Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 20. That's when the Jacobs School of Engineering will host Research Expo 2017. This year's event will include four faculty talks representing hot-button research topics, centers and labs. Computer Science and Engineering associate professor Laurel Riek will represent the Contextual Robotics Institute (CRI). She will update the community on her own research as well as what's happening in the recently-launched institute.
Contextual Robotics Institute at UC San
Diego.
According to Riek's abstract, robots are no longer separated from people by cages. They are entering our daily lives, and to operate proximately with people, robots need the ability to understand and model human activities dynamically, to put them in context and select appropriate actions, hence the title of her talk: "Contextual Robotics." "They also need to work with and learn from people longitudinally in fluent and contingent ways," says Riek. "My research team explores these topics in depth, and designs algorithms for robots able to achieve these goals." In her talk, Riek will highlight recent projects in key areas including neurorehabilitation, critical care, healthy aging, and manufacturing.
Research Expo showcases outstanding student research from the school's M.S. and Ph.D. students in all six of its engineering departments. In addition to the 200+ graduate student posters, the afternoon event features TED-style talks by faculty highlighting research from its research centers, and it will end with a networking reception for faculty, students, industry partners and alumni. Events sponsors for Research Expo 2017 include ViaSat and the Jacobs School CAP, as well as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Leidos, Northrop Grumman and Cubic.
In addition to CSE's Riek, other speakers on the Research Expo roster include NanoEngineering professor Darren Lipomi, on behalf of the Center for Wearable Sensors, the Sustainable Power and Energy Center, and his own department. His talk will focus on "Virtual Touch: Smart Materials for Human-Machine Interaction." Electrical and Computer Engineering associate professor Farinaz Koushanfar will explore the work being done in her Adaptive Computing and Embedded Systems Laboratory to make the Internet of Things more secure. The Jacobs School is participating in the university's Deep Decarbonization Initiative related to climate change, and tackling the interrelated policy and technology challenges that must be overcome to get to zero global carbon emissions. Organizers invited UC San Diego Global Strategy and Policy professor David Victor to speak about the initiative and how to achieve deep decarbonization of the global economy.