Review of methods to measure and describe corneal topography

When : Friday, November 23, 2018 - 11:00
Speaker : Daniel Malacara
Affiliation : Centro de Investigaciones en Optica, Messico
Where : Aula Magna “A. Lepschy”
Description :

Abstract: Corneal Topography has been performed since many decades ago. Its importance and accuracy are increasing day by day, mainly due to the advent of LASIK operations to correct ametropies of the human eye. In this talk a review of the methods now available to perform these corneal measurements will be presented, describing its relative advantages and disadvantages. Topographic and tomographic methods will be described, including methods that only measure the curvature of the cornea.


Georgia Tech's Online MOOC-based Master Program

When : Monday, October 1, 2018 - 14:30
Speaker : Zvi Galil
Affiliation : Georgia Institute of Technology
Where : Aula Magna "Antonio Lepschy"
Description :

Abstract:In May 2013, Georgia Tech together with its partners, Udacity and AT&T, announced a new online master’s degree in computer science delivered through the platform popularized by massively open online courses (MOOCs). This new online MS CS— or OMSCS for short — costs less than $7,000 total, compared to a price tag of $40,000 for an MS CS at comparable public universities and upwards of $70,000 at private universities.The first-of-its-kind program was launched in January 2014 and has sparked a worldwide conversation about higher education in the 21st century. President Barack Obama has praised OMS CS by name twice, and over 1,000 news stories mentioned the program. It’s been described as a potential "game changer" and "the first real step in the transformation of higher education in the US.” Harvard University researchers concluded that OMSCS is “the first rigorous evidence showing an online degree program can increase educational attainment” and predicted that OMSCS will single handedly raise the number of annual MS CS graduates in the United States by at least 7 percent.To ensure program quality and rigor, Georgia Tech started in 2014 with small enrollment of 380; in January 2017 enrollment exceeded 6,360; almost 8000 are expected to enroll in the Fall.  So far over 1350  students have graduated from OMSCS. The program has also paved the way for one dozen similar, MOOC-based MS programs.The talk will describe the OMSCS program, how it came about, its first five years, and what Georgia Tech has learned from the OMSCS experience. We will also discuss its potential effect on higher education.Bio:Dr. Zvi Galil, Dean of the College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He earned BS and MS degrees in Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University, both summa cum laude. He then obtained a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. After a post-doctorate in IBM's Thomas J. Watson research center, he returned to Israel and joined the faculty of Tel-Aviv University. He served as the chair of the Computer Science department in 1979-1982.In 1982 he joined the faculty of Columbia University. He served as the chair of the Computer Science Department in 1989-1994 and as dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science in 1995-2007. Galil was appointed Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Mathematical Methods and Computer Science in 1987, and Morris and Alma A. Schapiro Dean of Engineering in 1995. In 2007 Galil returned to Tel Aviv University and served as president. In 2009 he resigned as president and returned to the faculty as a professor of Computer Science. In July 2010 he became The John P. Imlay, Jr. Dean of Computing at Georgia Tech.Dr. Galil's research areas have been the design and analysis of algorithms, complexity, cryptography and experimental design. In 1983-1987 he served as chairman of ACM SIGACT, the Special Interest Group of Algorithms and Computation Theory. He has written over 200 scientific papers, edited 5 books, and has given more than 300 lectures in 20 countries. Galil has served as editor in chief of two journals and as the chief computer science adviser in the United States to the Oxford University Press. He is a fellow of the ACM and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In 2008 Columbia University established the Zvi Galil Award for Improvement in Engineering Student Life. In 2009 the Columbia Society of Graduates awarded him the Great Teacher Award.  In 2012 the University of Waterloo awarded him an honorary doctorate in mathematics. Zvi Galil is married to Dr. Bella S. Galil, a marine biologist. They have one son, Yair, a corporate lawyer in New York.


SRD and IoT: an idea whose time came long time ago.

When : Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - 10:30
Speaker : Enrico Tosato
Affiliation : European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute
Where : Aula Magna “A. Lepschy”
Description :

Abstract: Within last five years the wireless Internet of Things (IoT) progressively became an acclaimed technology. However, the IoT dates back to the origin of radiocommunications. Indeed its inventor Guglielmo Marconi made his first successful wireless communication on 8th Dec. 1895 at his father's country estate at Pontecchio where he succeeded in sending a wireless command to a ring bell over a distance of 2 and a half km.Throughout the last century many  (short-mid range) wireless communications for remote sensing and controls were developed until 1995 when they were in a bit of chaos and there were limited applications, because of the regulatory concept of  Low Power Devices. Finally the new concept of Short Range Devices (SRDs) was introduced, also thanks the European I-ETS 300 220 interim standard (1993).The speaker will first explain how radiocommunications in Europe evolved within last 30 years, thanks dramatic changes of Regulations and Standards to promote and support technology innovations to be on time in the market.Secondly the talk will offer insights and examples for the SRDs huge number of applications, including IoT, ranging from a simple wireless remote control push button to one of the most sophisticated one, like wireless medical systems. The European IoT and Smart Metering solutions market perspective will also be part of the talk: as a matter of fact, the market for energy saving and citizens’ healthy and effective live, are generating in the EU something like 30 Billion Euro/yearly turnover, a business employing about 1 million entrepreneurs and employees. This means the SRDs is the second market for wireless after only the mobile cellular terminals one. Bio: Enrico Tosato is currently the Chairman of the European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute (ETSI) group for Short Range Devices (ERM TG28) to which he was appointed first time 28 years ago. He is considered the main architect of the evolutionary concept from Low Power Devices to Short Range Devices which resulted by the first I-ETS 300 220 interim standard (1993). This was fully supported by a creation of a new associated regulatory Short Range Devices (SRD) concept usage which he was able to persuade CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations 48 countries) and the EU Commission, especially thanks his proposal for a new CEPT “SRDs Recommendation. This become in 1997 the successful ERC/REC 70-03, commonly named as the “bible” of SRD; he is still involved in the continuous maintenance of ERC/REC 70-03 also throughout sophisticated technical spectrum sharing studies published as CEPT ECC Reports; for many of them he has been the main author, granting coherence with the ETSI Harmonised Standards. The SRD concepts in ERC/REC 70-03 are today well used even in the other part of the world, for example in the Asia-Pacific region, thanks to the fact they are adopted by the United Nations ITU. Enrico Tosato, toward this goal, was the main negotiator with the other ITU Regions of the world.Enrico Tosato has authored in excess of 90 deliverables and documents such as CEPT ECC Reports (spectrum sharing), ETSI Standards and conference papers, and received this year the ETSI Fellowship award for his outstanding service.


Restoring vision for the blind - part II: Seoul Artificial Retina Project

When : Wednesday, April 11, 2018 - 15:00
Speaker : Prof. Jong-Mo Seo
Affiliation : School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Seoul National University
Where : Aula Magna ‘A. Lepschy’
Description :

Abstract: Seoul Artificial Retina Project started since the year 2000 with the support of Korean Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) as a part of the Nanobio Engineering Research Center (NB-ERC), and supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Science and Education in Korea. Patterned electrical retinal stimulation is the basic approach of our system, and for this purpose, several polymers such as polyimide, parylene, silicone elastomer and crystalline polymer were evaluated as an electrode base material. Various signal delivery methods to the retinal stimulation part, such as laser array, scanning laser, RF transfer, and nanowire-integrated photodiodes, were studied. For the hermetic packaging of the system, titanium alloy, silicone elastomer and crystalline polymers were investigated. Optimization of the stimulation pattern were studied in terms of the spatial and temporal frequencies, and the spike train was decoded to evaluate the efficacy of the stimulation and to develop the optimized stimulation signal pattern. By animal experiment, surgical techniques and the method of the objective evaluation of the retinal stimulation were investigated. In this talk, sixteen years of trials and errors, and the recent result of the animal experiment with Seoul Artificial Retina will be described.Bio: Jong-Mo Seo graduated at the Seoul National University (SNU) School of Medicine, took resident course and retina fellowship in Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and got his M.S. and Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering at SNU. He worked as a retina surgeon in SNUH and in the year 2008 moved to the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of SNU as an assistant professor. He also served as a staff for the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system of SNUH from the 1999 to 2003, designing the computer user interface and developing medical machine-computer data transfer modules. He joined the Seoul Artificial Retina Project from the beginning in the year 2000 and has been working as a moderator and a surgeon for the animal experiment. He is now an associate professor at SNU ECE and co-joined professor at SNUH biomedical research institute and SNU medical school.


Restoring vision for the blind - part I

When : Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - 15:00
Speaker : Prof. Jong-Mo Seo
Affiliation : School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Seoul National University
Where : Sala riunioni DEI/G
Description :

Abstract: Eye is composed of optical part and sensory part, and the sensory retina converts light to electrical neural signal. In the 20th century, many ophthalmic diseases were conquered with the help of pharmaceutical and surgical advancement, and the microsurgery based on the micromachining and microelectronics contributed on this very much. However, in the case of photoreceptor damage, there is no treatment until now. Recent advancement of biotechnology and biomedical engineering gives hope onto this doomed situation. In this talk, advances in the ophthalmic microsurgery/machines and several different biomedical approaches for the restoring vision will be introduced, such as gene transfer, stem cell approach, tissue transplantation and the electrical stimulation of visual system.Bio: Jong-Mo Seo graduated at the Seoul National University (SNU) School of Medicine, took resident course and retina fellowship in Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and got his M.S. and Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering at SNU. He worked as a retina surgeon in SNUH and in the year 2008 moved to the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of SNU as an assistant professor. He also served as a staff for the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system of SNUH from the 1999 to 2003, designing the computer user interface and developing medical machine-computer data transfer modules. He joined the Seoul Artificial Retina Project from the beginning in the year 2000 and has been working as a moderator and a surgeon for the animal experiment. He is now an associate professor at SNU ECE and co-joined professor at SNUH biomedical research institute and SNU medical school.