Dr. Sabah Boustila, Assistant Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, will give a virtual colloquium talk on Friday, April 2 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM. See below for the Zoom link and more information.

Abstract: Virtual environments (VEs) displayed through Virtual and Augmented Reality (XR) are commonly used as an alternative means to accomplish delicate tasks or for decision-making in a safe and economical form. For instance, in the military field, VR could be used as a training tool, it has the potential to recreate a real battlefield at a human scale to familiarize soldiers with a new battlefield inside a harmless environment. Despite numerous technological advances in both graphic hardware as well as algorithms and APIs, how accurate virtual environments/contents could be perceived and interpreted in comparison to real ones is still an open research question. In this talk I will discuss some parameters that affect our spatial perception in indoor virtual environments and how can we adjust them to improve our experience and decision-making. Furthermore, in outdoor environment, I will discuss user performance when using navigation aids in virtual environments.

Speaker Bio: I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in User Experience and Web design at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). I received my Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Strasbourg, France in May 2016. While completing my Ph.D I held a Lecturer and Research Assistant position at the same university. In January 2018, I joined the University of Toronto (Canada) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for two years where I worked on navigation aids in virtual environments. In January 2020, I joined again the University of Strasbourg as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow before joining MMU. Throughout my career, my scientific interests have been on Virtual and Augmented Reality (XR) for real-world problems and Three-Dimensional interactions. My aim is to contribute to research that serves the community. Consequently, I have addressed issues related to user experience and spatial perception in virtual environments, and provided solutions for real-world problems: military, transportation, and architecture.

Zoom Meeting (ID: 963 2042 7065 / Password: 282553)

https://tcnj.zoom.us/j/96320427065?pwd=RDQwUDJpVVdaRlF0MGlpalBOUEdlQT09

Dr. Michael Kearns, of UPENN and co-author of The Ethical Algorithm: The Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design, will give a virtual colloquium talk on Friday, March 12 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM.  Dr. Kearns is known for his work in the fields of machine learning, algorithmic game theory, and computational social science.

See below for more information about Dr. Kearns and the links for the event.

Abstract: Many recent mainstream media articles and popular books have raised alarms over antisocial algorithmic behavior, especially regarding machine learning and artificial intelligence. The concerns include leaks of sensitive personal data by predictive models, algorithmic discrimination as a side effect of machine learning, and inscrutable decisions made by complex models. While standard and legitimate responses to these phenomena include calls for stronger and better laws and regulations, researchers in machine learning, statistics, and related areas are also working on designing better-behaved algorithms. An explosion of recent research in areas such as differential privacy, algorithmic fairness, and algorithmic game theory is forging a new science of socially aware algorithm design. Kearns will survey these developments and attempt to place them in a broader societal context. This talk is based on the book The Ethical Algorithm, co-authored with Aaron Roth (Oxford University Press).

Speaker Bio: Michael Kearns is a professor in the Computer and Information Science Department and the National Center Chair at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has secondary appointments in the departments of Economics, Statistics, and Operations, Information and Decisions (OID) in the Wharton School. He is the Founding Director of the Warren Center for Network and Data Sciences, founded and directed the Networked and Social Systems Engineering (NETS) Program at Penn. He is also a faculty affiliate in the Applied Math and Computational Science graduate program of the university. Outside of Penn, he is affiliated with the Santa Fe Institute as an external faculty member and, since June 2020, he started a role at Amazon as part of their Scholars Program, focusing on algorithmic fairness, privacy, machine learning, and related topics within Amazon Web Services (AWS). He has extensive research experience in quantitative and algorithmic trading on wall street, working with several large financial institutes, including Lehman Brothers, BOA, SAC Capital, and Morgan Stanley. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alan Turing Institute and of the Market Surveillance Advisory Group of FINRA. He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), and the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory.

Zoom Meeting (ID: 977 8863 9845 / Password: 277574)
https://tcnj.zoom.us/j/97788639845?pwd=eTd1cVhUamlVN2ZQWUZiazQ5RVFLdz09
YouTube Live Stream
https://youtu.be/suuHqXOfJn4