Browsing Faculty of Arts and Sciences by FAS Department "Engineering and Applied Sciences - Computer Science"
Now showing items 1-20 of 31
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Accurately Predicting the Reflectance of Rough Metal Surfaces From One-Dimensional Surface Profile Measurements
(2018-09-25)This thesis investigates the problem of using surface microgeometry measurements to predict the reflectance of rough metal surfaces. Because light cannot penetrate much into metals, the observable reflectance of a metal ... -
Acquiring and Aggregating Information from Strategic Sources
(2016-07-28)This thesis considers, from a theoretical perspective, the design of mechanisms to accomplish the objective described in the title. Two cases of this problem are considered: information as represented by data points in a ... -
Advances in Monte Carlo Variational Inference and Applied Probabilistic Modeling
(2018-05-10)Galvanized by the accelerated pace and ease of data collection, researchers in more and more disciplines are turning to large, heterogeneous datasets to answer scientific questions. Divining insight from massive and complex ... -
An Exploration of Two-Party Reconciliation Problems
(2018-08-31)This thesis explores various two-party reconciliation problems from a theoretical perspective. We define a reconciliation problem to be one in which Alice and Bob each have some data, and their data is in some problem ... -
Bayesian Methods for Discovering Structure in Neural Spike Trains
(2016-05-18)Neuroscience is entering an exciting new age. Modern recording technologies enable simultaneous measurements of thousands of neurons in organisms performing complex behaviors. Such recordings offer an unprecedented opportunity ... -
Composable Enhancements for Gradual Assurances
(2017-07-12)This dissertation presents three enhancements to software components that increase the trustworthiness and usability of the systems they comprise. The enhancements are composable: they are local to the components they ... -
Dealing with Interference on Experimentation Platforms
(2018-09-16)The theory of causal inference, as formalized by the potential outcomes framework, relies on an assumption that the experimental units are independent. When independence is not tenable, we say there is interference, and ... -
Design and Modeling of Specialized Architectures
(2016-05-19)Hardware acceleration in the form of customized datapath and control circuitry tuned to specific applications has gained popularity for its promise to utilize transistors more efficiently. However, architectural research ... -
Detecting Meaningful Relationships in Large Data Sets
(2018-05-01)As data sets grow and algorithms scale, two questions have become central to data-rich science. The first is the exploration question: how can we avoid only testing hypotheses consistent with current models and instead ... -
Efficiency in warehouse-scale computers: a datacenter tax study
(2017-01-25)Computation has been steadily migrating from isolated on-premise deployments to the datacenters of a small number of large-scale cloud providers. The datacenters powering the cloud, also known as warehouse-scale computers ... -
Experimental Studies of Human Behavior in Social Computing Systems
(2015-05-18)Social computing systems, fueled by the ability of the Internet to engage millions of individuals, have redefined computation to include not only the application of algorithms but also the participation of people. Yet, the ... -
Extensible Proof Engineering in Intensional Type Theory
(2015-02-24)We increasingly rely on large, complex systems in our daily lives---from the computers that park our cars to the medical devices that regulate insulin levels to the servers that store our personal information in the cloud. ... -
A Foundational Proof Framework for Cryptography
(2015-05-18)I present a state-of-the-art mechanized framework for developing and checking proofs of security for cryptographic schemes in the computational model. This system, called the Foundational Cryptography Framework (FCF) is ... -
Gradient Descent for Optimization Problems With Sparse Solutions
(2016-05-18)Sparse modeling is central to many machine learning and signal processing algorithms, because finding a parsimonious model often implicitly removes noise and reveals structure in data. They appear in applications such as ... -
Impacts of Predictive Text on Writing Content
(2020-05-15)People are increasingly communicating using digital technologies, especially using written language. Many modern text entry systems include features that offer predictive suggestions of words and phrases. These features ... -
Incentives Design in the Presence of Externalities
(2015-09-23)The design of incentives becomes challenging when faced with externalities. In this thesis I resolve this difficulty in two settings: position auctions and software economies. The first part of the thesis studies value ... -
Intelligent Information Sharing to Support Loosely-Coupled Teamwork
(2016-12-12)Complex tasks such as treating patients with complex medical conditions, conducting research, co-authoring documents and developing software products are typically accomplished by teams. Teamwork in such settings is often ... -
Low-Mass and Low-Power Optical Flow Sensing and Control for Insect-Scale Flying Microrobots
(2017-05-13)Past efforts in manufacturing, design, and fabrication have led to the realization of robotics at the insect-scale, including flapping-wing, flying microrobots at the scale of natural bees. Initial demonstrations were ... -
Making Peer Prediction Practical
(2016-07-13)My dissertation is on crowdsourcing---using crowds of people to accomplish tasks that are impractical or far more expensive otherwise. I focus specifically on crowdsourcing of information, where workers do tasks such as ... -
Methods in Computational Design and Optimization
(2018-01-08)Computational design allows creation of functional objects by using accurate computational models and 3D printing technologies. As a result, not only is customization of functional objects possible; but it also eliminates ...