartilage Regeneration\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWan-Ju Li\, PhD\, FIORAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Orthopedics and RehabilitationUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison \n\n\n\nAbstract:Why does cartilage regeneration still fall short despite major progress in stem cell engineering? In this seminar\, I will argue that one important reason is that cartilage repair strategies are often developed without fully accounting for the developmental programs that shape cartilage formation in vivo. I will present our lab’s recent work showing that developmental origin strongly influences the identity and regenerative potential of human iPSC-derived chondrocytes. \n\n\n\nUsing isogenic differentiation models\, we compared mesoderm-derived and neural crest-derived chondrocytes and found that neural crest-derived chondrocytes more closely resemble native articular chondrocytes and perform better in cartilage repair settings. Building on these findings\, I will also discuss our efforts to develop a stepwise induction strategy for generating chondrocytes from human iPSC-derived neural crest cells in a more controlled and efficient manner. \n\n\n\nTogether\, these studies support a broader message that developmental biology is not simply background knowledge for regenerative medicine\, but a practical framework for selecting better cell sources\, asking more precise biological questions\, and overcoming major barriers in the field. \n\n\n\nPrint PDF
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/bme-seminar-series-7/
LOCATION:1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building\, 1550 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Biomedical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Seminar-Graphic-Fall2024-1.avif
ORGANIZER;CN="Department of Biomedical Engineering":MAILTO:bmehelp@bme.wisc.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260316T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260316T110000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260226T190059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T190100Z
UID:10001475-1773655200-1773658800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Joshua Viszlai
DESCRIPTION:A Systems Approach to Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoshua Viszlai\n\n\n\nAbstract:  We are beginning a remarkably exciting time for quantum computing. There is a growing consensus that quantum error correction (QEC) is needed to reach scales necessary for quantum advantage\, and recent major demonstrations have led to a new generation of error-corrected quantum computers. These demonstrations transition QEC from a theoretical idea introduced in 1995 to an experimental reality. Underlying this milestone is rapid progress in the scale of quantum hardware\, with systems today featuring up to 1\,000 qubits and error rates nearing 0.1%. However\, looking towards the future\, significant work is still needed to organize and scale quantum hardware to create fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQC) capable of practical quantum advantage.While the theory of FTQC is promising\, effectively connecting it to real devices poses significant challenges. In this talk I will discuss the role of systems and architecture research in efficiently addressing these challenges\, focusing on two examples of my work. First\, I will describe the problems involved in large-scale\, real-time QEC decoding\, and detail a speculative window decoder that reduces decoder reaction time by up to 50%. Second\, I will show how insights from decoding lead to a heuristic for compiling QEC codes that reduces logical error rates by 2.5x-4x and helps automate QEC design space exploration. Together\, these works fit into a larger vision on a full-stack view of FTQC and highlight opportunities for interdisciplinary\, systems-level research to accelerate the realization of large-scale quantum computing. \n\n\n\nBio: Joshua Viszlai is a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago advised by Fred Chong. His research spans both theory and experiment with a focus on bridging the gap between current quantum devices and fault-tolerant quantum computing. His work has been implemented in quantum hardware and has been published in top-tier conferences in the fields of computer architecture and quantum computing leading to two best paper awards and a best poster honorable mention award. Joshua is also a consultant at Infleqtion\, a company developing neutral atom quantum computers\, where he helps lead research on quantum error correction.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-quantum-engineering-seminar-series-joshua-viszlai/
LOCATION:2534 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-1.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260313T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260313T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260227T161039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T161338Z
UID:10001477-1773403200-1773406800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE RISE-AI SEMINAR SERIES: Kunhe Yang
DESCRIPTION:Designing and Evaluating AI Algorithms in Strategic Environments\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKunhe Yang\n\n\n\nAbstract: As AI models are increasingly deployed in environments shaped by complex human behaviors\, there is a critical need for algorithmic principles that account for human values and strategic incentives. In this talk\, I will introduce my research on the theoretical foundations for designing and evaluating AI in human-centered strategic environments. I will focus on two key representative lines of my research: first\, I will discuss incentive-aware evaluation\, with the goal of designing metrics that remain robust even when they become targets of optimization. I will illustrate this in the context of online probability forecasting and introduce algorithmic principles for designing calibration measures that incentivize truthful predictions. Second\, I will discuss AI alignment with heterogeneous human preferences by introducing a framework called the distortion of AI alignment. Within this framework\, I will characterize the information-theoretic limits of learning from sparse heterogeneous feedback\, and compare the robustness of different alignment approaches including RLHF and NLHF. I conclude by discussing future directions and a broader vision for integrating these algorithmic principles into the design of trustworthy\, human-centric AI. \n\n\n\nBio: Kunhe Yang is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California\, Berkeley\, where she is advised by Professor Nika Haghtalab. Her research focuses on the theoretical foundations of AI in human-centered environments by drawing on tools from machine learning theory and algorithmic economics. Her work has been recognized by several awards\, including EECS Rising Star\, invited speaker at the Cornell Young Researchers workshop\, finalist for the Meta Research PhD Fellowship in the Economics and Computation track\, and a SIGMETRICS best paper award. \n\n\n\nLocation details: Discovery Building – Research’s Link\, 2nd floor of Discovery Building (access through glass doors behind information desk)
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-rise-ai-seminar-series-kunhe-yang/
LOCATION:Discovery Building\, 330 N. Orchard St.\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53715
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260313T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260313T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T211905Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T132018Z
UID:10001422-1773403200-1773406800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Mechanics Seminar: Professor Xiaobo Tan
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). Professor Xiaobo Tan is a professor at Michigan State University. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Control of Underwater Robots with Localization Constraints \n\n\n\nAbstract: A key challenge for underwater robots and vehicles is the difficulty in obtaining location measurements for them or for targets they are tasked to track. In this talk I will share a few examples of our recent work on control of underwater robots with localization constraints. I will first discuss a distributed estimation approach to cooperative localization\, where a group of robots need to track a moving target (e.g.\, an acoustically tagged fish) based on time-difference-of-arrivals (TDOAs) of a signal emitted by the target. Then I will introduce a control barrier function approach to the incorporation of observability constraints and show its application to target tracking with only the range measurement. Finally\, I will present the problem of adaptive sampling under localization uncertainties\, and discuss how a multi-fidelity Gaussian process model is instrumental for best utilizing the measurement data for the reconstruction of the environmental field being sampled. Experimental results will be shown to illustrate the approaches. \n\n\n\nBio: Dr. Xiaobo Tan is an MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor and the Richard M. Hong Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in automatic control from Tsinghua University\, Beijing\, China\, in 1995\, 1998\, respectively\, and his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Maryland in 2002. His research interests include underwater robotics\, soft robotics\, smart materials\, and control systems. He has published over 300 papers and been awarded 7 US patents in these areas. Dr. Tan is a Fellow of IEEE and ASME. He was a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2006)\, MSU Teacher-Scholar Award (2010)\, MSU College of Engineering Withrow Distinguished Scholar Award (2018)\, Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Maryland (2018)\, MSU William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award\, and multiple best paper awards. Dr. Tan is keen to integrate his research with educational and outreach activities\, and has served as the PI of an NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program on addressing real-world water problems (2023-2028)\, Director of an NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site program (2009 – 2016)\, and Curator of a robotic fish exhibit at MSU Museum (2016-2017). He has served the professional community in different capacities\, including the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics\, a member of ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division Executive Committee\, and the general chair of 2018 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference and 2023 American Control Conference.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/mechanics-seminar-professor-xiaobo-tan/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260312T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260312T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260115T160546Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T131902Z
UID:10001406-1773331200-1773334800@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Harley Johnson
DESCRIPTION:The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Harley Johnson is a professor at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Defects in Quantum Materials and Perspectives on the Future of Quantum Computing \n\n\n\nAbstract: Electronic and quantum materials\, which are central to the development of devices for future applications in quantum information science\, host a variety of crystalline defects that give rise to interesting properties. In order to harness these properties for new applications\, it is necessary to understand the mechanics and physics of the defects and their interactions. \n\n\n\nIn this talk\, I will first present results on defects in layered two-dimensional materials\, including dislocations either in-plane or out-of-plane with respect to the 2D layered structure. Recently\, twisted multilayer 2D material structures have been of interest due to the presence of flat bands and other emergent properties — including unconventional superconductivity — associated with moiré superlattices. Periodic regions of crystalline commensurability making up these superlattices are now understood to be separated by interlayer dislocations\, with Burgers vectors and line directions in the plane of the 2D material\, and having either edge or screw character. Using density functional theory and quantum Monte Carlo-fitted total energy tight-binding calculations\, I show that out-of-plane relaxation of the structures makes possible unique helical dislocations in bilayer graphene\, and that the presence of these helical dislocation lines coincides precisely with the so-called magic-angle condition at which unconventional superconductivity is observed. I then describe a different dislocation structure\, with line direction oriented out-of-plane\, but which also has a helical structure. Such a screw dislocation\, which adopts a double-helix dislocation core configuration in bilayer structures\, is expected to create conditions for exotic transport properties in certain classes of layered topological insulator materials. \n\n\n\nI will then take a broader perspective and briefly describe some major efforts to scale up quantum applications\, focusing on an historic new public-private partnership developing in Chicago – the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. This effort will be discussed in the context of university\, national lab\, and industry partnerships across the region\, with a goal of describing opportunities for engagement and targets for the scale-up of quantum computing hardware and algorithms over the next 5-10 years. \n\n\n\nBio: Harley T. Johnson is a Founder Professor in Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign\, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2001. He is the Executive Director and CEO of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park\, a $1B+ public-private partnership dedicated to scale-up of quantum computing\, located on 128 acres of the former US Steel Southworks site in Chicago. From 2019-2024 he served as the Associate Dean for Research in The Grainger College of Engineering\, a role in which he oversaw and supported the $320M annual research portfolio in Engineering at UIUC. In this position he supported faculty research\, led corporate relations\, and oversaw all major engineering partnerships with the federal funding agencies. \n\n\n\nJohnson’s research focuses on electronic and quantum materials\, addressing the role of defects and deformation in their functional properties. He served as PI and Director of the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC)\, an $18M NSF center (2023-2029) focused on fundamental research in electronic\, ionic\, and quantum materials. In 2019 he founded the NSF “DIGI-MAT” Center on Materials and Data Science\, based in UIUC’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He has received the NSF CAREER Award\, the ASME Thomas J. R. Hughes Young Investigator Award\, and is a former Fulbright US Scholar. Johnson has received numerous recognitions for his teaching\, and campus awards for his leadership in diversity\, and for outstanding faculty leadership. In 2021 he received the University of Illinois Presidential Medallion for his leadership efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is a Fellow of ASME and a Fellow of the Society of Engineering Science (SES). He received his graduate degrees from Brown University\, and his undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/me-903-graduate-seminar-professor-harley-johnson/
LOCATION:3M Auditorium\, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building\, 1513 University Ave\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-12-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260310T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260310T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260227T172358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T172400Z
UID:10001479-1773158400-1773162000@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar Series: Alexandra Bayles
DESCRIPTION:Alexandra BaylesChemical and Biomolecular EngineeringUniversity of DelewareNewark\, Delaware \n\n\n\nAdvective processing strategies for architecting functional soft materials\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNatural and engineered soft materials often derive their functionality from the hierarchical arrangement of chemically distinct building blocks. Self- and directed-assembly strategies that organize nano- and microscale elements into mesoscopic architectures have transformed our ability to realize materials with macroscopic properties superior to those of their individual components. However\, challenges associated with adapting these processes across diverse chemistries and production volumes can limit their practical utility and deployment in advanced manufacturing. In this context\, our research group leverages principles of chaotic advection to continuously architect functional soft materials. \n\n\n\nIn this talk\, I will describe how we design modular fluidic devices to sculpt the spatial distribution of building blocks along laminar streamlines. Inspired by static mixers optimized to layer polymeric melts\, these devices incorporate junctions that split\, rotate\, and recombine serpentine flows. We demonstrate the ability to assemble an extensive library of geometric patterns by ordering junctions in deliberate sequences. Serial combinations of certain junctions multiply patterns while preserving their relative spacing and orientation. This implementation of the baker’s transformation rapidly thins the characteristic feature size in layered\, fibrous\, and dendritic architectures. Combining junctions in parallel breaks symmetry\, providing access to previously unattainable voxelated structures. Because organization is primarily governed by rheology rather than chemistry\, these advective assembly processes provide an adaptable framework for patterning long-range order in extruded materials with rheologically similar precursors. We illustrate this versatility by processing viscoplastic materials to advance emerging applications. For extrusion-based 3D printing\, we sculpt multimaterial filaments in advective assembly nozzles prior to deposition. Preassembling lower levels of the hierarchy in flow circumvents challenges of layer-by-layer deposition\, including maintaining high throughput while preserving resolution. For soft actuator fabrication\, we organize contrasting polymer solutions in flow and secure distributions after extrusion via UV polymerization. Including specific moieties induces swelling in response to light\, temperature\, and salt stimuli\, while the mesoscale arrangement directs motion without delamination. For synthetic tissue engineering\, we exploit the gentle laminar flows organize mammalian cells in biomimetic\, fine architectures while mitigating shear-induced damage. Overall\, the modular extrusion platform expands the assembly toolbox\, unlocking new opportunities in designing functional soft and living materials.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/cbe-seminar-series-alexandra-bayles/
LOCATION:Wisconsin
CATEGORIES:Chemical & Biological Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_CBE-sem-series-web-header-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260309T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260309T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260226T173837Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T174052Z
UID:10001474-1773072000-1773075600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE RISE-AI SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Jingfeng Wu
DESCRIPTION:Towards a Less Conservative Theory of Machine Learning: Unstable Optimization and Implicit Regularization\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract: Deep learning’s empirical success challenges the “conservative” nature of classical optimization and statistical learning theories. Classical theory mandates small stepsizes for training stability and explicit regularization for complexity control. Yet\, deep learning leverages mechanisms that thrive beyond these traditional boundaries. In this talk\, I present a research program dedicated to building a less conservative theoretical foundation by demystifying two such mechanisms:  \n\n\n\n1. Unstable Optimization: I show that large stepsizes\, despite causing local oscillations\, accelerate the global convergence of gradient descent (GD) in overparameterized logistic regression.  \n\n\n\nDr. Jingfeng Wu\n\n\n\n2. Implicit Regularization: I show that the implicit regularization of early-stopped GD statistically dominates explicit $\ell_2$-regularization across all linear regression problem instances. \n\n\n\nI further showcase how the theoretical principles lead to practice-relevant algorithmic designs (such as Seesaw for reducing serial steps in large language model pretraining). I conclude by outlining a path towards a rigorous understanding of modern learning paradigms. \n\n\n\nBio: Dr. Jingfeng Wu is a postdoctoral fellow at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on deep learning theory\, optimization\, and statistical learning. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that\, he received a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics\, both from Peking University. In 2023\, he was recognized as a Rising Star in Data Science by the University of Chicago and UC San Diego. \n\n\n\nLocation details: Discovery Building – Research’s Link\, 2nd floor of Discovery Building (access through glass doors behind information desk)
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-rise-ai-seminar-series-dr-jingfeng-wu/
LOCATION:Discovery Building\, 330 N. Orchard St.\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53715
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260306T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260306T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T211709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260123T142121Z
UID:10001421-1772798400-1772802000@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Mechanics Seminar: Professor Theresa Saxton-Fox
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). Professor Theresa Saxton-Fox is a professor at University of Illinois\, Urbana-Champaign.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/mechanics-seminar-professor-theresa-saxton-fox/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260305T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260305T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260115T160258Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T173029Z
UID:10001405-1772726400-1772730000@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Dakotah Thompson
DESCRIPTION:The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Dakotah Thompson is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Misbehaving metals: from anomalous radiative transport to non-Drude behavior. \n\n\n\nAbstract: Classical theories governing radiative heat transfer are based on geometrical optics\, which presumes that light is a ray. While useful for most engineering applications\, this conception is not completely general because it does not account for wave effects like optical interference and diffraction. In this talk\, I discuss a limiting case where the size of the objects exchanging heat is much smaller than the radiation wavelengths. Recent work from my group highlights the limitations of Planck’s blackbody law\, and reveals that radiative transport between nanoscale objects comprised of polar dielectrics and metals may exhibit qualitatively different size scaling. Overall\, these transport characteristics are largely determined by electromagnetic surface modes which are highly dependent on the material’s optical properties. In the second part of the talk\, I discuss how optical properties and their frequency dispersion are modeled. Specifically\, I will introduce an extended Drude model that can ensure Kramers-Kronig consistency and can accurately predict the optical properties of disordered conductors in the far infrared. Examples of such materials include liquid metals\, ionic liquids\, cuprate superconductors\, and transparent conducting oxides. Overall\, the results underlying these studies were obtained using advanced calorimetric and ellipsometric techniques\, so experimentalists are highly encouraged to attend. \n\n\n\nBio: Dakotah Thompson has been a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering department at UW-Madison since 2019. Dakotah earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 2018\, and his B.S. at Georgia Tech in 2012. Dakotah’s core technical expertise is in nanofabrication and heat flow calorimetry\, and he has published several high-impact works in the field of radiative thermal transport.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/me-903-graduate-seminar-professor-laura-grossenbacher/
LOCATION:3M Auditorium\, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building\, 1513 University Ave\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-12-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260303T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260303T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260219T145647Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T145650Z
UID:10001467-1772553600-1772557200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:CBE Seminar Series: Luca Mastropasqua
DESCRIPTION:Luca MastropasquaDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison \n\n\n\nModular Electrochemical Reactors: Bridging Industrial Electrochemistry and Carbon Valorization\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe sustainable transition of the chemical and manufacturing industries is often framed through the lens of decarbonization; however\, the true industrial potential of electrochemical conversion processes lies in its ability to provide superior mechanistic control\, increase process intensification\, and enable flexible and modular operation. Unlike traditional thermochemical routes\, thermo-electrochemical systems offer an additional and precise “knob”\, the electrochemical potential\, to drive selectivity\, improve operational flexibility\, and integrate seamlessly with existing industrial heat applications. \n\n\n\nThis presentation explores modular electrochemical reactors as a platform for high-efficiency waste valorization. We will first discuss Proton Conducting Electrolysis (PCE) at temperatures in the range of 150-600°C\, highlighting how solid-state proton-conducting electrolytes offer unique thermodynamic and electrocatalytic advantages over traditional aqueous acidic and alkaline systems. \n\n\n\nSecond\, we examine electrodes with mixed potentials in Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOEC) and the unique thermal management strategies available to endothermic chemistries (e.g.\, co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2) to reduce the process specific energy intensity via thermal coupling. Moreover\, by changing electrode morphology and basicity\, we demonstrate the ability to “tune” syngas ratios (H2:CO)\, providing a direct link between electrochemical potential\, surface chemistry\, and selectivity towards synthetic fuels and high-value chemicals. \n\n\n\nFinally\, we present a novel electrochemical iron reduction cell whereby solid hematite feedstock is converted via hydrogenative electroreduction at the interface as protons are transported through a proton conducting electrolyte supplied via steam electrooxidation\, demonstrating the integration of gas-phase transport with solid-state reduction. Together\, these three projects illustrate how electrochemical engineering can transform modularity from a design constraint into a competitive industrial advantage.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/cbe-seminar-series-luca-mastropasqua/
LOCATION:Wisconsin
CATEGORIES:Chemical & Biological Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_CBE-sem-series-web-header-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260302T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260302T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260121T162113Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T010320Z
UID:10001435-1772452800-1772456400@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:BME Seminar Series: Ankur Singh\, PhD
DESCRIPTION:Revolutionizing Immunotherapy: Bioengineered Immune Organs and Nanoscale Technologies\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnkur Singh\, PhDCarl Ring Family ProfessorGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical EngineeringWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory MedicineDirector\, Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of Technology \n\n\n\nAbstract:The human immune system is a complex and vital defense network\, yet its dysfunction underlies many diseases. Developing effective vaccines\, immunotherapies\, and cell therapies for infections\, cancer\, inflammation\, and age-related conditions requires a deep understanding of how immune cells develop and activate in primary\, secondary\, and tertiary lymphoid organs. Traditionally limited to in vivo studies and 2D in vitro models\, which lack full physiological relevance\, research is now advancing with engineered human ex vivo immune organoids. These synthetic tissues mimic the structure and function of natural immune organs\, enabling precise control of cellular interactions. My lab focuses on developing such organoids by combining engineered materials with donor-derived immune cells to generate antibody-secreting cells and assess immunogenicity. We are also developing advanced organ-on-a-chip systems with full immunocompetence for use in infection\, inflammation\, oncology\, and drug development\, thereby opening new possibilities for groundbreaking therapeutic discoveries. Complementing tissue-scale engineering\, I will introduce nanoengineered wire platforms that program naïve T cells without pre-activation through localized delivery of regulatory microRNAs. These nanoscale interfaces rewire T-cell fitness\, proliferation\, and differentiation\, thereby enhancing protective responses and improving the design of adoptive cell therapies. These approaches establish a multi-scale framework for controlling immune cell fate and function. I will conclude by outlining a cohesive\, forward-looking vision for Biomedical Engineering\, highlighting opportunities for advancing research excellence\, educational innovation\, and translational impact within a strategic framework. \n\n\n\nPrint PDF
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/bme-seminar-series-6/
LOCATION:1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building\, 1550 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Biomedical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Seminar-Graphic-Fall2024-1.avif
ORGANIZER;CN="Department of Biomedical Engineering":MAILTO:bmehelp@bme.wisc.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260227T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260227T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T211424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T172842Z
UID:10001420-1772193600-1772197200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Mechanics Seminar: Professor Wonmo Kang
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). Professor Wonmo Kang is a professor at Arizona State University. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Mechanisms Behind Enhanced Electrical and Mechanical Properties in Graphene–Metal Composites \n\n\n\nAbstract: Graphene–metal composites are widely regarded as promising candidates for high-performance electrical conductors as well as advanced structural and functional applications\, owing to graphene’s exceptional electron mobility\, mechanical strength\, and thermal conductivity. To leverage these attractive properties\, small graphene flakes are often dispersed within a macroscopic metal matrix to form bulk composites. However\, this approach intrinsically introduces discontinuous interfaces between the nanoscale carbon reinforcements and the much larger metal matrix\, which hinder efficient load transfer and limit performance gains. In this regard\, this talk investigates how both graphene continuity and quality influence the electrical and mechanical performance of graphene–metal composites. Using axially bi-continuous graphene–copper wires\, we achieve a 41% reduction in electrical resistivity and a 450% increase in current-carrying capacity compared to pure copper. We further show that this architecture enables enhanced mechanical\, thermal\, and anti-oxidation performance. Notably\, axially bi-continuous graphene–nickel wires break the traditional strength–ductility trade-off\, achieving an exceptional combination of both. Finally\, I will discuss our ongoing efforts toward high-throughput\, cost-effective manufacturing of macroscopic graphene–metal composites with continuous graphene networks. \n\n\n\nBio: Wonmo Kang is an associate professor in the School for Engineering of Matter\, Transport and Energy at Arizona State University (ASU). He received his Ph.D. in 2012 with the Outstanding Mechanical Engineering PhD Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining ASU\, he was a research scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory. His current research includes graphene-metal composites for multifunctional applications\, in situ material characterization\, nano/bio-mechanics\, and NEMS/MEMS/bioMEMS. Dr. Kang has published his work in leading scientific journals including Advanced Materials\, Advanced Functional Materials\, Small\, Nano Letters\, and Acta Biomaterialia. Dr. Kang is the recipient of several awards/fellowships including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award\, the ASME Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Award\, the postdoctoral fellowship from the American Society for Engineering Education\, and the Leidos technical publication awards.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/mechanics-seminar-professor-wonmo-kang/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260226T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260226T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260220T141854Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260224T191536Z
UID:10001470-1772121600-1772125200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE Semiconductor Materials Seminar Series: Dr. Kuangye Lu
DESCRIPTION:Seamless Monolithic 3D Heterogeneous Integration Enabled by Advanced Epitaxy\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbstract: Three-dimensional heterogeneous integration (3D heterointegration) is emerging as the leading approach to enhancing performance in the field of microelectronics. However\, this method often relies on complex wafer-to-wafer bonding processes\, which introduce alignment challenges and interfacial defects. Alternatively\, heteroepitaxy offers another route for implementing 3D heterointegration but suffers from material degradation due to defects and strain caused by lattice and thermal mismatches.In this talk\, I will introduce three new epitaxy paradigms designed to address the key limitations of current 3D heterointegration processes. First\, I will discuss Remote Epitaxy\, which enables wafer-scale exfoliation of ultra-thin membranes across a broad range of materials. By leveraging a 2D interlayer\, these membranes can be transferred and monolithically 3D (M3D) integrated onto arbitrary substrates with ultra-high throughput and low cost\, effectively addressing the challenges associated with wafer-to-wafer bonding. I will then present 2D-Assisted Heteroepitaxy\, a technique that significantly reduces and\, in some cases\, eliminates defects in heteroepitaxy through strain relaxation mechanism at the 2D/3D interface. This advancement enhances materials quality and device performance over conventional heteroepitaxy\, broadening opportunities for M3D heterointegration. Lastly\, I will introduce single-crystal materials growth on amorphous substrates\, which is made possible with a bold substrate design and carefully engineered materials growth conditions\, offering an entirely new scheme of M3D heterointegration.Building on these epitaxy paradigms\, I will demonstrate various novel (opto)electronic devices as examples of their applications\, including fabrication of world’s smallest micro-LED pixels (based on Remote Epitaxy)\, defect-free direct growth of III-V on silicon for next-generation optoelectronic applications (based on 2D-Assisted Heteroepitaxy)\, and advanced 3D stacking of 2D transistors (based on single-crystal materials growth on amorphous substrates). I will conclude the talk with a perspective on future materials development that could enable innovations across advanced 3D logic/memory\, XR\, energy\, and quantum information\, driven by new devices built upon advances in M3D heterointegration. \n\n\n\nDr. Kuangye Lu\n\n\n\nBio: Dr. Kuangye Lu is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the Research Laboratory of Electronics\, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Jeehwan Kim\, and earned a B.S. with honors in Physics from Zhejiang University (ZJU) in 2018.His research focuses on the invention and development of advanced epitaxy techniques for compound semiconductors and 2D materials\, as well as their heterointegration for device fabrication and applications. These efforts include the monolithic 3D integration of high-quality III-V optoelectronic devices on silicon\, reconfigurable AI chips\, and transistors engineered for next-generation advanced nodes.Dr. Lu has authored peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals\, including Nature\, Nature Nanotechnology\, and Nature Electronics. He is the recipient of the Chu Ko-Chen Scholarship\, the highest honor for graduates of ZJU\, and the MIT Shangzhi Wu Fellowship. Additionally\, Dr. Lu has served as a conference organizer of Advanced Epitaxy of Freestanding Membranes and 2D Materials (AEFM) Conference and a Review Editor for Frontiers in Energy Research. He also serves as a reviewer for journals including Nature Chemical Engineering\, Science Advances\, and Nano Letters.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-semiconductor-materials-seminar-series-dr-kuangye-lu/
LOCATION:4610 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website-2.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260226T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260226T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260115T155900Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T172746Z
UID:10001404-1772121600-1772125200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Evangelos Theodorou
DESCRIPTION:The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Evangelos Theodorou is a professor at Georgia Tech University. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Optimization for Decision-Making in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. \n\n\n\nAbstract: Optimization-based decision-making is at the core of autonomy and planning systems with applications in various domains of science and engineering from aerospace systems and robotics to networked and large-scale control. In this talk\, I will give an overview of algorithms for decision-making and discuss use-cases and relevant applications. The topics include stochastic optimization algorithms such as Model Predictive Path Integral Control and its variations with applications to single agent system control\, Distributed Optimization Architectures for multi-agent swarm control in the presence of uncertainty\, and Deep-Learning Aided optimization algorithms for fast and scalable distributed optimization problems. If time permits\, I will also cover stochastic optimal control algorithms with applications in the areas of Generative Artificial Intelligence and diffusions models on graphs. \n\n\n\nBio: Evangelos A. Theodorou is an Associate Professor with the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the director of the Autonomous Control and Decision Systems Laboratory and an Amazon Scholar. Dr. Theodorou is affiliated with the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines and the Center for Machine Learning Research at Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering\, from the Technical University of Crete (TUC)\, Greece in 2001 and three MSc degrees in Production Engineering from TUC in 2003\, Computer Science and Engineering from University of Minnesota in 2007\, and Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2010. In 2011\, he graduated with his PhD in Computer Science from USC. From 2011 to 2013\, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the department of Computer Science and Engineering\, University of Washington. Dr. Theodorou is the recipient of the King-Sun Fu best paper award of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics in 2012 and recipient of several best paper awards and nominations in machine learning and robotics conferences. His research spans the areas of stochastic optimal control theory\, machine learning\, dynamic and distributed optimization with applications to robotics\, autonomy\, and large-scale systems.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/me-903-graduate-seminar-professor-evangelos-theodorou-2/
LOCATION:3M Auditorium\, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building\, 1513 University Ave\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-12-jpg.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260224T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260224T123000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260217T151252Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260220T151455Z
UID:10001463-1771932600-1771936200@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ECE RISE-AI Seminar Series: Eshaan Nichani\, Princeton University
DESCRIPTION:Foundations of language models: scaling and reasoning\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEshaan Nichani\n\n\n\nAbstract: Modern deep learning methods\, most prominently language models\, have achieved tremendous empirical success\, yet a theoretical understanding of how neural networks learn from data remains incomplete. While reasoning directly about these approaches is often intractable\, formalizing core empirical phenomena through minimal “sandbox” tasks offers a promising path toward principled theory. In this talk\, Nichani will demonstrate how proving end-to-end learning guarantees for such tasks yields a practical understanding of how the network architecture\, optimization algorithm\, and data distribution jointly give rise to key behaviors. First\, they will show how neural scaling laws arise from the dynamics of stochastic gradient descent in shallow neural networks. Next\, they will study how and under what conditions transformers trained via gradient descent can learn different reasoning behaviors\, including in-context learning and multi-step reasoning. Altogether\, this approach builds theories that provide concrete insight into the behavior of modern AI systems. \n\n\n\nBio:Eshaan Nichani is a final-year Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at Princeton University\, jointly advised by Jason D. Lee and Yuxin Chen. His research focuses on the theory of deep learning\, ranging from characterizing the fundamental limits of shallow neural networks to understanding how LLM phenomena emerge during training. He is a recipient of the IBM PhD Fellowship and the NDSEG Fellowship\, and was selected as a 2025 Rising Star in Data Science. \n\n\n\nLocation details: Discovery Building – Research’s Link\, 2nd floor of Discovery Building (access through glass doors behind information desk)
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/ece-rise-ai-seminar-series-eshaan-nichani-princeton-university/
LOCATION:Discovery Building\, 330 N. Orchard St.\, Madison\, Wisconsin\, 53715
CATEGORIES:Electrical & Computer Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Faculty-Recruiting-Seminars-Plain-for-website.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260223T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260223T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260121T162037Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T140646Z
UID:10001434-1771848000-1771851600@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:BME Seminar Series: Shawn M. Gomez\, EngScD
DESCRIPTION:From Cellular Networks to Therapeutic Predictions: A Data-Driven Approach to Precision Medicine\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShawn M. Gomez\, EngScDProfessor and Associate Chair for ResearchCo-Executive Director\, FastTaCS\, NC TraCS InstituteLampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University \n\n\n\nAbstract:Precision medicine aims to tailor prevention\, diagnosis\, and therapy to individual patients’ biological states. We pursue this as a multiscale problem\, combining molecular and systems biology approaches with translational AI methods to improve clinical decision-making. In this talk\, I focus on our systems-level efforts to predict targeted therapeutic responses in cancer. This challenge is particularly acute because despite extensive molecular profiling capabilities\, predicting how therapies affect cellular phenotypes remains a critical barrier to precision oncology. Targeted therapies produce highly variable outcomes due to the adaptive\, networked nature of cellular signaling. Comprising over 500 kinases\, the protein kinome forms the backbone of these networks and represents a central therapeutic target space. However\, predicting how kinome perturbations propagate through cellular systems to shape phenotypic outcomes is a major challenge. My research program addresses this by developing data-driven approaches that link kinase inhibition states to downstream cellular responses\, enabling the rational design of single-agent and combination therapeutic strategies. I will discuss our work building predictive models that forecast cellular responses to kinase-targeted therapies\, validated experimentally across breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. These models integrate large-scale proteomic and multi-omic data within machine learning frameworks to identify key kinases and network features driving therapeutic outcomes. This work illustrates how systems-level modeling translates molecular data into actionable insights for precision medicine. I’ll conclude by highlighting opportunities for research\, educational\, and translational innovation in BME at UW-Madison. \n\n\n\nPrint PDF
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/bme-seminar-series-5/
LOCATION:1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building\, 1550 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Biomedical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Seminar-Graphic-Fall2024-1.avif
ORGANIZER;CN="Department of Biomedical Engineering":MAILTO:bmehelp@bme.wisc.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260220T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260220T130000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260120T211055Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T173758Z
UID:10001419-1771588800-1771592400@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Professor Bharath Ganapathisubramani
DESCRIPTION:The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids\, fluids\, and dynamics). This specific seminar is hosted in conjunction with the Midwest Mechanics Seminar Series. Professor Bharath Ganapathisubramani is a professor at University of South Hampton. \n\n\n\nPresentation Title: Vortex Dominated Flows: Can’t live with them…Can’t live without them… \n\n\n\nAbstract: Vortex-dominated flows are in abundance in engineering applications and natural environment. Vortical structures influence not only the flow field but also have major implications on forces and moments experienced by objects as well as noise generated by them. In this talk\, I will present results from work carried out in my group across different projects. We will focus on at least two case studies. The first is aimed at understanding the fluid-structure interactions in flow past porous bluff bodies while the second will focus on swimming efficiency of marine reptiles in Mesozoic era. These case studies will show that the behaviour of vortex interactions have a profound impact well beyond their specific application and that understanding these interactions can spawn new applications in varied areas including flow manipulation and bio-inspired vehicle design.  \n\n\n\nBio: Bharath Ganapathisubramani is a Professor of Experimental Fluid Mechanics in the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at the University of Southampton. He completed his Masters and PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras. He was an Assistant Professor at Imperial College London and moved to Southampton as an Associate Professor. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for Experiments in Fluids and Flow. He is a Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Physical Society as well as an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/midwest-mechanics-seminar-professor-bharath-ganapathisubramani/
LOCATION:1227 Engineering Hall\, 1415 Engineering Drive\, Madison\, WI\, 53706\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://engineering.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Event-Graphics-for-Calendar-11-jpg.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260219T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260219T170000
DTSTAMP:20260404T132033
CREATED:20260115T173925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T173620Z
UID:10001411-1771516800-1771520400@engineering.wisc.edu
SUMMARY:ME 150th Celebration: Distinguished Alumni\, Chris Schyvinck
DESCRIPTION:To celebrate 150 years of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison\, the Department of Mechanical Engineering will feature distinguished alumni in mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics who have made a lasting impact on the field. Chris Schyvinck\, who received her bachelor’s (’89) in mechanical engineering\, is the CEO and President of SHURE. She has played a big role in the microphones and audio electronics industry\, which has led to exceptional results in product quality and corporate profitability. To learn more about Chris Schyvinck’s experience\, please join us for this installment of our ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture series. \n\n\n\nPresentation Abstract: This presentation reflects on Chris’ journey from mechanical engineer to CEO and the experiences\, lessons\, and mindset shifts that shaped her path along the way. Through three chapters—Engineering\, Managing\, and Leading—it highlights how curiosity\, continuous learning\, and strong partnerships helped guide her growth and leadership approach. \n\n\n\nBio: Christine Schyvinck is President\, CEO\, and Chairman of Shure Incorporated\, a global leader in audio technology. Since joining Shure in 1989 as a Quality Engineer\, she has held multiple leadership roles across engineering\, operations\, sales\, and global marketing. Under her direction\, Shure has expanded international operations\, boosted sales\, enhanced delivery performance\, and strengthened inclusive leadership and sustainability efforts. Appointed CEO in 2016\, Chris is only the fourth person to lead the Company. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UW–Madison and a Master’s in Engineering Management from Northwestern. She serves on various advisory and nonprofit boards\, including the Executives’ Club of Chicago and Blessings in a Backpack.
URL:https://engineering.wisc.edu/event/me-150th-celebration-distinguished-alumni-chris-schyvinck/
LOCATION:3M Auditorium\, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building\, 1513 University Ave\, Madison\, 53711
CATEGORIES:Alumni events,Featured Guest Speaker,Mechanical Engineering,Seminar
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