aspuru-list April 2007

aspuru-list@lists.fas.harvard.edu

13 participants
58 discussions

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Future of Energy - Thursday - April 12

by Jenny MacGregor

The Future of Energy Lecture Series Please join us for the final lecture in the 2006-2007 Future of Energy Series... /Vaclav Smil,/ Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba *"Transforming Energy Techniques"* * Thursday, April 12 at* *5 PM Yenching Auditorium, 2 Divinity Avenue*, *Cambridge* Dr. Smil is also a fellow at the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy). His interdisciplinary research interests encompass a broad area of energy, environmental, food, population, economic, and public policy studies. He is the first non-American to receive the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. He has testified and briefed members of Congress and the White House, the US State Department, and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Smil has lent his consulting expertise to American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Futures Research, East-West Center, International Research and Development Center, Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress, OECD, Project 2050, the Rockefeller Foundation, US Agency for International Development, US National Academy of Sciences, the World Bank, and the World Resources Institute. A prolific writer, Dr. Smil has authored over 300 papers on several topic issues such as energy, the environment, and Asian studies. He has been published in multiple science periodicals such as the American Scientist, World Development, Scientific American and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Over the years, Dr. Smil has authored 25 books including most recently, "Transforming the 20th Century," "Energy: A Beginner's Guide," "Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems," and "Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next 50 Years." The Future of Energy Lecture Series is sponsored by the *Harvard University Center for the Environment* with generous support from *Bank of America*. Please contact Jenny MacGregor (jenny_macgregor(a)harvard.edu) with any questions. This event is free and open to the public. -- Jenny MacGregor Events and Publications Coordinator Harvard University Center for the Environment ph: 617-495-8883

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [theochem-announce] Special MIT Theoretical Chemistry Seminar tomorrow

by Chiao-Lun Cheng

Speaker -- Akbar Salam Wake Forest University Title -- Interparticle Interatctions: A Molecular Quantum Electrodynamical Approach Time and Place-- Wednesday, 4/11, 2007 4-5pm Moore Room (6-321) _______________________________________________ theochem-announce mailing list theochem-announce(a)mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/theochem-announce

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-seminars] [Colloquium] CS Colloquium - MONDAY, April 16 - Jonathan Zittrain

by colloquium＠deas.harvard.edu

*Please Note Room Location* Harvard University Computer Science Colloquium Series 33 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 Colloquium Peer-to-fear: The next generation of privacy problems Jonathan Zittrain Oxford University Oxford Internet Institute Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School http://www.jz.org/ *MONDAY*, April 16, 2007 4:00PM *Maxwell Dworkin G115* (Refreshments at 3:30PM - Maxwell Dworkin 2nd Floor Lounge Area) Abstract Privacy issues arising from government and corporate sources are genuinely interesting and important. But they are dwarfed by a series of threats to privacy that do not fit the standard analytic privacy template. They come from the sorts of Web 2.0 activity that is usually thought of as individually empowering. The generative internet has drawn upon three ingredients to create a new form of privacy problem: cheap sensors, peer production, and reputation systems. These problems arise at the technical layer in Internet and PC security, and at the content layer in ventures such as Wikipedia, Flickr, and Facebook. Effective solutions for these issues may have more in common with solutions to other generative problems than those associated with the decades-old informational privacy analytic template. Host: Professor Michael Smith _______________________________________________ Colloquium mailing list Colloquium(a)deas.harvard.edu https://lists.deas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/colloquium _______________________________________________ iic-seminars mailing list iic-seminars(a)calists.harvard.edu http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-seminars

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Science and Democracy Lecture Series - TONIGHT

by Jenny MacGregor

Please join us for the first lecture in a new series on: Please join us tonight at the Starr Auditorium, 2nd Floor of the Belfer Building, Kennedy School of Government Complex, corner of JFK and Elliot Streets for.... * Science and Democracy * A new lecture series aimed at exploring both the promised benefits of our era's most salient scientific and technological breakthroughs and the potentially harmful consequences of developments that are inadequately understood, debated, or managed by politicians, lay publics, and policy institutions. *Inaugural lecture and panel discussion * *Yaron Ezrahi, Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem "Necessary Fictions: The Decline of Science in the Democratic Imagination"/ /* *Panelists* *Ellen Goodman*, Boston Globe; and Fellow, Shorenstein Center, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard *James McCarthy*, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography, Departments of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard *Steven Shapin*, Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science,* *History of Science Department, Harvard *Cass Sunstein*, Karl N. Llewellyn Dist. Service Professor of Jurisprudence, Chicago Law School *Monday, April 9, 2007, 5:00-7:00 pm Starr Auditorium, 2nd Floor, Belfer Building, Kennedy School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Harvard University* This event is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Harvard University Center for the Environment. /Contact - Jenny MacGregor, jenny_macgregor(a)harvard.edu, 617-495-8883/ -- Jenny MacGregor Events and Publications Coordinator Harvard University Center for the Environment ph: 617-495-8883

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-seminars] [Colloquium] CS Colloquium - May 3, 2007 - Ramin Zabih

by colloquium＠deas.harvard.edu

Computer Science Colloquium Series 33 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617) 496-1440 | Fax: (617) 496-6404 Colloquium Flow-based optimization methods in computer vision Ramin Zabih Cornell University www.cs.cornell.edu/~rdz Thursday, May 3, 2007 4:00PM Maxwell Dworkin G125 (Ice Cream at 3:30PM - Maxwell Dworkin 2nd Floor Lounge Area) Abstract Computer vision is a rich source of important yet intractable optimization problems. During the last decade, algorithms based on max flow ("graph cuts") have had a large impact on the field. These algorithms combine interesting theoretical properties with compelling experimental results. I will describe the most important algorithms and their properties, and sketch a few applications where these methods have proven to be particularly successful. Finally, I will discuss some challenges and opportunities that arise in applying these methods to medical imaging problems. Host: Professor Greg Morrisett _______________________________________________ Colloquium mailing list Colloquium(a)deas.harvard.edu https://lists.deas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/colloquium _______________________________________________ iic-seminars mailing list iic-seminars(a)calists.harvard.edu http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-seminars

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] ACTS Computational software collection tutorial.

by Alan Aspuru-Guzik

Dear Group, Of all of you interested in scientific computing, I recommend attending this workshop. I attended when I was a grad student and it was helpful to learn about the different DOE libraries to carry out different things (Solving PDEs, optimization, etc.) such as PetSC, Tau, OPT++, etc. DOE covers the expenses, I think if we apply early and give a good reason for going Cheers, Alan > >Eighth Workshop on the DOE Advanced Computational Software Collection >Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, August 21-24, 2007 > >Building Blocks for Reliable and High Performing Computing >http://acts.nersc.gov/events/Workshop2007 > >The DOE Advanced CompuTational Software (ACTS) Collection comprises a >set of tools that aim at simplifying the solution of common and >important computational problems. The tools have substantially benefited >a wide range of scientific and industrial applications; these benefits >are accounted not only by improving computational efficiency but also by >enabling computation that would not have been possible otherwise. > >The four-day workshop will present an introduction to the ACTS >Collection for application scientists whose research demands include >either large amounts of computation, the use of robust numerical >algorithms, or combinations of these. The workshop will include a range >of tutorials on the tools currently available in the collection, >discussion sessions aimed to solve specific computational needs by the >workshop participants, and hands-on practices using NERSC's >state-of-the-art computers. > >This workshop is opened to computational scientists from industry and >academia. Registration fees are fully sponsored by the DOE's Office of >Science. In addition, DOE will sponsor travel expenses and lodging for a >limited number of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. For more >information on the workshop, please contact Tony Drummond at >(510) 486-7624 or Osni Marques at (510) 486-5290. > >Relevant Links: > >- Application form: >http://acts.nersc.gov/events/Workshop2007/application.html >- ACTS Collection information: http://acts.nersc.gov > >Important Dates to Remember: > >- Application submission deadline: June 22, 2007 >- Application review completed and invitations sent: July 05, 2007 >- Attendee confirmation of participation deadline: July 13, 2007 >- Workshop Dates: August 21-24, 2007 > >L. A. Drummond, (Tony) >Staff Scientist >Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory >One Cyclotron Road >Berkeley, CA 94720 -- Alan Aspuru-Guzik Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology 12 Oxford Street Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617)384-8188 Group URL: http://aspuru.chem.harvard.edu

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-seminars] IIC Seminar Reminder - Pavlos Protopapas on April 11th

by Helene Tingle

Initiative in Innovative Computing @ Harvard Seminar Series Wednesday, April 11, 2007; 4:00pm Seminar Title: The IIC Time Series Center: How Astronomers, Computer Scientists and Statisticians Together are Working to Tackle Hard Problems in Astronomy Pavlos Protopapas, Senior Scientist, IIC and Research Associate, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University 60 Oxford Street, Room 330 Abstract New astronomical surveys such as Pan-STARRS and LSST are under development and will collect petabytes of data. These surveys will image large areas of sky repeatedly to great depth, and will detect vast numbers of moving, variably bright, and transient objects. The data product of these surveys is series of observations taken over time, or light-curves. The IIC has established an inter-disciplinary Center for Time Series with an immediate focus on astronomy. I will present four research topics currently being pursued at the IIC that require expertise from astronomy, computer science and statistics. These are: identifying novel astronomical phenomena in large light-curve datasets, searching for rare phenomena such as extra-solar planets, discovering objects in the outer reaches of our solar system, and efficiently searching for similar light curves in data collections. ***Parking is available in the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Please tell the attendant that you are attending the IIC Seminar. Upcoming IIC seminars Continue to stay up to date with our IIC Seminar Schedule. _______________________________________________ iic-seminars mailing list iic-seminars(a)calists.harvard.edu http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-seminars

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Sunday Group outing.

by Alan Aspuru-Guzik

Dear group, Out of a recent lunch discussion came out the idea of getting together this Sunday. You are all invited to our place to have Mexican food. Carlos Amador and Laura are bringing chiles rellenos ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_relleno ) and Dori and are making Mole ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_poblano ) that I brought directly from San Pedro Atocpan. James already volunteered a Tequila bottle also from Mexico. We will start cooking activities around noon, and you can come anytime, but of course I suggest to show up at least at 2.00 PM because that is when we are planning to serve the food. You don't need to bring anything. You can bring significant others. Please RSVP to Dori (dtakata(a)gmail.com) and me to get a head-count. My place is 165 Pleasant St Apt 204, (617)6612973. The place is closest (10 min) to Central Sq, but very walkable (15 min) from Harvard Square. Cheers, Alan -- Alan Aspuru-Guzik Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology 12 Oxford Street Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617)384-8188 Group URL: http://aspuru.chem.harvard.edu

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Environmental Events around Harvard 4/5/07 - 4/19/07

by Jenny MacGregor

Dear HUCE Faculty and Friends, Please refer to the Center website for complete details on these and other environmental events taking place at and near Harvard. If you would like to add an event to the calendar, or unsubscribe from this list, please contact Jenny MacGregor, jenny_macgregor(a)harvard.edu <mailto:jenny_macgregor@harvard.edu>, 617-495-8883. *Highlights:* 4/9/07 -- Science and Democracy Series Inaugural Lecture -- Yaron Ezrahi, Israel Democracy Institute -- KSG 4/12/07 -- The Future of Energy <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/navigation2/FOE06.htm>-- Transforming Energy Techniques -- Vclav Smil, University of Manitoba 4/18/07 -- Climate Change and Security in the EU - Björn Bjarnason, Minister of Justice, Iceland *Calendar Listings:*** *Thursday 4/5/2007 * 4:30p - 6:00p The Global Burden of Disease with a Focus on HIV/AIDS <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65961838> Dr. Christopher Murray, Director, Harvard Initiative for Global Health, Director, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Richard B. Saltonstall Professor of Public Policy, Harvard School of Public Health Harvard Initiative for Global Health, 104 Mount Auburn Street, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, *Friday 4/6/2007* 8:30a - 9:30a Mineral Associated Biofilms and Bacterial Diversity <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65691016> Dr. Chris McNamara, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University Microbial Sciences Initiative (MSI) Chalktalk Breakfast Harvard Univ. Center for the Environment (HUCE) conf. room 310, 24 Oxford St, Cambridge 11:00a - 12:00p Nutrient partitioning as a possible mechanism for species richness maintenance in tropical forest canopies <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64862237> Catherine Cardelús, University of Florida , Department of Botany Harvard Forest Seminar Series Shaler Hall, Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA 12:00p - 1:30p Massachusetts v. EPA: The Supreme Court on Global Warming <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65219940> James Milkey, Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts Pound 201, Harvard Law School 12:00p - 1:00p Aerosol Mass Spectrometer Characterization of Organic Particles: New Techniques and field results <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65893453> Jose-Luis Jimenez, University of Colorado Atmospheric Sciences Seminar Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford St., Cambridge *Monday 4/9/2007* 12:00p - 1:00p Harvard Energy Journal Club <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65724759> Weekly roundtable discussion open to the Harvard and MIT communities Harvard Univ. Center for the Environment (HUCE) conf. room 310, 24 Oxford St, Cambridge 3:00p - 4:00p Caveman economics: How Charles Darwin will save Adam Smith <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64862228> Terence Burnham, Acadian Asset Management Program for Evolutionary Dynamics One Brattle Square, 6th Floor, Cambridge 3:30p - 4:30p Debating the Economics of Climate Change <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65320504> William Nordhaus, Yale University Lower Level Classroom, 52 Church Street 3:30p - 4:30p Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Interpretation of Biomonitoring Results <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65893839> Melvin E. Andersen, Ph.D., CIH, DABT, FATS Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Seminar Series Landmark 414A, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston 4:00p - 5:00p Constraining the Glacial Overturning Circulation in the Atlantic <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64154655> William Curry Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Earth and Planetary Sciences Departmental Colloquium Haller Hall 102 Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street 5:00p - 7:00p Necessary Fictions: The Decline of Science in the Democratic Imagination <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65320555> Yaron Ezrahi, Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Israel Democracy Institute Part of a lecture series on Science and Democracy Starr Auditorium, Kennedy School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge *Tuesday 4/10/2007 * 9:30a - 11:00a Socio-political Influences on Deployment of Emerging Energy Technologies <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=63829859> Jennie Stephens, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Clark University Energy Technology Innovation Project Seminar Series Belfer Center Library, Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA *Wednesday 4/11/2007* -- 3rd GEOS-Chem Atmospheric Chemical Transport Model Users' Meeting <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64091828> Maxwell-Dworkin G115, 33 Oxfrod Street, Cambridge 8:00a - 9:15a The Importance of Using Personal Monitoring in Exposure Assessment Studies <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65995525> Jack Spengler, Ph.D, HSPH Department of Environmental Health and Petros Koutrakis, Ph.D., HSPH Department of Environmental Health Genetics & Environmental Health Breakfast Kresge 110, HSPH, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston 4:00p - 5:30p Price-Based Regulation of Air Pollution with Spatially-Variant Marginal Damages <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=63056697> Nicholas Muller and Robert Mendelsohn, Yale University Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy Room L-382, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 5:30p - 7:30p Hydro and Indians: A Second Look at First Peoples and Power <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65556372> Larry House, Elder and Spokesman for the Cree Nation, James Bay, Canada Science Center Lecture Hall D, Harvard *Thursday 4/12/2007 * -- 3rd GEOS-Chem Atmospheric Chemical Transport Model Users' Meeting <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64091829> Maxwell-Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge 12:00p - 1:30p Harvard Ecology Discussion Group <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65589779> Weekly roundtable discussion open to the Harvard and MIT communities Harvard Univ. Center for the Environment (HUCE) conf. room 310, 24 Oxford St, Cambridge 12:00p - 1:30p Measuring Avoided Deforestation from Land Use Policies <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65522715> Paul J. Ferraro, Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University Frontiers in Sustainable Development Speaker Series Center for International Development, Perkins Room -- Rubenstein Bldg, Room 415, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 3:30p - 4:30p Urban Planning in Chengdu: Process, Politics, and Policy -- A Provisional View <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64462539> Dr. Arnold Howitt, Taubman Center for State and Local Government, Kennedy School of Government China Project Seminar Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford St., Cambridge 5:00p - 6:30p The Future of Energy Lecture Series - Transforming Energy Techniques <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65354501> Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba Yenching Auditorium, 2 Divinity Ave., Cambridge 5:30p - 8:00p Magnetosomes: a model system for the study of organelle biology in bacteria <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65691018> Arash Komeili, Dept. of Plant and Microbiology, University of California Berkeley Microbial Sciences Initiative (MSI) Thursday Evening Seminar Series Microbiology Seminar Room, WAB 341, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston *Friday 4/13/2007 * -- 3rd GEOS-Chem Atmospheric Chemical Transport Model Users' Meeting <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64091830> Maxwell-Dworkin G115, 33 Oxfrod Street, Cambridge 8:30a - 9:30a Bacterial Nanowires: Is the Microbial World Hardwired? <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65725067> Dr. Yuri Gorby, J. Craig Venter Institute Microbial Sciences Initiative (MSI) Chalktalk Breakfast Harvard University Center for the Environment Seminar Room, 3rd Floor Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street *Monday 4/16/2007* 12:00p - 1:00p Harvard Energy Journal Club <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65724760> Weekly roundtable discussion open to the Harvard and MIT communities Harvard Univ. Center for the Environment (HUCE) conf. room 310, 24 Oxford St, Cambridge 4:00p - 5:00p Earth and Planetary Sciences Departmental Colloquium <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=64138390> Haller Hall 102 Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street *Tuesday 4/17/2007 * 12:00p - 1:00p What came first: grasses or grass-eaters? New perspectives from the fossil record of plant silica <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65759422> Caroline A. E. Stromberg, Smithsonian Inst. NMNH Harvard University Herbaria Seminar Series Harvard University Herbaria Seminar Room, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge 1:30p - 2:30p Rotational Stability of Planets with Lithospheres <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65995768> Isamu Matsuyama, Carnegie Fellow, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington Special Earth and Planetary Sciences Seminar Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty Lounge, 4th Floor, Hoffman Laboratories, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge *Wednesday 4/18/2007 * 12:00p - 1:00p Film: Dimming the Sun <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65927490> EARTHWATCH, OLSEN AUDITORIUM, 4 Clock Tower Place, 5th floor in Maynard, MA 12:15p - 2:00p Climate Change and Iceland's Role in North Atlantic Security <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=63829863> Björn Bjarnason, Minister of Justice, Iceland Nye Conference Room BC, 5th Floor Taubman, Kennedy School of Gov't., 79 JFK St., Cambridge 5:30p - 6:30p Genomic Sciences in Latin America: A Door to a Better Future? <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65927280> Julio Collado-Vides, Director of the Center for Genomic Sciences Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor in Latin American Studies Lecture David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, S-050 Concourse Level, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA *Thursday 4/19/2007 * 12:00p - 1:30p Harvard Ecology Discussion Group <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65589780> Weekly roundtable discussion open to the Harvard and MIT communities Harvard Univ. Center for the Environment (HUCE) conf. room 310, 24 Oxford St, Cambridge 12:00p - 1:30p Social, Economic and Political Drivers of Bornean Deforestation and Fires: Implications for Carbon Emissions, Biodiversity and Rural Livelihoods <http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/index.htm?event_id=65995548> Lisa Curran, Professor of Tropical Resources and Director of the Tropical Resources Institute, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University Frontiers in Sustainable Development Lecture Series Center for International Development, Perkins Room -- Rubenstein Bldg, Room 415, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard -- Jenny MacGregor Events and Publications Coordinator Harvard University Center for the Environment ph: 617-495-8883

17 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-seminars] [Colloquium] REMINDER: Solving #SAT, Fahiem Bacchus

by colloquium＠deas.harvard.edu

my.harvard calendar reminder: Event Information: Date : 4/5/2007 Start Time : 04:00 PM End Time : 05:00 PM Title : Solving #SAT, Fahiem Bacchus Description : Harvard University Computer Science Colloquium Series 33 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 Colloquium Solving #SAT Fahiem Bacchus Department of Computer Science University of Toronto http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~fbacchus/ Thursday, April 5, 2007 4:00PM Maxwell Dworkin G125 (Ice Cream at 3:30PM - Maxwell Dworkin 2nd Floor Lounge Area) Abstract #SAT is the problem of counting the number of models of a propositional formula expressed in Conjunctive Normal Form. The important practical problem of Bayesian Inference is the slight generalization of #SAT to weighted model counting. Traditional approaches to this problem employ a dynamic programming technique called variable elimination, and are able to achieve tree-width bounds when supplied with a good variable ordering. In this talk I will demonstrate how the problem can be solved using backtracking search. If caching is employed (in essence adding dynamic programming to backtracking) similar computational bounds can be achieved. If dynamic decompostion is employed in addition to caching, backtracking can be shown to perform a 1-1 emulation of the operations of variable elimination, except in a different order. However, there are a number of advantages to using backtracking, one of which is that different branches can employ different variable orderings. It can be proved that this can yield a super-polynomial speedup over variable elimination (even when variable elimination is supplied with the best possible ordering). Host: Professor Avi Pfeffer Location : Maxwell Dworkin G125 (Ice Cream at 3:30PM - Maxwell Dworkin 2nd Floor Lounge Area) URL : Phone : Calendar : Computer Science Colloquium Series _______________________________________________ Colloquium mailing list Colloquium(a)deas.harvard.edu https://lists.deas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/colloquium _______________________________________________ iic-seminars mailing list iic-seminars(a)calists.harvard.edu http://calists.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-seminars

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aspuru-list April 2007