Events

Oct 1 - Oct 7, 2023

• 

  Recent Progress at KAUST's Sensors Lab

  Khaled Salama, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Oct 1, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  In this talk, we will go over the various projects in the lab and discuss the challenges faced by lab members and the opportunities that exist.

Sep 24 - Sep 30, 2023

• 

  Toward Sustainable Transportation: A Driver-Centric Approach to Deploying Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

  Duc Minh Nguyen, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 28, 10:00 - 11:30

  B1 L4 R4214

  Whether the future of transportation is going to be electric or not is no longer a question. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer several benefits toward global sustainability. However, without a variety of charging infrastructures that cover diverse forthcoming charging needs, the speed of vehicle electrification may be slow and limited. In the coming years, we project that charging stations will still likely meet most personal demands. However, novel charging alternatives such as dynamic charging systems, i.e., electrified roads that wirelessly charge EVs on the go, will fit into various public and commercial scenarios. In this thesis, we present a driver-centric approach to planning these infrastructures.
• 

  Wireless Powered Communications in the Era of 6G

  Ioannis Krikidis, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus

  Sep 28, 09:00 - 10:00

  B1 L4 R4214

  Wireless power transfer energy harvesting

  We discuss the principles of WPC and we highlight its main network architectures as well as the fundamental trade-off between information and energy transfer. By following a bottom-up cross-layer approach, several examples, that deal with the fundamentals of WPC as well as its integration in modern communication systems, are presented. Specifically, we deal with circuit models for WPT, information-theoretic limits, signal processing aspects and waveform design, and system-level analysis by using stochastic geometry tools. Future research directions and challenges are also pointed out.

Sep 17 - Sep 23, 2023

• 

  Universal light encoders: artificial intelligent optical hardware for real-time hyperspectral imaging and ultrasensitive detection

  Andrea Fratalocchi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 17, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Metasurfaces machine learning

  In this talk, I will review the fundamentals and application of this technology in various areas, ranging from the inverse design of ultra-flat optical components to HyplexTM, an innovative camera for acquiring and processing high-resolution hyperspectral videos in real-time at 30 frames per second.

Sep 10 - Sep 16, 2023

• 

  Gbps Laser-based underwater wireless optical communication

  Boon Ooi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 10, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  underwater optical communications photonics

  I will focus my discussion on optoelectronic devices and system challenges facing long-distance, multiple-Gbps underwater wireless optical communication. The future perspective of underwater photonics will also be discussed.

Sep 3 - Sep 9, 2023

• 

  Model-Based Computational Cryo-Electron Tomography Joint Reconstruction with Awareness of Noise

  Yuanhao Wang, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 4, 17:30 - 19:00

  B1 L2 R2202

  Tilt-series cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is an established imaging tech- nique used in several fields like biology and material science. Despite its success, cryo-ET remains an arduous task. The missing-wedge acquisition, the motion, and the high level noise are the main challenges existing in this field. In this dissertation, we tackle these challenges through the exploration of three distinct approaches: plug and play approach, adaptive differentiable density grids and adaptive tensorial density fields representation.
• 

  KAUST Masterclass: Semiconductor Photonics

  Boon Ooi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Sep 3, 13:30 - 17:00

  KAUST

  semiconductor photonics

  Semiconductor Photonics is an immersive master class that explores the cutting-edge field of advanced optoelectronics and its diverse applications. This class brings together experts and enthusiasts to delve into the forefront of research and innovation in semiconductor photonics. Key topics include Semiconductor Laser-Based Lighting and Visible Light Communications, Artificial Intelligent Optoelectronics Hardware for Neuromorphic Computing, Optoelectronic Micro-Devices for Novel AR and VR Displays, and Integrated Silicon Photonics. By covering these varied areas, the class offers a comprehensive understanding of semiconductor photonics and its implications in information technology, healthcare, computing, and beyond.
• 

  Waves Functional Materials - 2023-09-03

  Ying Wu, Professor, Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences

  Sep 3, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Wave functional materials Metasurfaces

  I will introduce the development of effective medium and deep learning models, two distinct methods in the design of metamaterials, followed by some illustrative examples demonstrating the intriguing properties, such as redirection, emission rate enhancement, wave steering, and cloaking.

Aug 27 - Sep 2, 2023

• 

  Enabling Next Generation Wireless Communication through mm-Wave Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)

  Atif Shamim, Program Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Aug 27, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  5G and beyond electromagnetic waves

  The mm-wave 5G and beyond communication systems significantly improve the data rate, user capacity, and latency, however, the electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation suffers from high atmospheric attenuation as compared to the sub-6 GHz bands.

Jul 23 - Jul 29, 2023

• 

  Model-based and Learned, Inverse Rendering for 3D Scene Reconstruction and View Synthesis

  Rui Li, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 24, 18:00 - 20:00

  B1 L2 R2202

  Recent advancements in inverse rendering have exhibited promising results for 3D representation, novel view synthesis, scene parameter reconstruction, and direct graphical asset generation and editing.

Jul 16 - Jul 22, 2023

• 

  Solutions for Perishables Shelf-life Extension and Spoilage Detection Towards Food Waste Reduction

  Asrar Damdam, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 16, 16:00 - 18:00

  B2 L5 R5220

  Food loss and waste present a significant challenge to global sustainability, with approximately 1.3 million tonnes of food being lost or wasted each year. This not only leads to the depletion of resources but also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. This dissertation focuses on the development and implementation of non-invasive solutions to extend the shelf life and monitor the quality of fresh foods, with the ultimate goal of reducing food loss and waste.

Jul 9 - Jul 15, 2023

• 

  Cybersecure and Resilient Power Systems with Distributed Energy Resources

  Ioannis (Yannis) Zografopoulos, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 10, 14:00 - 16:00

  B5 L5 R5209

  Power systems constitute a pillar of the critical infrastructure, and, as a result, their cybersecurity is paramount. Traditional power system architectures are moving from their original centralized nature to a distributed paradigm. This transition has been propelled by the rapid penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, etc. However, with the introduction of new DER devices, the threat surface of power systems is inadvertently expanding.

Jul 2 - Jul 8, 2023

• 

  Low-Power Edge-Enabled Sensor Platforms

  Jose Ilton De Oliveira Filho, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 6, 15:00 - 17:00

  B4 L5 R5220

  On-site sensing systems provide fast and timely information about a myriad of applications ranging from chemical and biological to physical phenomena in the environment or the human body. Such systems are embedded in our daily life for detecting pollutants, monitoring health, and diagnosing diseases. This dissertation focuses on the design, development, and implementation of miniaturized PoC devices for achieving high sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability through a combination of hardware and software strategies at the edge.

Jun 4 - Jun 10, 2023

• 

  Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductors Modeling, Epitaxy, Processing, and Applications for Ultraviolet Emission and Detection

  Yi Lu, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jun 8, 14:30 - 16:30

  B5 L5 R5209

  Wide bandgap III-Nitride semiconductor blue light-emitting diodes (LED) development has spawned the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014. Building upon this success, the scope of research has expanded to ultrawide bandgap semiconductors, which possess immense potential in the realm of ultraviolet (UV) photonics. These materials have gained attention for their applicability in various areas, such as public sterilization, solar-blind UV communication, and real-time UV monitoring.
• 

  New Frontiers in Space Laser Communications aiming for Beyond 5G/6G

  Morio Toyoshima, Director General of Wireless Networks Research Center, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

  Jun 4, 14:30 - 15:30

  B1 L3 R3119

  communication engineering

  These discussions on the way how information and communication technology (ICT) should be in Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G are accelerating, the space laser communication is becoming more advanced and active in the field of space communications.
• 

  Contemporary Techniques in the Emerging Free Space Optical Communication Systems

  Dmitrii Briantcev, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jun 4, 12:30 - 14:00

  B1 L3 R3119

  optical communication technology Free Space Optics Conditional Generative Adversarial Network Recurrent Neural Network

  The goal of this work is to investigate and advance a research on various topics, vital for the development of the future generations of optical communication technology. In the first part of the work, we present a fast and efficient simulation method of structured light free space optics (FSO) channel effects from propagation through the turbulent atmosphere.

May 21 - May 27, 2023

• 

  Next Generation Multiple Access with Cell-Free Massive MIMO

  Michalis Matthaiou, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom

  May 24, 11:00 - 12:00

  B1 L3 R3119

  Massive MIMO Systems Adaptive communication systems

  This talk provides an overview of current research efforts on the CF-mMIMO systems and their promising future application scenarios.
• 

  Towards The Implementation of Reliable Hyperloop Communication Systems

  Wafa Hedhly, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 24, 09:00 - 10:45

  B1 L3 R3119

  communications hyperloop communication systems

  This work is geared toward the design and analysis of reliable Hyperloop communication systems. Hyperloops pose several challenges for the communication system for providing a reliable communication system while dealing with a complex structure, moving at tremendous speeds inside an evacuated tube. The adopted sealed steel-structured tube in the Hyperloop prevents signal penetration, isolating the inner world from the outside and creating a highly scattering environment for electromagnetic (EM) waves. Furthermore, the exceptionally high speed of the traveling pod results in severe Doppler shifts and frequent handovers, leading to increased transmission errors and delays. We propose a novel system configuration where wireless transmitters or access points (APs) are placed inside the tube to communicate with the moving receiver using optical fiber as a backhaul link.

May 14 - May 20, 2023

• 

  Viability assays of CMOS-compatible materials, device architectures, and emerging device platforms for nano-photonics

  Nasir Alfaraj, Ibn Rushd Postdoctoral Fellow, The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto

  May 18, 15:00 - 16:00

  B5 L5 R5209

  nanophotonics

  My research at the University of Toronto involves designing and fabricating CMOS-compatible nano-plasmonic waveguide structures and devices for on-chip communication. By taking advantage of the absence of diffraction limits, strong modal confinement is made possible using plasmonic device architectures, laying the foundations for improved optical processes and photonic circuit integration. All-oxide structures have emerged as promising plasmonic materials that can serve as relatively low carrier density Drude metals and dielectric spacers by their electro-optic tunability and versatility. I demonstrated the facile integration of all-oxide heterointerfaces into metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) electro-optic structures. From there, I fabricated MIS devices that incorporated semiconductive oxide layers with oxide dielectric spacers on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platforms, constituting graded-index coupled hybrid plasmonic waveguide (CHPW) optical modulators.
• 

  KAUST-Fudan Joint Workshop on Intelligent Communication, Device and System Technologies

  Boon Ooi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 14, 09:00 - 16:00

  B18 L4 Fellowship Hall

  Intelligent Communication photonics

  This joint workshop between KAUST and Fudan University covers a variety of topics related to optical communication and devices for visible light communication. Theoretical modeling, device engine/materials investigation and sub-system development will be discussed. These research are essential to eventually realize the goals of connecting all the unconnected, SMART systems and optical internet-of-things. The workshop will be running in hybrid mode, and presenters will be from both KAUST and Fudan University.

May 7 - May 13, 2023

• 

  β-Ga2O3: A robust solution for extreme environment electronics

  Vishal Khandelwal, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 7, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  In this talk, I will be talking about β-Ga2O3 based monolithically integrated logic circuits and flash memory devices toward extreme environment operations. Moreover, the important challenges in material and device fabrication for realizing this technology will be discussed. Finally, I will introduce the promises of β-Ga2O3 at low-temperature (~ 4 K) operation for space electronics applications.

Apr 30 - May 6, 2023

• 

  Query Localization in Long-form Videos

  Mengmeng Xu (Frost), Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 4, 07:30 - 09:00

  KAUST

  The growth of digital cameras and data communication has led to an exponential increase in video production and dissemination. As a result, automatic video analysis and understanding has become a crucial research topic in the computer vision community. However, the localization problem, which involves identifying a specific event in a large volume of data, particularly in long-form videos, remains a significant challenge.
• 

  GNSS Localization and Attitude Determination via Optimization Techniques on Riemannian Manifolds

  Xing Liu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 3, 16:00 - 18:00

  B1 L3 R3119

  GNSS localization attitude determination

  This thesis focuses on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)-based localization and attitude determination, essential for navigation and control systems in various platforms. Carrier-phase observations from GNSS signals are more accurate than pseudo-range, but resolving integer ambiguities in carrier-phase data is challenging. The thesis proposes three attitude determination methods based on an optimized GNSS attitude model with nonlinear constraints. Additionally, a joint solution for real-time kinematic positioning and attitude determination is proposed, leveraging the correlation between GNSS data in these two problems. Riemannian optimization is applied to improve the accuracy and ambiguity resolution in both localization and attitude determination.
• 

  Prospects for B containing III-N alloys for UVB and UVC LEDs

  Prof. Peter Parbrook, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University College Cork

  May 3, 14:00 - 15:00

  B3 L5 R5220

  Abstract The inclusion of boron in III-Nitride semiconductors is an exciting prospect. It allow a break in the rather fixed relationship between strain, bandgap and electrical polarisation that inherently controls what can be achieved in using light emitting diodes with AlGaN. However, the addition of boron is quite challenging, leading to defects and roughening of the material, as well as difficulties in understanding of the incorporation of B in the material. In this presentation we will examine the potetnail for boron containing alloys in quantum wells, with a view to their inclusion in III
• 

  Leveraging Power Systems’ Modularity to support Resiliency Against Synthetic Cyber Disasters

  Dr. Salam Baniahmed, Technical Manager, Veloce Energy

  May 2, 15:00 - 16:00

  B1 L4 R4214

  IEEE power systems resilience cybersecurity

  The fact of power systems’ criticality to national security mandates continuous attention to the worst-case disruption scenarios. In a cyber world, grid modernization efforts have been hindered by cyber-related concerns. This webinar sheds some light on resiliency achievement by utilizing the modular cyber-physical nature of power systems, from an electron in a battery to a digital bit in the internet abyss.
• 

  Fabrication of metasurfaces operating in the visible via nanotechnology and artificial intelligence

  Fedor Getman, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 2, 14:00 - 16:00

  B3 L2

  This thesis investigates the potential of flat optics as a solution to the problem of bulky and expensive optical components in producing lightweight and wearable optoelectronic devices. The research addresses scalability challenges in structure fabrication, design of broadband functionalities, and increasing operational and transmission efficiency in the visible range. It focuses on the experimental part of the challenge. The study evaluates various design approaches, including inverse designs using optimization techniques as well as the use of machine learning algorithms. The thesis aims to explore a path toward high efficiency, wide bandwidth, functional response, and scalable fabrication in flat optics using semiconductor nanostructures. The results demonstrate the potential of using semiconductor nanostructures to engineer efficient, scalable, and broadband optical components for light processing via flat surfaces.
• 

  PPP-RTK: a review and recent developments

  Peter Teunissen, Professor, Geodesy and Satellite Navigation, Delft University of Technology (DUT), Netherlands Honorary Professor at Melbourne and Curtin Universities, Australia, and Beihang and Tongji Universities, China

  May 1, 13:00 - 14:00

  B1 L3 R3119

  PPP-RTK GPS Galileo QZSS IRNSS

  GNSS PPP-RTK is an integer ambiguity resolution enabled precise point positioning concept originally developed for use with the ultra-precise CDMA-based Global Navigation Satellite System carrier-phase signals. In this presentation, we first present the classical principles of PPP-RTK as they apply to the CDMA-based global and regional satellite navigation systems GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS and IRNSS.
• 

  Robust and Energy-Efficient Embedded Computing

  Semeen Rehman, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, TU Wien

  May 1, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L1 R3131

  Embedded systems are currently an indispensable part of our lives because of their pervasive deployment in a wide range of critical applications (e.g., automotive, encryption, and healthcare, etc.) as well as non-critical applications (e.g., image/video processing, etc.). These embedded system form the fundamental components of today’s Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) and Internet-of-Things (IoT), which are subjected to stringent constraints in terms of reliability, security, and power-/energy especially in case of battery-driven scenarios. Due to the shrinking transistor dimensions, embedded computing hardware are increasingly susceptible to a wide range of reliability threats e.g., transient faults (such as soft errors due to high-energy particle strikes) and permanent faults due to design-time process variations and run-time aging effects. These threats may lead to functional and timing errors that may jeopardize the correct application’s executions. Furthermore, security has also become a crucial aspect in today’s systems because of several security threats, e.g., confidentiality threat to steal the IP or private information via side channel attacks. These reliability and security threats may lead to a catastrophic impact on the robustness of embedded systems. Another key design constraint of a battery-driven embedded platform is power-/energy-wise efficiency, e.g., a device under a low power/battery mode during the critical application execution may miss a critical event that may lead to a catastrophic outcome. In order to address the above-mentioned challenges, it is crucial to investigate different techniques at the hardware and software layers. In this talk, I will first highlight the key robustness and energy efficiency challenges in embedded computing systems, and will present techniques to address these challenges.
• 

  Multimodal Video Analysis

  Juan Carlos L. Alcazar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Image and Video Understanding Lab

  Apr 30, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Multimodal Video Analysis

  The recognition of human behavior has driven most advances in video analysis over the past decade.

Apr 16 - Apr 22, 2023

• 

  Smart Non-volatile Memory Devices that can Sense and Compute

  Dayanand Kumar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Apr 16, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Smart non volatile memory devices

  Being renowned for operating with visible light pulses and electrical signals, optoelectronic smart non-volatile memory devices have excellent potential for neuromorphic computing systems and artificial visual information processing.

Apr 9 - Apr 15, 2023

• 

  Towards Designing Robust Deep Learning Models for 3D Understanding

  Abdullah Hamdi, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Apr 10, 17:00 - 19:00

  B3 L5 R5220

  deep neural networks

  Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have shown huge success over the years to solve many 2D computer vision tasks driven by massive labeled 2D datasets and advancements in 2D vision models, but less success is witnessed on 3D vision tasks. This dissertation proposes innovative approaches to enhance the robustness of DNNs for 3D understanding and in 3D settings. The research focuses on two main areas: adversarial robustness on 3D data and setups, and the robustness of DNNs to realistic 3D scenarios. Two paradigms for 3D understanding are discussed: representing 3D as a set of 3D points and performing 2D processing of multiple images of the 3D data.
• 

  Automated and Scalable Algorithms and Systems for Unsupervised ML

  Yue Zhao, Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

  Apr 9, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Automated and scalable algorithms

  Many real-world events do not have outcome labels. For example, the fraudulence of a transaction remains unknown until it is discovered.

Apr 2 - Apr 8, 2023

• 

  Intelligent Health Monitoring in the Home

  Yuan Yuan, Postdoc Fellow, MIT

  Apr 4, 15:00 - 16:00

  KAUST

  Delivering healthcare to patients in their homes is shaping the future of healthcare, as it offers better access to healthcare for people who live far from hospitals. It also facilitates the early detection of diseases and the prevention of complications that might otherwise require hospitalization, while simultaneously reducing costs for patients and healthcare systems. Nevertheless, the utilization of machine learning and health sensors for clinical purposes within the home environment requires addressing certain challenges, such as simplifying compliance procedures, ensuring that the digital representations of patients are comparable to the established medical gold standard, and preserving data privacy. In this talk, I will discuss how to develop new algorithms and models with health sensors to capture rich, continuous representations for in-home healthcare applications that address all these challenges.
• 

  Trajectory Optimization using the Projection Operator (PRONTO)

  John Hauser, Electrical Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

  Apr 2, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Trajectory optimization

  We study the use of a nonlinear projection operator in the development of a novel function space approach for the optimization of trajectory functionals.

Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2023

• 

  Thoughts on software and systems engineering - 2023-03-26

  Eric Feron, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Mar 26, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Complex systems and software engineering, and associated challenges become increasingly important for the well-being and safety of our society of humans.

Mar 19 - Mar 25, 2023

• 

  Monolithic Quantum Devices on SOI for Silicon Photonics

  Prof. Kei May Lau, Electronic Engineering, Chinese University, Hong Kong

  Mar 19, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Monolithic Quantum Devices

  Si photonics has been developed to enable the next generation tele- and data-communications for its high performance, making use of the mature silicon CMOS technologies.

Mar 12 - Mar 18, 2023

• 

  Neuroimplants for Neurodegenerative Conditions of the Eye and the Brain: Predictive Multiscale Computational Modeling, System Design, and Experimental Testing

  Gianluca Lazzi, PhD MBA is a Provost Professor of Ophthalmology, Electrical Engineering, Clinical Entrepreneurship and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC)

  Mar 16, 10:00 - 11:00

  B9 H1 R2322

  Technical challenges Neuroprosthetics Bioelectromagnetic systems

  Although technical challenges are still daunting, the clinical utility of neuroprosthetics has increased dramatically over the past few years. This has been accomplished through the convergence of numerous disciplines, which have individually added fundamental understanding/capabilities to systems that interface with the human body to restore senses and movement, or treat prevalent diseases that have currently no foreseeable cure. Among these, predictive multiscale computational modeling methods have greatly aided in the design of neuroprosthetics by embracing the complexity of the nervous system, which span multiple spatial scales, temporal scales, and disciplines. In this talk, we will cover some of the recent advances in bioelectromagnetic systems for healthcare, with a particular focus on visual and hippocampal prosthesis, peripheral neuroprosthetics, and sensors.
• 

  Nanoparticles for Safe and Efficient Delivery of Nucleic Acids and CRISPR Genome Editors

  Shaoqin Sarah Gong, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin–Madison

  Mar 12, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Gene therapy, particularly, genome editing therapy can potentially be used to treat many genetic diseases including some currently without a cure.

Mar 5 - Mar 11, 2023

• 

  Machine Learning for Scalable MIMO Communication Systems: From Theory to Real-World Demonstration

  Dr. Ahmed Alkhateeb, Electrical Engineering , Arizona State University

  Mar 6, 14:00 - 15:00

  B9 L2 H1

  communication systems machine learning

  Large-scale MIMO communication (at sub-6GHz, mmWave, and sub-THz bands) is a key enabler for 5G, 6G, and beyond. Scaling MIMO systems, however, is subject to critical challenges, such as the large channel acquisition and beam training overhead and the sensitivity to channel estimation errors (especially at lower frequencies) and blockages (at higher frequencies). These challenges make it difficult for MIMO systems to support applications that have high mobility and strict reliability constraints. In this talk, I will first motivate the use of machine learning and sensory data to address these challenges. Then, I will present a few key machine-learning roles, enabling datasets, and recent hardware proof-of-concept prototypes that demonstrate the machine-learning gains in real-world environments.
• 

  Dynamic Stability Challenges in the European Electric Power Grid

  Rafael Segundo and Petr Korba, Electrical Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland

  Mar 5, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2 H2

  The pressure to achieve carbon-free grids in the near future is driving the rapid integration of renewable energy sources into the grid.

Feb 26 - Mar 4, 2023

• 

  Learned Optics — Improving Computational Imaging Systems through Deep Learning and Optimization

  Wolfgang Heidrich, Professor, Computer Science

  Feb 26, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Learned Optics

  Computational imaging systems are based on the joint design of optics and associated image reconstruction algorithms.

Feb 19 - Feb 25, 2023

• 

  Development of Visible VCSELs at Sony

  Tatsushi Hamaguchi, Electronic Engineering, Sony Corporation

  Feb 19, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Development of Visible VCSELs

  Visible VCSELs have been attracting researchers' interest for potential applications as light sources for optical storage, laser printers, projectors, displays, solid-state lighting, optical communications, biosensors, and so on.

Feb 12 - Feb 18, 2023

• 

  Electromagnetic Analysis of Plasmonic Nanostructures by Using a Coupled system Volume Integral and Hydrodynamic Equations

  Doolos Aibek Uulu, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Feb 15, 14:30 - 16:30

  B2 L5 R5220

  Plasmonic Nanostructures Electromagnetic Analysis

  In this dissertation, three different coupled systems of volume integral and hydrodynamic equations are formulated to analyze electromagnetic scattering from composite plasmonic structures consisting of dielectrics, metals, or semiconductors.
• 

  Nanostructured Group-III Nitrides for Photoelectrocatalytic Applications and Renewable Energy Harvesting

  Huafan Zhang, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Feb 14, 16:00 - 18:00

  B4 L5 R5209

  Photoelectrocatalytic Applications renewable energy

  Leveraging on the unique solar light absorption behavior, chemical stability, and piezoelectric properties, nanostructured group-III-nitrides were utilized for implementing various renewable energy harvesting and conversion applications. By using different dimensional nanostructures, especially nanowires, and nanoporous membranes, this dissertation explored the practical applications in photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction, photocatalytic wastewater remediation, and flexible self-powered piezoelectric sensing.
• 

  Security evaluation of modern industrial control systems

  Michail Maniatakos, Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University (NYU), Abu Dhabi

  Feb 12, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L2 H2

  Security Evaluation

  Recent years have been pivotal in the field of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) security, with a large number of high-profile attacks exposing the lack of a design-for-security initiative in ICS.

Feb 5 - Feb 11, 2023

• 

  Point processes and their application to modeling drug seizure and overdose interactions

  Prof. George Mohler, Computer Science, Boston College

  Feb 8, 17:00 - 18:00

  KAUST

  point processes stochastic models

  In this talk we first provide an introduction to point processes, which are stochastic models for the occurrence of events in space and time. We then discuss the application of point processes to investigate the relationship between law enforcement drug seizures and accidental overdoses in Indianapolis. We will also discuss results from a field-experiment in Indianapolis where point process based harm indices were used to inform the distribution of addiction treatment information.
• 

  Physical Layer Security: Latest Trends, Threats, and Countermeasures

  Prof. Huseyin Arslan, Dean of Faculty of Engineering at Istanbul Medipol University

  Feb 8, 14:00 - 15:00

  B2 L5 R5220

  Physical Layer

  In this presentation, we will cover both communication and sensing security from a broader perspective. Even though, more emphasis on PHY security is given, other security measures will also be covered for the sake of completeness and as a step towards cross-layer security and cognitive security vision.
• 

  Machine-learning-assisted Quality of Transmission Estimation in Optical Networks

  Andrea Bianco, Full Professor, Electronics and Telecommunications Department at Politecnico di Torino

  Feb 8, 13:00 - 14:00

  B9 L4 R4125

  machine learning explainable AI framework artificial intelligence

  Machine Learning (ML) tools have recently been adopted for a wide range of automated operations in optical networking, moving fundamental steps towards the paradigm of zero-touch infrastructures. One example of such tasks is estimating the Quality of transmission of a lightpath prior to its establishment, which is particularly challenging due to the non-linear characteristics of signal propagation in optical fibers and to the often-incomplete knowledge of equipment parameters. This talk provides an overview of the contribution of my research team in the field of ML-based lightpath QoT estimation, including transfer learning approaches for inter-domain model adaptation, active learning for model building with small-sized training dataset, quantification of prediction uncertainty, and adoption of Explainable AI framework to expose the internal decisional mechanisms of trained models.
• 

  Energy-Efficient Neuromorphic Computing Systems

  Wenzhe Guo, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Feb 7, 15:00 - 17:00

  B4 L5 R5209

  neuromorphic computing

  Neuromorphic computing has emerged as a new and promising computing principle that emulates how human brains process information. The underlying spiking neural networks (SNNs) are well-known for having higher energy efficiency than artificial neural networks (ANNs). Neuromorphic systems enable highly parallel computation and reduce memory bandwidth limitations, making hardware performance scalable and sustainable given the ever-increasing complexities of artificial intelligence (AI). Inefficiency in the design of a neuromorphic system generally originates from redundant parameters, nonoptimized models, a lack of computing parallelism, and inefficient training algorithms. This dissertation aims to address these problems and propose effective solutions.
• 

  Photonics Design and Remote Sensing

  Prof. Hugo Enrique Hernandez Figueroa

  Feb 7, 14:00 - Feb 9, 16:00

  B18 L4 Fellowship Hall

  photonics remote sensing

  Abstract This tutorial series will include: Seminar 1 (Monday, 2PM) – Electromagnetic Numerical Modeling A general view of electromagnetic numerical modeling. Finite Element Method (FEM) vs Finite Difference Method. FEM formulations for solving Maxwell equations: time-domain and frequencydomain. Scattering, resonant structures and guiding modeling. Description of NEO-PZ: LEMAC’s electromagnetic simulator package. Challenging electromagnetic problems: very large electrical spatial domains demanding very high localized accuracy. Deterministic and heuristic optimization techniques and artificial