“We must provide people with equal access to information and knowledge, [and] I’ve made it a mission for myself to use technology to achieve this goal.”
Interview with Siavash Alamouti: ECE Alumnus, Communications Changemaker, and Marconi Prize Winner
Sign Up For Electrical and Computer Engineering 3 Minute Thesis Heats
We are excited to invite all PhD and MASc students to participate in UBCs 2024 Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT)! Our ECE heat will take place on Wednesday, March 6th at 11:00am in person in Kaiser 2020/2030!
This is one of our most popular events, with some very good benefits to consider if you are thinking of signing up as a participant! 3MT gives students the opportunity to build their presentation skills, hear about research being done by other students in ECE, and take part in a friendly competition with cash prizes for the winners!
The basic idea of 3MT is that you explain the breadth and significance of your research project to a non-specialist audience in 3 minutes or less using a single slide. This has been incredibly helpful for students preparing for their final defenses who need a low-stakes platform to practice their skills.
How to sign up:
In order to participate in our ECE heat, please send an email to help@ece.ubc.ca with the subject line “3MT 2024 – YOUR NAME”, and tell us your program of study and your student number, by 4:00pm on February 16th at the latest. Once you sign up, we will send you further information on how to submit your slide for your presentation and how to prepare.
The winners from our ECE heat will win a cash prize and be forwarded to participate in the university-wide semi-finals competition. All participants will also have a chance to take part in a practice session and receive feedback on their presentations before the event. We encourage participants to use the below for help preparing their presentation and slides. More information on the structure of the event and resources on 3MT can be found through the following links:
http://3mt.grad.ubc.ca/
http://3mt.grad.ubc.ca/participate/resources-for-participants/
If you have any questions about the competition, please email help@ece.ubc.ca. We look forward to many of you signing up!
ECE Student Perspectives: Abraham Chan, QRS’21 Best Paper winner
“I believe there are still large amounts of unsolved problems in machine learning, which makes for a fascinating research area!”
Abraham Chan is a PhD student at Electrical and Computer Engineering, studying Machine Learning- his research focuses on building software tools to assist developers in implementation, debugging and testing. Along with co-authors Niranjhana Narayananan, Arpan Gujarati, Karthik Pattabiraman, and Sathish Gopalakrishnan, his paper “Understanding the Resilience of Neural Network Ensembles against Faulty Training Data” won the Best Paper award at QRS’21. This paper evaluates the resilience of machine learning ensembles against faulty training data, in order to understand how to build better ensembles, ones resistant to mislabelled, missing, or duplicated data.
We spoke to Abraham to learn more about the impacts of faulty data in machine learning, the process behind this paper, and how Abraham and his colleagues’ research will affect this field.
Why is it important to research ML training data?
Machine learning (ML) is being used in many domains today, including safety-critical systems like autonomous vehicles and medical diagnoses. Unlike software programs, ML applications are driven entirely by training data; this means that the quality of the training data is very important in ensuring the correct behaviour of these applications. However, we have seen that many training datasets, even those used for training autonomous vehicles, contain mislabelled or incomplete data.
What was the process of developing this paper’s research like?
After some initial experimentation, we realized that individual ML models are susceptible to faulty training data, meaning that models can misclassify test inputs much more easily. We were inspired to explore the feasibility of using neural network ensembles to tolerate these faults by N-Version programming in traditional software engineering. Neural network ensembles consist of multiple individual networks learning in tandem and combining their results through simple majority voting. We discovered that these ensembles are actually quite effective against training data faults, and set forth to understand why and how to build ensembles that maximize resilience. We tried all different sorts of configurations of ensembles, enabling us to identify trends and devise metrics to reason about ensembles. Much like how ML applications are data-driven, our paper was largely experimental data-driven!
What are the potential uses of your research? What effect will this research have?
Most research in ML is focused on boosting the accuracy of models, with much less attention paid to the resilience of ML models against faulty training data. Hopefully, our work will be able to demonstrate that high accuracy ML models are not necessarily more resilient, and will raise awareness of the importance of quality training data when developing ML applications.
Furthermore, since we find that ensembles are an effective strategy against training data faults, our insights on ensembles can help developers improve resilience in their own applications.
What’s something unexpected about this topic?
Faulty training data, such as mislabelled, incomplete, and repeated training data, is quite prevalent in real life! For example, we encountered a study that found that 30% of a public training dataset used to train many autonomous vehicles was faulty. Unfortunately, in the age of big data and artificial intelligence, large scale data collection processes can inherently introduce faults – it’s just not feasible to manually verify all the data. However, I can assure you that you do not want to be on an autonomous vehicle that’s been trained with poor quality data!
What draws you to this field of research?
ML is a field that is still in its infancy. Concerns, like ML security and reliability, are still often overlooked or brushed aside. This is both a curse and a blessing – I believe there are still large amounts of unsolved problems in this space, which makes for a fascinating research area!
Read “Understanding the Resilience of Neural Network Ensembles against Faulty Training Data”
Connect with Abraham Chan on Linkedin
Welcome Back!
Happy first day of term 2, ECE students! We hope everyone is feeling rested from winter break and ready for their coursework.
Don’t forget that if you need advising help, you can get in touch with ECE advisors via email or on Zoom- Undergrads click here ; grads click here.
Art by Clarice Yeung.
Karthik Pattabiraman named 2021 Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Karthik Pattabiraman has been named as one of 2021’s 63 ACM Distinguished Scientists by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
ACM Distinguished Membership recognizes scientists with significant professional experience and notable achievements in computing. Members are chosen from leading universities, corporations and research institutions all over the world. “The Distinguished Members program is a way both to celebrate the trailblazing work of our members, and to underscore how participation with a professional society enhances one’s career growth. This award category also emphasizes how ACM’s worldwide membership is the foundation of our organization,” explains ACM President Gabriele Kotsis.
Karthik was recognized by ACM in the category Outstanding Scientific Contributions to Computing. At ECE, Karthik is a researcher in Dependable Computer Systems, Computer Security, Cyber-Physical Systems, and Software Engineering at ECE . He joined ECE from a postdoctoral position at Microsoft Research. While at Microsoft, Karthik initiated and led the Flikker project, which was one of the first papers in the field of what is now known as “approximate computing” or “good enough computing”- a term he coined. At UBC, Karthik has published more than 100 papers with his students, and 12 of these papers have received distinguished paper awards at prestigious venues such as DSN. He has also collaborated with companies such as Intel, Nvidia, AMD, IBM, Cisco, and Huawei.
Karthik is listed in the DSN conference hall of fame (as the only Canadian researcher listed). He is a vice-chair of the IFIP Working Group 10.4 on Dependable Computing and Fault-tolerance, a member of the steering committees of the IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN), and the IEEE Pacific Rim International Conference on Dependable Computing (PRDC).
His awards and recognitions include the Inaugural Rising Star in Dependability Award in 2020, UIUC CS department’s early career alumni achievement award in 2018, UBC Killam mentoring excellence award in 2020, UBC Killam Faculty Research Prize in 2018, UBC Killam Faculty Research Fellowship in 2016, NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement (DAS) in 2015, and the William Carter Dissertation Award in 2008. Of the 2021 ACM Distinguished Scientists, Karthik is the only Canadian receiving this honour.
Read more about ACM
Read more about Karthik Pattabiraman
ECE Perspectives: Sakshi Mishra, Forbes 30 Under 30
“My desire to be part of the solution for climate change problems, a keen interest in conducting research in the all-things-electrified domain, and fascination with the field of artificial intelligence – these are the key drivers that led me to the path I’m on.”
Sakshi Mishra is a PhD student at UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering, a researcher with the Blockchain@UBC research cluster- and a new member of the 2022 Forbes 30 under 30.
Sakshi, who was acknowledged in the ‘Energy’ category, is working on the possibilities of blockchain in sustainable energy. Before joining Electrical and Computer Engineering, she spearheaded research into energy decision-making and forecasting tools at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was a Grid Planning Engineer at American Electric Power (AEP), and was an advisor at GreenTech Alliance. The Forbes award-winning research she’s now pursuing at ECE focuses on the use of peer-to-peer energy trading to coordinate energy distribution- a project that could transform how renewable energy is used by electric vehicles, buildings, and whole energy grids.
Sakshi joins us for an interview where she reflects on this award, discusses her research into new sustainable energy technologies, and shares the inspirations and experiences that led her to this milestone.
Congratulations! How do you feel about being named on the Forbes 30 under 30?
Thank you! I see it as an exciting ‘checkpoint’ in my journey – a reaffirmation that my efforts so far have been headed in the right direction. When the goal is to push the envelope of what’s possible in the realm of AI and energy nexus, Forbes 30 Under 30 is a good platform to highlight what’s been done and shed light on the tremendous potential that this technology holds for helping solve climate change problems.
Your work focuses on the interaction of AI, energy systems, and blockchain. How does this work? What are you developing with these applications?
My research focuses on designing a smart digital platform (using artificial intelligence) and devising effective incentive mechanisms for peers to exchange energy data and trade energy without the need for an intermediary. Blockchain technology helps accomplish the later objective of facilitating peer-to-peer trading without the need for centralized authority.
What’s the long-term potential of your work? What impact will your work have on climate change?
To mitigate climate change issues, one of the most important steps is to reduce the carbon footprint. One effective way of reducing carbon emission is using clean energy technologies for generating energy, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuel-based generation technologies. Society is making strides towards that goal by deploying more renewable energy generation plants. Small-scale renewable energy, referred to as ‘distributed energy resources’ (DERs) are also a part of this effort. As the DER deployment grows, more and more end-users or consumers will produce energy on-site from renewable energy resources such as rooftop solar panels. We should find a way for these DER producers to sell the excess energy they generate, so that the economics of the deployment plays out in their favor – designing a platform for trading this energy (which is generated by residential and commercial buildings as opposed to centralized utility-scale energy generation plants) is my focus.
In short, enabling peer-to-peer energy markets is a strong incentivization mechanism for more clean energy deployment – and it can be accomplished with the help of AI and Blockchain technologies.
What’s exciting or fascinating about this research for you?
Artificial Intelligence methods and Blockchain technology together enable so much that couldn’t be done a decade ago – be it creating a way for secure data exchange, or obtaining accurate energy consumption profile predictions. Putting together the pieces of this puzzle, which involves physical systems and digital layers, has been made possible because of the advancements in these two key technologies. Tinkering with code-bases involving these two technologies fascinates me a lot!
What inspired you to go into this field?
Growing up, I loved math and science. I received enough support and encouragement to keep marching forward (which was pretty unusual for girls in my community in the country I grew up in, at that time). In high school, I got exposed to the science of renewable energy and participated in a project to build tiny wind-mill models – I found it exciting. Electrical Engineering then seemed like a strong option to pursue.
During my undergraduate education, I became increasingly interested in grid-edge technologies like distributed energy resources and infusing intelligence in the grid to operate these resources. This led me to the opportunity to conduct my bachelor’s thesis at Deakin University, Australia. Conducting hardware-in-the-loop experiments in Deakin’s Renewable Energy was a rewarding experience. Later, during my graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, I began gravitating towards the field of artificial intelligence. My desire to be part of the solution for climate change problems, a keen interest in conducting research in the all-things-electrified domain, and fascination with the field of artificial intelligence – these are the key drivers that led me to the path I’m on. Another critical factor was the inspiration and encouragement from many mentors and advisors along the way.
You’ve been involved in organizations like Women in AI and the Society of Women Engineers. Why did you choose to become involved with these organizations? What’s your perspective on women in engineering?
I experienced a fair amount of resistance from elders in the family when I wanted to become an engineer. My grandfather had the mentality that investing in a girl’s education is not a good use of the constrained resources they had. Fortunately, my parents were supportive of my continued education, so I made the tough decision to choose an electrical engineering major and go to college, and it worked out well for me.
Since my undergrad days, in my journey, a big ally has been the inspiration and encouragement from many mentors and advisors along the way – I am involved with these organizations as a way to paying it forward, by helping young girls see and understand that STEM is an exciting and rewarding career to pursue. There is worldwide momentum in raising awareness about the importance of STEM education for girls and women within communities. Yet we are a long way from making it an even playing field for humanity.
Also, I strongly believe choosing to pursue a STEM career does not have to be a “swim against the tide” decision for young girls and women in today’s world. We need the huge, untapped potential of female talent, whose contributions can help build a sustainable future for the planet. Science and engineering fields cannot afford to miss out on the contributions of many talented individuals because of their gender.
Why did you choose UBC for your Ph.D.?
My background was in artificial intelligence and energy systems. I needed to learn Blockchain skills for making progress towards my vision of my Ph.D. research – Blockchain@UBC was the right fit. Moreover, I found the research being conducted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of UBC interesting. These two factors combined made UBC my destination for conducting Ph.D. research. It was only after I landed in Vancouver that I realized that magnificent views, beautiful campus, and pleasant weather are additional perks of being at UBC!
Sakshi Mishra’s Forbes 30 Under 30 profile
Stretchy, washable battery brings wearable devices closer to reality
UBC researchers have created what could be the first battery that is both flexible and washable. It works even when twisted or stretched to twice its normal length, or after being tossed in the laundry.
“Wearable electronics are a big market and stretchable batteries are essential to their development,” says Dr. Ngoc Tan Nguyen (he/him), a postdoctoral fellow at UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering. “However, up until now, stretchable batteries have not been washable. This is a critical addition if they are to withstand the demands of everyday use.”
The battery developed by Dr. Nguyen and his colleagues offers a number of engineering advances. In normal batteries, the internal layers are hard materials encased in a rigid exterior. The UBC team made the key compounds—in this case, zinc and manganese dioxide—stretchable by grinding them into small pieces and then embedding them in a rubbery plastic, or polymer. The battery comprises several ultra-thin layers of these polymers wrapped inside a casing of the same polymer. This construction creates an airtight, waterproof seal that ensures the integrity of the battery through repeated use.
It was team member Bahar Iranpour (she/her), a PhD student, who suggested throwing the battery in the wash to test its seal. So far, the battery has withstood 39 wash cycles and the team expects to further improve its durability as they continue to develop the technology.
“We put our prototypes through an actual laundry cycle in both home and commercial-grade washing machines. They came out intact and functional and that’s how we know this battery is truly resilient,” says Iranpour.
The choice of zinc and manganese dioxide chemistry also confers another important advantage. “We went with zinc-manganese because for devices worn next to the skin, it’s a safer chemistry than lithium-ion batteries, which can produce toxic compounds when they break,” says Nguyen.
An affordable option
Work is under way to increase the battery’s power output and cycle life, but already the innovation has attracted commercial interest. The researchers believe that when the new battery is ready for consumers, it could cost the same as an ordinary rechargeable battery.
“The materials used are incredibly low-cost, so if this is made in large numbers, it will be cheap,” says Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Dr. John Madden (he/him), director of UBC’s Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Lab who supervised the work. In addition to watches and patches for measuring vital signs, the battery might also be integrated with clothing that can actively change colour or temperature.
“Wearable devices need power. By creating a cell that is soft, stretchable and washable, we are making wearable power comfortable and convenient.”
The battery is described in a new paper published recently in Advanced Energy Materials.
ECE Perspectives: Abdullah Al-Digs, Power System Studies Consultant
“My industry and graduate research experiences focus on developing real-time tools to operate future power systems reliably and economically… I firmly believe that my research is vital to enabling wide integration of renewable energy.”
Abdullah Al-Digs graduated from ECE with a BASc in Electrical Engineering in 2015, and with a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2021. Following graduation, he’s begun as a Power System Studies Consultant at PSC Power Systems Consultants. While at ECE, Abdullah studied power systems analysis, developing an expertise in the subject that he’ll now take into his work in the industry.
We spoke to Abdullah to learn about his research in power and energy systems, and how this focus area has taken him from his studies at ECE to his current work in the industry.
What is your current position? What kinds of work do you do?
I am currently a power system studies consultant at PSC North America. In this role, I am involved in the various stages of generation interconnection studies within the PJM power system. Specifically, I develop and test models for renewable generation units such as solar plants, battery energy storage, and wind turbines. These models are then used to perform system impact studies, which serves to ensure the reliable and secure operation of the power system.
How did you find this job (through interviewing, networking, etc.)? What was the process of getting the job like?
I was fortunate enough to know someone who works at PSC North America and referred me to the company following my Ph.D. degree graduation.
The hiring process differs slightly between different companies- however, most job hunts will involve between two to three interviews in the industry. The timeline also varies significantly between different companies for them to make hiring decisions. Overall, I learned that it’s important to reach out to people through networking platforms such as LinkedIn. I was surprised by the responses I received and how my network connections were willing to provide advice and share their industry insights.
What has your career path been like so far?
My career path starting point was acquiring a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Electrical Engineering in the power and energy systems option from UBC in 2015. I then pursued a Ph.D. degree in power systems at UBC which I completed in 2021. During my six years of graduate studies, I was involved in many research projects that led to several publications and awards.
I discovered my passion for teaching and served as a teaching assistant for several undergraduate- and graduate-level power system courses, and in recognition of my contributions to teaching and student learning, I received the prestigious Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award in 2019.
Shortly after completing my graduate studies, I joined PSC North America as a power system studies consultant where I currently perform generation interconnection studies in the PJM power system.
How does your career path and graduate experience connect to your current position?
Modern electric power systems are undergoing dramatic changes due to heterogeneity in electricity sources, such as energy-storage devices, fuel cells, and renewable generation.
Renewable generation introduces levels of variability and uncertainty that are unprecedented in conventional power systems. These special circumstances require the development of analytically tractable and computationally efficient operational schemes for integrating existing systems with emerging electricity generation technologies. Such schemes will help to achieve reliable, cost-effective, and robust electrical power systems with improved system stability, efficiency, and environmental footprint.
My industry and graduate research experiences focus on developing real-time tools to operate future power systems reliably and economically. Specifically, I focus on controlling and predicting post-contingency dynamic transmission-line flows, estimation of feasible active-power nodal injections, and frequency response design. As such, I firmly believe that my research is vital to enabling wide integration of renewable energy generation and preventing severe system-wide failures.
Additionally, my research has the potential to provide tools for power system operators to address severe operational reliability issues in real-time. Realization of this research will enable practical advancements in power system operation and control, which will help to accommodate renewable generation technologies, enhance system responsiveness, and optimize asset utilization, thus bringing us closer to the Smart Grid vision.
What do you enjoy most about this line of work?
I am most excited about contributing to the transition of the power industry towards renewable and more sustainable alternative energy sources. This paradigm shift from a system dominated by high-inertia fossil fuel-based generators to one with low-inertia renewable energy sources presents its unique challenges. However, the excitement for me lies in the challenge of developing new operational schemes and tools to accommodate this necessary transformation.
Do you have any tips or suggestions for a student interested in entering the industry in your field?
Although a graduate degree is not required to enter our industry, it is certainly preferred in many companies. A graduate degree allows you to refine your skillset and contribute to the field in a greater capacity with the knowledge acquired from state-of-the-art research performed during your studies.
Find Abdullah on Linkedin or at his personal site.
Krishan Dayal Srivastava, 1931-2021
Krishan Dayal Srivastava (KD), former Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, as well as Vice President of Student and Academic Services, passed away on October 20th. He will be dearly missed.
KD came to Canada from England in 1966, where he was professor and later Chair of Electrical Engineering at University of Waterloo. He arrived at UBC in 1983, serving as Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, and later began as Vice President of Student and Academic Services in 1986.
KD was one of the key individuals behind the founding of the Centre for Integrated Computer Systems Research, now ICICS. This institute now helps to drive pioneering interdisciplinary research between Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. In his work, he made important contributions in the power area, in particular in the study of high-voltage engineering. He was instrumental in a UBC committee that planned a Kuwaiti university, and founded a new university in Trinidad after his retirement.
He was an early supporter of diversity initiatives, and championed female engineers in their careers. In his role as VP, he cared deeply about the well-being of students and worked to support them. In addition, KD was a Thunderbirds football fan.
KD was a vital part of our Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, as well as UBC as a whole. His many contributions to engineering, both at UBC and abroad, will be well-remembered, and his kindness, wisdom, and intelligence will be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
Full obituary.
ECE Student Perspectives: Eric Cheng, SFU I2I Venture Pitch Winner
“Cell sequencing is changing the way we understand the most fundamental unit of life, but there are still many bottlenecks… This was the inspiration for Isolatrix.”
Eric Cheng is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at UBC, supervised by Dr. Karen Cheung. He’s passionate about using cutting edge techniques in microfluidics and machine learning to solve challenging life science problems.
Eric has recently won the ‘Invention to Innovation’ Venture Pitch Competition at SFU in the Product Ready Venture category. At this event, qualifying students pitch their ventures to a panel of judges comprised of angel investors, IP experts and successful entrepreneurs. Eric’s winning initiative, Isolatrix, leverages deep learning to perform highly precise single cell isolation, enabling whole genome sequencing applications.
We spoke to him to learn more about his pioneering initiative, the importance of cell isolation in the biomedical field, and the path that led him to this field.
Congratulations! How do you feel about this award?
I am humbled to have won the 2021 SFU Invention to Innovation (i2I) pitch competition. I went against very talented competition, who each presented groundbreaking, commercially viable innovations.
Over the one-year course of the SFU i2I program, our cohort gained competency and refined and assisted each other, developing a strong sense of camaraderie as we embarked on our scientific-entrepreneurial journeys. I have nothing but respect for my peers, as we’re all aiming to bring important innovations to the green-tech and health-tech markets. It was a great experience to have just shared the stage with them.
What is the topic of your award-winning project?
