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Speakers:

Using Reinforcement Learning to Operate a Campus Safely During a Pandemic

Elizabeth Ondula, PhD Student in Computer Science

“I am a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at USC, affiliated with the Autonomous Networks Research Group with Professor Bhaskar Krishnamachari as my advisor and mentor. My research is centered around the design and implementation of artificial intelligence systems and tools to tackle decision-making and control tasks in diverse domains. Currently, I utilize reinforcement learning as a framework to model and reason under uncertainties, with a focus on addressing challenges in the safe operations of educational environments and sustainable food systems. Before joining USC, I gained valuable experience as a Research Software Engineer at IBM Research, Africa, as the Head of Product Development at Brave Venture Labs, and as a Co-Lead for Hardware Research at iHub Nairobi. Additionally, I served as a member of the Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce in Kenya. I hold a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Technical University of Kenya.”

Semi-automated Movement Quality Assessment for Upper Extremity Stroke Survivors

Tamin Ahmed, PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering

“I am a Data Scientist at Interactive Neuro-rehabilitation Lab and a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at USC. My research focuses on understanding upper extremity stroke survivor’s movement patterns and stroke rehab. I graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. I designed a low-cost automated injecting device that can find vein location and draw blood from the vein using an injection. From October 2017, I was appointed as a Research Engineer to work on ultrasound image reconstruction. For this project, I developed a deep neural network called the “SHEAR-net” to reconstruct novel elastography images.”