Northeastern University College of Engineering

CommLab Drop-In Writing Hours
2024-08-23 11:00 - 12:30, 2024-08-30 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | 13 International Village, 360 Huntington Ave, 13 INV, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Graduate students, are you looking for a place for focused research writing time? Join the CommLab drop-in writing hours any Friday from 11 am-12:30 pm ET. Drop in any Friday and stay for a short time or the whole hour and a half. CommLab Fellows will be available to provide feedback on your writing. We will be meeting in 13 International Village.

Northeastern’s Global Study Expo-India (Hyderabad) 2024
2024-08-24 12:00 - 17:00
You are cordially invited to Northeastern’s Global Study Expo in Hyderabad Saturday August 24th, 2024. This is your opportunity to:

Take advantage of our limited-time offer to expedite the application process.
Connect with a Northeastern representative
Deepen your understanding of Northeastern programs.
Learn about The College of Engineering admissions requirements.
Discover potential scholarship opportunities.
Hear about the benefits of our global campus network with locations in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
Learn about our students’ educational and professional outcomes.
Hear first-hand from our successful students and alumni.

We would love to see you in Hyderabad at the ITC Kohenur!

Northeastern’s Global Study Expo-India (Mumbai) 2024
2024-08-25 12:00 - 18:00
You are cordially invited to Northeastern’s Global Study Expo in Mumbai, Sunday August 25, 2024. This is your opportunity to:

Take advantage of our limited-time offer to expedite the application process.
Connect with a Northeastern representative
Deepen your understanding of Northeastern programs.
Learn about The College of Engineering admissions requirements.
Discover potential scholarship opportunities.
Hear about the benefits of our global campus network with locations in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
Learn about our students’ educational and professional outcomes.
Hear first-hand from our successful students and alumni.

We would love to see you in Mumbai at the JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu

LeetCode Mock Interviews – CommLab Drop-In Workshops
2024-08-27 16:00 - 17:00
Join the CommLab any Tuesday from 4-5 PM for our weekly LeetCode Mock Interview Workshop via Zoom. This workshop is tailored towards programming jobs and prior coding knowledge is expected. Boost your LeetCode problem-solving confidence for interviews by building your speaking skills while solving programming problems.

Mock Interview: CommLab Drop-In Workshops
2024-08-29 16:00 - 17:00
Join the CommLab any Thursday from 4-5pm ET, we’ll delve into the intricacies of interviews, unveiling effective preparation strategies for any interview scenario. Engage in an interactive setting as we dissect the overall interview experience, discuss common interview scenarios, and share insights on what to do during critical moments. Join this hybrid workshop series through Zoom.

Poster Design and Presentation: CommLab Drop-In Workshops
2024-08-29 17:00 - 18:00
The CommLab will host drop-in workshops for poster design and presentation to focus on crafting the best visual communication of your research and telling your research story! We will discuss techniques and implement communication strategies to successfully showcase your work. No matter where you are in the process, whether it is just in the idea phase or you are trying to polish your final poster, we are happy to help you. Join us any Thursday from 5-6pm, on Zoom.

Yuhui Bao PhD Dissertation Defense
2024-09-03 10:00 - 11:00
Name:
Yuhui Bao
Title:
A Design Methodology for Producing Highly-Adaptable and High-Performance Simulation Frameworks
Date:
9/3/2024
Time:
10:00:00 AM
Committee Members:
Prof. David Kaeli (Advisor)
Prof. Ningfang Mi
Prof. Yifan Sun (William and Mary)
Abstract:
Computer architecture simulators play an essential role in the development and optimization of computer hardware. A variety of simulators have been developed to explore the design space of CPUs, GPUs, and customer accelerators. As GPUs continue to grow in popularity for accelerating demanding applications, such as high-performance computing and machine learning, GPU architects have been pushing the envelope of GPU performance in every new GPU generation. GPU vendors (e.g., NVIDIA and AMD) have been introducing subsequent generations of GPU architectures and products with updated instruction set architectures (ISAs) and new microarchitectural features every 2-3 years. Modeling the state-of-the-art architecture is a crucial feature of GPU simulators, which are used to characterize and accelerate challenging workloads facilitating performance evaluation and design exploration. However, the effort required to design and construct an accurate and performant simulator is huge. Due to the rapid rate of innovation in GPU technology, any simulator that is over-customized to capture the design of a specific architecture will quickly become outdated. Thus, we need to develop a design methodology for simulators that can guard against this trend, embracing future architectures.
In this dissertation, we propose a design methodology for producing highly-adaptable and high-performance simulation frameworks. We aim to design simulators featuring high adaptability, being able to accommodate future alterations or extensions, high performance and high fidelity. We leverage the Akita simulator framework to enable the modular and extensible design of various GPU components. To fulfill the goal of high fidelity, we design a set of microbenchmarks to evaluate individual GPU subsystems. We demonstrate how we follow our design methodology to achieve a highly-adaptable and accurate simulator — NaviSim, which provides the flexibility to support simulation of three different ISAs. To demonstrate the full utility of the NaviSim simulator, we conduct a performance study of the impact of individual architecture features revealing the high flexibility and configurability of NaviSim. In addition, we showcase how NaviSim’s high adaptability contributes to design space exploration, offering solutions to enhance the performance of real-world demanding applications.
Fast simulation speed is one of the key requirements of any simulators. NaviSim is designed to support multi-threaded execution, which is able to leverage the parallel capabilities offered by today’s multi-core CPUs, enabling parallel simulation. In this thesis we identify key performance bottlenecks in terms of both serial and parallel simulation execute modes and optimize simulation speed. We also present lessons learned about efficient simulator design and provide guidance for future simulator developers.

Graduate Student Drop-In Writing Hours
2024-09-04 09:00 - 11:00, 2024-09-11 09:00 - 11:00, 2024-09-18 09:00 - 11:00 | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Graduate students, are you looking for a place for focused research writing time? Join the CommLab drop-in writing hours any Wednesday between 9 -11 am ET. Drop in any Wednesday and stay for a short time or two hours. A CommLab Fellow will also be available to provide feedback on your writing. We will be meeting in weekly in 334 Curry Student Center. Note we will meet in 336 Curry Student Center on Wednesday, September 25th.

Graduate Student Fellowship Writing Club
2024-09-04 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-09-11 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-09-18 15:00 - 16:00
Join the NU CommLab and NetSI sponsored weekly graduate student fellowship writing club for support in writing your fellowship application! The fellowship writing club meets virtually on Wednesdays from 3-4 pm from September 4 – October 16. We will offer you an opportunity to ask questions to faculty, staff and students who have reviewed, mentored or applied and received fellowships. We will provide fellowship writing tips and guidance as well as offer writing and draft review sessions. Register to join our Zoom Sessions.

Bioengineering Fall Seminar Series
2024-09-06 12:00, 2024-09-11 12:00, 2024-09-18 12:00 | 105 Shillman Hall, 360 Huntington Ave, 105 SH, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Wednesdays 12-1pm in 105 Shillman Hall, unless otherwise stated. All are welcome.
Speakers

9/6: Sara Rouhanifard, PhD
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University
9/11: Mingyang Lu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University
9/18: Joanna Dahl, PhD
Assistant Professor of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Boston
9/25: Stirling Churchman, PhD
Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School
10/2: Sujit Datta, PhD *in collaboration with CHME* (168 SN)
Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biophysics at California Institute of Technology
10/9: Yizeng Li, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Binghamton University
10/16: Song Li, PhD
Chancellor’s Professor and Department Chair of Bioengineering at
the University of California Los Angeles
10/23: Seemantini Nadkarni, PhD
Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School
10/30: Ahmad “Mo” Khalil, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University
11/6: Ramkumar “Ram” Annamalai, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University at Buffalo
11/13: Brad Hyman, MD PhD
John B. Penney, Jr. Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
11/20: Lingchong You, PhD
James L. Meriam Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Quantitative Biodesign at Duke University
11/27:
None, Thanksgiving
12/4: Jeffrey Moffit, PhD
Assistant Professor in Microbiology at Harvard Medical School
11/6: Jeffrey Fredberg, PhD, *Friday*
Professor of Bioengineering and Physiology at Harvard School for Public Health

Rajiv Singh PhD Dissertation Defense
2024-09-09 09:00 - 10:00
Name:
Rajiv Singh
Title:
Interpolation and Convexification Methods for Tractable Learning of Dynamic Systems
Date:
9/9/2024
Time:
9:00:00 AM
Location: https://northeastern.zoom.us/j/97729968899?pwd=[REDACTED]
Committee Members:
Prof. Mario Sznaier (Advisor)
Prof. Lennart Ljung
Prof. Octavia Camps,
Prof. Stratis Ioannidis
Abstract:
In this thesis, we present interpolation and convexification based system identification techniques that are geared towards producing, practical, engineering-friendly models. The models are either linear, or close to being linear – they are either weakly nonlinear, are described by a switching among linear models, or linear models whose parameters are allowed to depend upon certain states or inputs or the system. A common objective in all the proposed approaches is to determine the lowest-order models that are consistent with the information available in the form of data and available priors. We leverage ideas from the rational interpolation community in order to create tractable algorithms that are efficient and often scale well with the amount of data. In addition, we present control-oriented learning methods extend the basic approaches by directly incorporating the closed-loop objectives. The resulting models are self-certified in that they produce certificates of guaranteed closed-loop behavior.
A summary of the essential ideas presented in this thesis follows next.
1. Using the rank-revealing properties of Loewner and Hankel matrices, we develop a convex algorithm for identification of low order stable transfer functions using time and frequency domain data. This results are guaranteed to meet prescribed worst case bounds.
2. We propose a set of techniques geared towards control-oriented identification of potentially unstable linear models using open-loop data. These models come with a certification of robust stabilizability which greatly aids the control design procedure. The first technique leverages the concept of coprime factors of a linear system while the second technique uses robust identification of a system’s predictor as a vehicle towards identification of the plant model. The latter technique also directly incorporates the closed-loop objective of νgap minimization into the identification procedure.
3. We present convex approaches to identification of nonlinear polynomial models with time-varying coefficients. The model coefficients evolution is governed by scheduling maps that are described by low-order linear differential equations. A first approach uses a Hankel matrix rank minimization technique towards a joint identification of the model’s parameters and the scheduling map. A second approach leverages the atomic norm minimization framework to extend the first approach to bilinear systems, and also support easy incorporation of scheduling priors.
4. We present some results regarding sparse identification of Nonlinear ARX models incorporating bounded nonlinear maps. We present approaches to achieve sparsity with respect to the number of regressors used, and with respect to the maximum lag employed by any of the contributing regressors. The proposed algorithm leverages ideas from sparse learning and ensemble learning for sparse NARX models.
5. We present a new framework for identification of switched linear and parameter-varying systems based on rational interpolation. We develop multivariate interpolation procedures based on the recent “block-AAA” algorithms. We demonstrate that this modeling framework leads to fast, accurate, and scalable algorithms that can be used in various settings where the data domain is described by correlations, frequency, or scheduling variables.

Vancouver, BC Campus Spotlight
2024-09-09 10:00 - 11:00
Northeastern University’s Vancouver, BC campus is a vibrant community of graduate learners from around the world, along with tech startup founders, researchers, and business partners.
Join us Monday September 9, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. ET as the College of Engineering hosts a virtual campus spotlight showcasing the engineering programs at the Vancouver campus.
During this webinar, you will:

Learn about our programs and co-op opportunities from a College of Engineering Recruiting Specialist
Explore the campus and its impressive resources with insights from the Associate Director of Recruitment and Enrollment Management.
Gain insight into generous scholarship opportunities and the application process

ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Ronodeep Mitra
2024-09-11 09:00 - 11:00
Name:
Ronodeep Mitra
Title:
Glycocalyx Therapy to Restore Anti-Atherosclerotic Endothelial Cell Function
Date:
9/11/2024
Time:
9:00:00 AM
Committee Members:
Prof. Eno Ebong (Advisor)
Prof. Mansoor Amiji
Prof. Rebecca Carrier
Prof. Arthur J. Coury
Prof. Jessica M. Oakes
Location:
EXP 610 and Zoom
Abstract:
The endothelial cell (EC) glycocalyx (GCX) is a negatively charged complex sugar-rich layer that lines the endothelium. It is an important contributor to the physical and biochemical health of the vasculature and endothelium, while mediating mechanotransduction and vascular signaling. For example, when exposed to physiological (unidirectional and uniform in magnitude) levels of shear stress from the mechanical force of blood flow, the GCX is abundant and aids in the production of vasodilator nitric oxide (NO), which regulates vascular tone. Furthermore, the dynamics of the flow-regulated GCX determine the structural integrity of connexin proteins that comprises interendothelial gap junctions and control the flow of communication between neighboring ECs. Finally, the GCX acts as a physical barrier to numerous components in circulating blood, including low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and inflammatory cells such as monocytes that differentiate into macrophages and platelets.
Loss of the EC GCX can be attributed to disturbed vasculature blood flow patterns. This condition renders the endothelium as adhesive and permeable, resulting in infiltration of the vessel walls by blood circulating LDLs, compromising active EC-EC communication via interendothelial gap junctions, and reduction in NO production, leading to vasoconstriction. These phenotypes lead to vascular dysfunction, atherosclerosis, and other serious secondary cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarctions and strokes. Hence, we propose either repurposing therapies that were
not originally indicated for GCX therapy or the development of novel GCX therapies and hypothesize that targeting the EC GCX will restore vascular function and prevent further downstream cardiovascular events, such as atherosclerosis.
We first tested our hypothesis by assessing the efficacy of repurposing diosmin, a flavanone glycoside of diosmetin, which is a nutraceutical used to currently treat chronic venous insufficiency. Previous studies have shown diosmin’s potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties on the endothelium. Hence, we wanted to determine if diosmin would repair mechanically damaged endothelial GCX in regions of disturbed flow (DF) patterns and restore anti-atherosclerotic endothelium mechanotransduction function. For this study, we utilized a unique murine in vivo DF model, where the left carotid artery (LCA) is partially ligated, while the right carotid artery (RCA) is not surgically intervened and was the designated uniform flow (UF) control for each mouse. Diosmin treatment elevated activated endothelial NO synthase level (p-eNOS), inhibited inflammatory cell uptake, decreased vessel wall thickness and increased vessel diameter, and increased GCX coverage on the endothelium in ligated LCA. This corroborated support that diosmin protects endothelial GCX integrity and preserves complex endothelial function.
Next, in vitro and in vivo DF models were used to assess a novel therapy, combining sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a bioactive lipid mediator, and heparin in regenerating the endothelial GCX. We used a parallel-plate flow chamber to simulate flow conditions in vitro on human coronary arterial endothelial cells (HCAECs) and a partial carotid ligation murine model to mimic DF in vivo, as mentioned above. In vitro data showed that heparin/S1P therapy improved the function of DF-conditioned ECs by restoring the GCX and promoting EC alignment and elevated p-eNOS expression. Furthermore, heparin/S1P treatment restored GCX in the LCA, enhancing GCX thickness and coverage of the blood vessel wall and reducing vessel wall thickness, demonstrating advances in a novel therapeutic that regenerates EC GCX and restores complex vascular function in DF conditions.
This research work is an excellent step towards the development of repurposed or novel therapeutics that can be applied to replace, stabilize, or protect the GCX and restore GCX-mediated EC mechanotransduction, particularly in DF conditions. These prospective mechano-therapeutics could represent breakthrough solutions for preventing cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis in the future.

Benedict College Annual Career and Graduate School Fair
2024-09-13 10:00 - 13:00
Join COE Graduate Admissions at the 2024 Benedict College Annual Career and Grad School Fair in Columbia, South Carolina! Ask your questions about our graduate engineering programs across the U.S. and Canada during the fair on September 13th, 2024. We look forward to meeting you there!

Engineering for Women's Health Conference 2024
2024-09-16 09:00 - 17:00 | East Village, 17th floor, 360 Huntington Ave, East Village 17th floor, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Discover the latest breakthroughs in women’s health across engineering, biology, and medicine while engaging with researchers and professionals at the forefront of innovation.

Library Webinar: Introduction to Citation Managers
2024-09-16 12:00 - 12:45, 2024-09-17 12:00 - 12:45
Learn how to manage your references, organize your research and quickly create citations and bibliographies using a citation management program. The session will cover: an introduction to EndNote, Refworks, Zotero and Mendeley; similarities and differences between different citation management programs; how to choose the right citation manager for you; and how to install and use a citation manager.
This workshop is at 12:00pm Eastern Time.
Registration is required. Register at bit.ly/citationmgmtworkshops.
You will receive the Zoom link for this webinar via email one hour before the event.
You can also access webinar recordings and other training materials from the library’s Citations and Bibliographies guide.

Chemical Engineering Research Showcase
2024-09-17 10:00 - 14:30 | The Cabral Center, 40 Leon Street, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Join us for our Annual Chemical Engineering Research Showcase in the Cabral Center! Every year, our Chemical Engineering PhD students and select faculty members present their work at the Research Showcase in the form of Oral Presentations, Poster Sessions, and 5-minute Presentations. All are welcome to attend.

Chemical Engineering Welcome Back Event
2024-09-17 15:30 - 17:30 | Robinson Quad Tents, 360 Huntington Ave, outside Mugar, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Please join the Chemical Engineering Department for our Welcome Back Event in Robinson Quad on September 13th from 3:30-5:30 PM.
All Chemical Engineering students, both new and returning, undergraduate and graduate, are invited!
Come enjoy some great food and get to know your professors and fellow students!

Library Webinar: Getting Started with RefWorks
2024-09-18 12:00 - 13:00
Are you tired of losing track of your research sources? Need help adding citations to your research papers? Attend this webinar to learn how to get started with RefWorks, an online citation management program that will allow you to collect and organize references and help you cite them in your papers. This session will cover:

how to create a RefWorks account
how to add references to your RefWorks library
how to organize and edit your library of references
how to add RefWorks citations to Word documents and Google Docs

This workshop is at 12:00pm Eastern Time.
Registration is required. Register at bit.ly/citationmgmtworkshops.
You will receive the Zoom link for this webinar via email one hour before the event.
You can also access webinar recordings and other training materials from the library’s Citations and Bibliographies guide.

Related LibGuide: RefWorks

COE Global Co-op Information Session!
2024-09-18 17:30 - 18:30
This is an in-person information session held in CSC 340 for students, hosted by the College of Engineering Global Co-op Team. We will focus on searching for co-ops abroad for the Spring 2025 semester or later. If you think you may be interested in attending, think about:

Have you ever thought about doing co-op in another country?
Would you like to learn more about available co-op opportunities, or creating your own opportunities abroad?
Are you curious about the logistics associated with a global co-op?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we hope you’ll attend so that we can introduce you to the search process and provide you with some important resources.
These info sessions are a great opportunity to connect with the COE Global Co-op Team and students who have participated in global co-op in past semesters.
If you have questions or would like more information, please find our contact information below. Please register on the NUworks Calendar.
Sally Conant, s.conant@northeastern.edu
Kristina Hubbard, k.hubbard@northeastern.edu
We look forward to meeting you!

LinkedIn, CV, Resume: CommLab Drop-In Workshops
2024-09-19 12:00 - 13:00
Join the CommLab’s empowering LinkedIn, CV, and Resume Drop-In Workshops any Thursday from 12 pm to 1 pm ET. This collaborative space offers valuable advice and peer feedback to enhance your online profile and professional presence. Join this workshop series through Zoom.

Library Webinar: Getting Started with Mendeley
2024-09-19 12:00 - 13:00
Are you interested in learning how to better organize your PDFs and research sources? Using Mendeley can help you become more organized and efficient throughout the research process: from when you first begin to explore your topic to when you are adding citations to your paper. In this online session, you will learn how to download Mendeley and set up an account, organize your research sources and PDFs, annotate PDFs, and create in-text citations and bibliographies.
This workshop is at 12:00pm Eastern Time.
Registration is required. Register at bit.ly/citationmgmtworkshops.
You will receive the Zoom link for this webinar via email one hour before the event.
You can also access webinar recordings and other training materials from the library’s Citations and Bibliographies guide.

Related LibGuide: Mendeley
