NAI Workshop
2023-10-26 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Embracing our century-long leadership in experiential education, translational research, and global presence, Northeastern’s chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) serves to empower inventorship and entrepreneurship across the innovation ecosystem by recognizing, inspiring, educating, and connecting, members of the academic and industrial communities.
Please join us for the National Academy of Inventors Northeastern Chapter board meeting.
Special guests include Luis Brito of Beam Therapeutics and Deirdre Saunders of Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds.
Curry Student Center, Room #340

Khoury Fireside Chat with Kashmir Hill
2023-10-27 12:00 - 14:00 | Fenway Center, 77 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Join Khoury Dean Elizabeth Mynatt for a thought-provoking fireside chat on AI with New York Times columnist Kashmir Hill. The event will be held on Friday, October 27 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the Fenway Center and will be moderated by Associate Professor David Choffnes. This event will include insights from Hill, along with a question-and-answer section and a networking reception.
Hill is the author of Your Face Belongs to Us, a national bestseller released last year that tells the story of a “small AI company that gave facial recognition to law enforcement, billionaires, and businesses, threatening to end privacy as we know it.”
Registration for the event is required.
Register

Ugur Can Yilmaz PhD Proposal Review
2023-10-27 16:00 - 17:00
Title:
Robust and Computationally Efficient Three-Phase State Estimation for Large-Scaled Unbalanced Power Systems
Date:
10/27/2023
Time:
4:00:00 PM
Committee Members:
Prof. Ali Abur (Advisor)
Prof. Mahshid Amirabadi
Dr. Bilgehan Donmez
Abstract:
Power system monitoring is crucial for ensuring the stability and reliability of electrical grids, allowing for the timely detection of anomalies and potential faults, thus facilitating proactive maintenance and preventing widespread outages. The growing need and interest in real-time monitoring of large distribution networks motivated by the rapid population of renewable sources, EVs etc. demand an accurate, robust and computationally efficient three-phase state estimation framework which is capable of handling unbalanced operation in asymmetrical structured networks.
The challenge common to distribution system state estimation are twofold: (1) while the phase angle of any of the bus voltages can be chosen as the angular reference in the state estimation formulation of positive sequence networks, the same approach does not readily extend to three-phase distribution network state estimation problem and (2) the scalability of the estimation in terms of computational performance for very large-scaled networks is not trivial without compromising the robustness of the estimator. In this study, a novel state estimation formulation will be presented which facilitates correct solution irrespective of the existence of buses with perfectly balanced voltages. The new formulation is general. It yields accurate results in any three-phase power system irrespective of its operating conditions (balanced or highly unbalanced), configuration (isolated microgrid, connected to transmission system, etc.) and whether or not it contains any synchronous generators. Additionally, this research introduces innovative methodologies aimed at enhancing the efficacy of the state estimator for application in distribution networks. It is ensured that the computational efficiency of the estimator remains viable while the robustness is guaranteed, even when dealing with highly extensive power networks using a parallel distributed state estimation framework. At the core of the proposed approach are two partitioning algorithms that enable efficient parallelisation of computations both for radial and meshed networks. All the methodologies have been formulated, implemented, and their effectiveness confirmed through preliminary results employing straightforward test scenarios.

Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CSChE 2023)
2023-10-29 16:00 - 18:00
Join Chemical Engineering Graduate Admissions at the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CSChE 2023). Find us at the Graduate Studies & Career Fair, and our Academic Coordinator Cindy Rinear will be happy to answer your questions about our graduate programs.

LGBTQ+ Job Fair
2023-10-30 15:00 - 18:00 | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Do you want to join an LGBTQ-inclusive workplace?
The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce invites job seekers to attend our next LGBTQ+ Job Fair at Northeastern University’s Curry Student Center.

SHPE 2023 National Convention
2023-11-01 - 2023-11-05
COE Graduate Admissions is excited to attend the SHPE National Convention again this year in Salt Lake City, UT! Learn about our graduate engineering programs available across the U.S. and Canada at the Career Fair & Graduate Expo on November 3rd-4th! Northeastern University will be hosting a Hospitality Suite on November 1st at 7:30pm.

Chemical Engineering Fall Seminar Series: Professor Burcu Gurkan
2023-11-01 12:00 - 13:00 | 010 Behrakis, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
The Significance of the Double Layer Structure of Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents for Electrochemical Processes
Ionic Liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) represent concentrated electrolytes with negligible volatility, electrochemical and thermal stability, and nonflammability that are desirable for electrochemical processes. The electrode electrolyte interfacial structure of these electrolytes present unique behavior that impacts the outcomes of electron transfer reactions at the electrode surface. We examined these interfaces and the redox reactions relevant to energy storage and electrocatalysis with a combination of techniques including surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), in-situ UV-Vis spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), neutron reflectivity (NR), and voltammetry. This presentation will highlight the impact of solvation, ionic interactions, surface adsorption, and hydrogen bonding and transfer on interfacial structure, redox reactions, and catalytic mechanisms in particular for CO2 electroreduction.

Prof. Burcu Gurkan is recently promoted to Full Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Her research focuses on deep eutectic solvents and ionic liquids for applications in separations, energy conversion and storage. She completed her PhD from the University of Notre Dame and postdoctoral trainings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and The University of Akron. She is the recipient of NASA Early Career Faculty, NSF CAREER, and ACS PRF New Investigator awards. She is the Deputy Director of BEES2 (Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage Systems) – a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) and a key researcher in 4C (Center for Closing the Carbon Cycle) EFRC. Prof. Gurkan is the past chair of Transport and Energy Processes division of AIChE. She is the 2024 Programming Chair of Energy and Fuels division of ACS and the elected Chair of 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Separation Science. She serves as an Associate Editor of ACS Applied Engineering Materials. (References: Gurkan Group website is https://www.energylab-cwru.com/ and BEES EFRC website is https://engineering.case.edu/research/centers/breakthrough-electrolytes-for-energystorage)

Gordon Institute Virtual Information Session
2023-11-01 17:30 - 18:30
Learn how you can earn a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership as a stand-alone certificate or in combination with one of twenty-three Master of Science degrees offered through Northeastern’s College of Engineering, College of Science, or Khoury College of Computer Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering recognized The Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership (GIEL) for its innovative curriculum that combines technical education, leadership capabilities, and the “Challenge Project”: an opportunity for students to receive master’s level credit while working in industry.
By aligning technical proficiency with leadership capabilities, GIEL accelerates the development of high-potential engineers and prepares them to lead complex projects early in their careers. Upon completing the program, more than 88% of the 2022 class reported increased leadership responsibility, while more than 50% of the 2022 class reported being promoted within one year of graduation.
Our Director of Admissions will answer your application questions for Fall 2024.
You will have the opportunity to hear from Alumni on how The Gordon Institute propelled their engineering careers. Program professors will also be present to answer curriculum questions.

Project 9 Showcase: Using Consumer Data To Shape and Scale Public Policy
2023-11-03 13:00 - 15:00
MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins will be presenting on our use of sales data to estimate the inputs of plastic packaging into waste streams and the environment. The datasets are cool to play with – daily consumer sales data and home panel data, 3 digit zip code spatial resolution across the US (global data available too), daily temporal resolution, for about decade.
Register here: https://lnkd.in/gtKyr9QJ
Location: 89 Broad Street

Lean Green-Belt certification course
2023-11-03 18:30 - 2023-11-05 13:00
The IISE Lean Green Belt Certification program is coming to Northeastern on November 3rd, 4th, & 5th 2023. This is a great process improvement and project management course that teaches Lean 6S, muda, value stream mapping, point of use, SMED, pull, the eight forms of waste, visual workplace, and other related topics.
This course is open to all majors and skill levels, including alumni! No prerequisites or prior knowledge required.
This certification can provide a tremendous resume boost and increase the likelihood of getting that dream job or co-op.
Learn more at iisenortheastern.org/professional-certifications/

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Civil and Environmental Engineering
2023-11-06 09:00 - 09:45
Learn about the Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate programs and how you’ll become a prepared professional to address the global, complex, and ever-evolving engineering challenges of our time by building on current department strengths and expanding into vital areas.

GSE Fall Wonder Week: MS Telecommunications & Cyber Physical Systems
2023-11-06 11:00 - 11:45
Learn about the MS in Telecommunication Networks & Cyber-Physical Systems graduate programs and how you’ll become a prepared professional to address complex, and ever-evolving engineering challenges!

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: MSIS, MSIS Bridge, MSSWES, MSDAAM programs
2023-11-07 08:00 - 08:45
Join this webinar to learn about MS Information Systems, MS Information Systems Bridge, MS Data Architecture & Management, and MS Software Engineering Systems. You’ll learn how each of these programs learning opportunities to develop the skills needed to create innovative, practical, and effective solutions that can be easily applied to current professional challenges.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Product Development
2023-11-07 09:00 - 09:45
Join this webinar to learn more about the growing demand for Product Development and why it is the key to the success of businesses and the technology sector as it continues to fuel the world economy.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Electrical and Computer Engineering
2023-11-07 10:00 - 10:45
Join this webinar to learn more about the Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate program including interdisciplinary research opportunities and a world-renowned co-op program.

STAHY 2023 – 13th International Workshop on Statistical Hydrology (STAHY)
2023-11-08 - 2023-11-10
The International Commission on Statistical Hydrology (ICSH) of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) invites researchers to submit abstracts for presentation at the 13th International Workshop on Statistical Hydrology (STAHY2023), which will be hosted by Northeastern University in Boston, Massaschuetts (USA), from 8-10 November 2023.
The STAHY 2023 workshop brings together the international statistical hydrology community for vibrant scientific discussions and debates on advanced statistical methods for hydrological applications. This year’s theme aims to provide a bridge between the environmental statistics and artificial intelligence communities with methodological discussions, exchange of knowledge, and identification of opportunities for mutual support to solve climate, water, and sustainability issues.
Focusing on the broader scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015, the theme of the workshop is expected to address several goals but are not limited to Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Land (SDG 15).
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are creating a renaissance for environmental and hydrologic statistics that STAHY 2023 wishes to capture in its theme. For example, machine learning, including the latest generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs), cannot work without probability theory, and similarly nonlinear statistics can benefit from the flexibility offered by neural network processing. Integrating AI technologies with environmental and hydrologic statistics would provide valuable insights for policymakers to devise informed planning and robust water resources management decisions. Similarly, in this era of Big Data and automated decisions, a wide range of statistical theories such as extreme value theory and human-in-the-loop decisions, continue to remain relevant.
We welcome contributions that use machine learning, artificial intelligence, hydrologic statistics and/or environmental statistics and address climate, water, and sustainability issues. Sessions will be arranged by scientific topic and aim to include the diverse ways in which traditional environmental statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are applied within these topics.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
2023-11-08 08:00 - 08:45
Join this webinar to learn about the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering graduate programs at Northeastern University. You’ll learn about our experiential graduate mechanical and industrial engineering programs including interdisciplinary research opportunities and world-renown co-op.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: MGEN Co-op
2023-11-08 09:00 - 09:45
Come learn more about Northeastern’s Multidisciplinary Co-op Program for graduate engineering students! The webinar will feature a presentation by Associate Coop Coordinator & Associate Director Laura Meyer.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: MS in Internet of Things & Wireless Network Engineering
2023-11-08 12:00 - 12:45
Join experts from the Institute for Wireless Internet of Things as they dive deep into the MS in Internet of Things and Wireless and Network Engineering programs and how they relate to their vision of a future in which people and their environment are wirelessly connected by a continuum of AI-powered devices and networks, from driverless cars and search-and-rescue drone swarms to implantable medical devices and smart cities.

Diwali "Festival of Light"
2023-11-08 12:00 - 13:00
Join the Department of Bioengineering for a Diwali lunch celebration in collaboration with the BioE DEI committee. Food and music included. Colorful clothing is encouraged.
Location: The Fenway Center

oSTEM 13th Annual Conference
2023-11-09 - 2023-11-12
Join COE Graduate Admissions at the 13th Annual oSTEM Conference in Anaheim, CA! Ask your questions about our graduate engineering programs across the U.S. and Canada during the Career Fair Expo on November 10-11th. We look forward to meeting you there!

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Chemical Engineering
2023-11-09 08:00 - 08:45
Learn about the Chemical Engineering graduate program and the cutting-edge research you can be a part of that’s tackles pressing challenges facing our society and our planet in areas such as biomedicine, energy, security, and sustainability.

GSE Fall 2023 Wonder Week: Disciplinary Co-Op
2023-11-09 10:00 - 10:45
Come learn more about Northeastern’s Co-op Program for graduate engineering students! A member of our admissions team, and the Assistant Dean & Senior Co-op Coordinator, Lorraine Mountain will present and answer questions.

Cookies with the Dean
2023-11-14 12:00 - 13:30 | The Tents at Robinson Quad, 336 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Join Dean Gregory Abowd for cookies and warm apple cider! Stop by the Tents at Robinson Quad from 12pm-1:30pm for our monthly Cookies with the Dean event.

Chemical Engineering Fall Seminar Series: Professor Malika Jeffries-El
2023-11-15 12:00 - 13:00 | 010 Behrakis, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Design and Synthesis of Organic Electronic Material
The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number of consumer electronics in use. Previously, most households had a landline phone, one or two televisions, and the occasional desktop computer. These days, most people own numerous electronic devices, resulting in an increased demand for the semiconducting materials that drive this technology and the energy needed to power them. Accordingly, there has been a lot of interest in developing organic semiconductors, as many of the inorganic materials used in these devices are in limited supply. Organic semiconductors are either polymers or small molecules that feature an extended pi-conjugation. These materials possess many exceptional electronic, optical, and thermal properties and thus are well-suited for applications such as transistors, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes. Unfortunately, several issues must be addressed before real-life products can be developed. Unfortunately, several issues must be addressed before real-life products can be developed. Our group focuses on the design and synthesis of new organic semiconductors based on low-cost and/or easily prepared starting materials. Since the properties of organic semiconductors can be readily modified through chemical synthesis, we have turned our attention towards the design and synthesis of novel aromatic building blocks. Our group developed several new materials, including wide-band materials for organic light-emitting diodes and narrow-band gap materials for photovoltaic cells. Our recent work will be presented.

Dr. Jeffries-El’s research focuses on developing organic semiconductors–materials that combine the processing properties of polymers with the electronic properties of semiconductors. She has authored over 40 peer reviewed publications and has given over 180 lectures globally. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Royal Society of Chemistry. She has won numerous awards, including the ACS Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences. She is currently an Associate Editor for Chemical Science. She has also served on the editorial boards for the Journal of Materials Chemistry C and Materials Advances and the editorial advisory boards for ACS Central Science and Chemical and Engineering News. Professor Jeffries-El is a staunch advocate for diversity and a dedicated volunteer who has served in several activities within the ACS and is currently an elected board of directors member as a director-at-large. She is also a science communicator who seeks to encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM degrees and recently appeared on the NOVA series Beyond the Elements. She also serves the community through her work with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She is a native of Brooklyn, New York.

NIH Webinar
2023-11-16 09:00 - 11:00
The Center for Research Innovation will be hosting a webinar with the National Institutes of Health, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Join us to learn about the grants and resources available for translational researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Mahshid Asri PhD Dissertation Defense
2023-11-17 08:30 - 09:30
Title:
Development of Anomaly Detection and Characterization Algorithms Using Wideband Radar Image Processing for Security Applications
Date:
11/17/2023
Time:
8:30:00 AM
Location: 302 Stearns
Committee Members:
Prof. Carey Rappaport (Advisor)
Prof. Charles DiMarzio
Prof. Edwin Marengo
Abstract:
Detection and characterization of suspicious body-worn objects is necessary for safe and effective personnel screening. In airports, developing a precise system that can distinguish threats and explosives from objects like money belt can reduce the pat-down significantly while maintaining effective security. This dissertation proposes two main algorithms which are developed for different millimeter-wave radar systems. The first project is a material characterization algorithm designed for a 30 GHz wideband multi bi-static radar system used for passenger screening in airports. The proposed algorithm can automatically distinguish lossless materials from lossy ones and calculate their thickness and permittivities. Starting from the radar reconstructed image showing a cross-section of the body, we extract the nominal body contour using Fourier series, separate body and object responses, categorize the object as lossy or lossless based on the depression and protrusion of the body contour, and finally predict possible values for the object’s permittivity and thickness. Our resulting classification is good, implying fewer nuisance alarms at check points. We have also trained a deep learning model for pixel-wise localization of body worn anomalies. The second project is a metal detection algorithm developed to monitor pedestrians walking along a sidewalk for large, concealed metallic objects. Finite Difference Frequency Domain and SAR algorithms are used to simulate the images produced by this 6 GHz wideband radar system. A deep learning model has then been used to predict a pixel level mask for the body and anomaly based on the inputted radar image.

FacDev Fridays: How Faculty Can Support Student Mental Health
2023-11-17 13:00 - 14:00
Register for this event

Graduate School of Engineering Campus Tour (In Person)
2023-11-25 10:00 - 11:00
Want to learn more about the Graduate School of Engineering on the Boston campus? Then we welcome you to sign up for a Graduate School of Engineering campus tour! Led by one of our expert Graduate Student Ambassadors, we’ll show you key locations on campus, in addition to resources specific to Engineering, and answer your questions about Boston. Please complete the registration form linked below to select the date and time that works best for you. Tours are open to both newly admitted and prospective students. We can’t wait to meet you!

Bruno Souto Maior Muniz Morais PhD Dissertation Defense
2023-11-27 08:00 - 17:00
Title:
Enabling Domain Platform Design for Streaming Applications: A Holistic Approach
Committee Members:
Gunar Schirner (Advisor)
Prof. David Kaeli
Prof. Hamed Tabkhi (UNCC)
Time:
10:00:00 AM
Location: ISEC 601
Abstract:
In recent years, more demanding streaming applications make striking a balance between high compute performance and efficiency paramount in platforms designs for edge computing. In addition, designing a platform that is optimized for a single application is costly due to non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs. In contrast, multiple applications can be grouped in domains, e.g. computer vision, software-defined radio. Leveraging shared characteristics of similar applications within a domain, e.g. structural composition/computation patterns, a single domain platform that caters to these similarities and accelerates applications can be generated, thus benefiting multiple applications at once and dramatically improving NRE and time-to-market (TTM).
This dissertation introduces methodologies atvarious abstraction levels to enable streamlined domain platform design for streaming applications. Thrust 1 introduces high level DSE methods based on integer linear programming (ILP), Tile-based Synchronization Aware ILP (TSAR-ILP). Initially, single-application platform allocations are considered using TSAR-ILP. While TSAR-ILP only focuses on applications in isolation, its formulation lays the foundations for DmTSAR-ILP, a method that performs domain DSE with multiple applications, obtaining an optimal unified platform allocation that and achieving an increase of 22.5% in throughput, while being 70x faster when compared to previous methods (MG-DmDSE). However, DmTSAR-ILP aims to aggregate all applications fairly. This presents a challenge when the designer wishes to focus on a subset of applications. To enable ultimate flexibility in a product-oriented setting, modeled after a market analysis process, this dissertation introduces ProdDSE. ProdDSE enables application prioritization while also introducing concurrent application modeling and a multi-objective optimization (area, performance) approach. This enables up to a 3.4x boost in performance depending on use case, while also providing gains in DSE runtime (4.3x faster).
Thrust 2 introduces Sedona, a domain-specific language (DSL) and exploration enviroment that captures parametric dataflow application descriptions with language features dedicated to streaming applications. A design identified by Thrust 1 can be further refined using the tools in Thrust 2, by capturing the connectivity of a design using Sedona. Then, automatic wiring is performed for target outputs such as timing-aware simulations or RTL-level code, enabling structural manipulation at a high-level description without the burden of low-level manual integration.
Finally, to better guide the high-level decisions performed in Thrust 1 and further exploration/integration in Thrust 2, Thrust 3 considers the implications of HWACC topology choices in an HWACC-rich SoC. The ACTAR flow is introduced to explore different topologies in a RISC-V based SoC and the side-effects of topology and memory sizing choices on the system-wide performance and synchronization burdens due computation offloading to HWACCs. This produces valuable and actionable insights for designers to make informed choices on system-level compositions depending on application communication and computation demands.
