Theoretically Speaking

Theoretically Speaking is a lecture series highlighting exciting advances in theoretical computer science for a broad general audience. Events are held at the Calvin Lab Auditorium, or the David Brower Center in Downtown Berkeley, and are free and open to the public. No special background is assumed.

Spring 2023

Theoretically Speaking — What Do Theory of Computation and the Movies Have in Common?
Speaker: Alvy Ray Smith (Co-Founder of Pixar)
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, 6:00 pm–7:30 pm

Fall 2022

Theoretically Speaking at the Brower Center — PACE Tech: Physics and Algorithms Coupled to Enhance Technology
Speaker: Yonina Eldar (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, 6:00 pm–7:30 pm

Summer 2022

Theoretically Speaking — Adversarial Examples in Deep Learning
Speaker: Anil Ananthaswamy (freelance journalist, moderator) Panelists: Sébastien Bubeck (Microsoft Research), Melanie Mitchell (Santa Fe Institute), and Laurens van der Maaten (Meta AI Research)
Friday, Jul. 22, 2022, 10:00 am–12:00 pm

Spring 2022

Theoretically Speaking — Monitoring People and Their Vital Signs Using Radio Signals and Machine Learning
Speaker: Dina Katabi (MIT)  (Speaker presenting remotely)
Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2022, 11:00 am–12:15 pm
Theoretically Speaking — Opportunities for the Application of Quantitative Models in a Fully Integrated Healthcare System
Speaker: Noam Barda (Harvard, Tel-HaShomer Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University) Noa Dagan (Harvard, Clalit Research Institute and Ben-Gurion University)
Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2022, 3:30 pm–5:00 pm
Theoretically Speaking — The Science of Cause and Effect: From Deep Learning to Deep Understanding
Speaker: Judea Pearl (UCLA) (Speaker presenting remotely)
Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2022, 10:00 am–11:30 am
Theoretically Speaking — Noncausal Dependence and Why It Matters for Causal Reasoning
Speaker: Issa Kohler-Hausmann (Professor of Law at Yale Law School) Panelists: Shamik Dasgupta (UC Berkeley), Robin Dembroff (Yale), & Maegan Fairchild (University of Michigan)  
Tuesday, Apr. 26, 2022, 2:00 pm–3:30 pm

Fall 2021

Theoretically Speaking — Deep Nets and the Primate Visual System
Speaker: Anil Ananthaswamy (Simons Institute, moderator) Panelists: James DiCarlo (MIT), Grace Lindsay (University College London), Jitendra Malik (UC Berkeley), and Santosh Vempala (Georgia Tech)
Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, 11:30 am–1:00 pm
Theoretically Speaking — Foundations for a Democratic Metaverse
Speaker: Ehud Shapiro (Weizmann Institute and Columbia University)
Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, 11:00 am–12:30 pm

Spring 2021

Theoretically Speaking — Market Design through the Lens of Approximation
Speaker: Michal Feldman (Tel Aviv University)
Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2021, 11:00 am–12:30 pm

Pages