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The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Wyoming is offering the EECS Colloquium series as a service to all who are interested in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Most seminars in Spring 2026 are scheduled for Mondays 3:10PM -- 4:00PM in EERB 251. For help finding the locations of our seminar meetings, consult the on-line UWyo campus map. For questions about this page or to schedule talks, please contact Diksha Shukla: dshukla@uwyo.edu. Here is a list of seminar schedules. Previous EECS Colloquium Speakers. |
EECS Colloquium Schedule, Spring 2026
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EECS Colloquium Can we trust untrusted monitoring? Speaker: Morgan Sinclaire, PhD Student, EECS, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. When: 3:10PM ~ 4:00PM, Monday, March 09, 2026 Abstract: As AIs are deployed in increasingly critical settings with little human supervision, how do we ensure this doesn't lead to bad outcomes? AI control is a new field which develops and evaluates protocols for safety and usefulness, by adopting the principles of insider-threat cybersecurity. Our new paper is the first deep dive into untrusted monitoring, where the untrusted AI's outputs are overseen by a separate instance of a similar AI. The safety of this protocol is determined by our ability to trick the monitor with honeypots to ensure its fidelity. We developed new collusion strategies which tripled the red team's win rate over previous work, according to our fine-tuning experiments with GPT-4.1. We also sketched a conditional safety case for untrusted monitoring, highlighting the unsolved challenges needed to argue for the safety of this protocol. Bio: Morgan Sinclaire is a 4th year PhD student in the UWyo EECS department, with research spanning theoretical computer science and empirical AI safety. He taught a seminar on transformers/LLMs, and spent last Fall working in London with the UK AI Security Institute (AISI) on the present AI control project. |
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EECS Colloquium Trends in HPC and Computational Science. HPC at a Crossroads: Opportunities for Wyoming Speaker: Dr. Edward Seidel, President, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. When: 3:10PM ~ 4:00PM, Monday, April 06, 2026 Abstract: High-performance computing (HPC) plays a central role in modern scientific discovery, enabling researchers to simulate complex systems, analyze massive datasets, and accelerate innovation across all disciplines. Computational Science is the use of advanced computing techniques to address complex problems across these disciplines. In recent years, rapid changes in computing architectures, the growth of artificial intelligence, and the expansion of data-driven research have begun to reshape the entire landscape of computational science, and puts new demands every dimension of computing. This talk will explore major trends influencing the future of HPC, including the convergence of simulation, data analytics, and AI; evolving software and algorithmic challenges; and the emergence of new computing platforms and infrastructures. It will also discuss the opportunities and challenges facing federal agencies, including NSF, DOE, and others, universities and research institutions as they adapt to these changes. The talk will further explore the opportunities for Wyoming, at UW, for the NWSC supercomputing center in Cheyenne, and for the state in terms of education and economic development. As computing techniques and their applications continue to evolve, our future will increasingly depend not only on advances in hardware but also on new approaches to software development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and workforce training in computational science. The University of Wyoming is at a unique moment in history to step up and seize the opportunity. Bio: Dr. Edward Seidel is President of the University of Wyoming and an internationally recognized leader in high-performance computing (HPC) and computational science. His research has focused on large-scale numerical simulations in gravitational physics and the development of advanced cyberinfrastructure to support data-intensive and simulation-driven science. Before joining the University of Wyoming, Dr. Seidel served as Vice President for Research and Innovation for the University of Illinois System and held leadership roles at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Earlier in his career, he directed the Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University and held research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics. His work has contributed to advances in computational methods and the use of large-scale computing for scientific discovery across multiple disciplines. |
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EECS Colloquium Domain-Informed Eye Movement Biometrics with Practical Evaluation for VR/AR User Authentication Speaker: Paul Sansah Gyreyiri, PhD Candidate, EECS, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. When: 3:10PM ~ 4:00PM, Monday, April 13, 2026 Abstract: Eye movement biometrics (EMB) shows promise for VR/AR authentication; however, current state-of-the-art evaluations often overestimate real-world performance, relying on a limited number of positive samples and single-task protocols. We introduce Domain-Informed Eye Movement Biometrics (DIEMB), which models specialized feature extraction modules based on well-understood eye movement characteristics, including saccades, fixations, smooth pursuits, and scan paths. This approach aims to capture the various temporal patterns of eye movement. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive evaluation using 1-second subsequences across different tasks. DIEMB achieves comparable performance to the state-of-the-art Eye Know You Too (EKYT) (15.2% vs. 16.2% average EER when enrolled with all tasks and EER computed across all rounds and tasks but at the user level), while using 6% fewer parameters. Our analysis of the GazeBase dataset, a 37-month longitudinal study, shows nonlinear temporal degradation and highlights optimal task combinations for enrollment. Notably, our studies show that strategically selecting 2–3 structured tasks can match full-task performance while enabling better cross-task generalization. These findings provide practical guidelines for the efficient deployment of EMB in VR/AR environments. Bio: Paul Sansah Gyreyiri is a PhD candidate in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Wyoming. His research addresses security, privacy, and usability in virtual and augmented reality environments. His work encompasses identifying side-channel vulnerabilities in immersive systems, developing secure authentication methods using behavioral biometrics such as eye and head movements, and creating virtual environments that elicit natural behaviors through computer vision. Paul holds a BSc from the University of Mines and Technology in Ghana and is currently advised by Dr. Diksha Shukla. |
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EECS Colloquium Digital Real Time Simulation Modeling of Data Center Architectures for Controller and Power Hardware-in-the-loop Experiments Speaker: Dr. Kumaraguru Prabakar, Principal Engineer, Power Systems Engineering Center, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. When: 1:00PM ~ 2:00PM, Friday, April 17, 2026 Abstract: Data centers are industrial power systems with thousands of power and control components inside the campus. These power and control components interact with each other to enable highly reliable data center power system. Typically, there are breaker controls, protection devices, and a power flow management system that operates the power system. These devices contain thousands of lines of codes and it is important that these systems are modeled, simulated and evaluated appropriately for reliable and resilient operation. This presentation will present the details of the data center modeled, different components modeled and simulated in hardware-in-the-loop, goals of the simulations, and the value it presents to the user. Bio: Dr. Kumaraguru Prabakar earned his Ph.D. degree from The University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2016 and his M.B.A. degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. He is a principal engineer with Power Systems Engineering Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He is a technical contributor in multiple microgrid controller evaluation projects and advanced distribution management systems evaluation projects. He also leads research projects targeting improvements in distribution system protection and interoperability of distribution system assets. His research team uses controller hardware-in-the-loop, power hardware-in-the-loop, remote hardware-in-the-loop experiments, different power system simulation tools to de-risk field deployment of novel power system technologies. |
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EECS Colloquium Agentic AI: Efficiency, Attention, and Decision-Making at Scale Speaker: Mohamad Zamini, PhD Candidate, EECS, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. When: 3:10PM ~ 4:00PM, Monday, April 27, 2026 Abstract: This talk examines Agentic AI through the interconnected lenses of efficiency, attention, and decision-making, positioning these mechanisms as the foundational pillars of next-generation intelligent systems. Moving beyond traditional views of AI as reactive tools, it explores how modern agentic architectures leverage sparse attention, hierarchical memory, and structured reasoning frameworks (e.g., ReAct, Tree-of-Thoughts, and multi-agent orchestration) to enable autonomous, goal-directed behavior. The talk synthesizes recent advances in multimodal perception, token-efficient modeling, and multi-agent inference (MAI), highlighting how selective information processing and resource allocation drive scalability and real-world applicability. By bridging neural and symbolic paradigms, it outlines a path toward cognitive enterprises—systems that continuously learn, adapt, and act—while addressing critical challenges in safety, governance, and long-horizon reliability. Bio: Mohamad Zamini is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Wyoming, specializing in multimodal large language models (MLLMs) with a focus on advancing reasoning capabilities and improving model performance. His research integrates foundational principles in artificial intelligence with cutting-edge methods in multimodality to push the boundaries of model interpretability and cross-modal interactions. Previously, he worked at Numenta Inc. during an internship, contributing to research on foundational models, where he gained valuable experience in scalable model architectures and sparse attention mechanisms in LLMs. |
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EECS Colloquium Continuum Robots for Minimally Invasive Surgery: Towards a New Generation of Surgical Devices Speaker: Dr. Nithesh Kumar, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University. When: 3:10PM ~ 4:00PM, Monday, May 04, 2026 Abstract: Continuum robots offer unique advantages for minimally invasive surgery, including the ability to navigate confined anatomical spaces and provide dexterity that enables the application of precise forces with minimal tissue disruption. However, their clinical translation requires solving two open problems: designing devices with well-characterized dexterous workspaces, and equipping them with perception capabilities for safe intraoperative operation. This talk presents two contributions addressing these challenges. First, a concentric tube robot-based manipulator for colorectal lesion removal, alongside a novel metric for evaluating the dexterous workspace of continuum robots to guide future device design. Second, a tactile sensor designed specifically for concentric tube robots, enabling physical probing of the surgical scene for anatomical localization and registration in the context of surgical autonomy. Bio: Dr. Nithesh Kumar is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He received his PhD from Clemson University in 2025 under the supervision of Dr. Ian Walker. His work has been published at leading conferences including the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), and his research in biosensors has been featured on the cover of Advanced Optical Materials. His current research focuses on continuum robots for minimally invasive surgery, with emphasis on device design, dexterous manipulation, and surgical perception. |
