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ALOUD, Science

Dreams, Genes, & Machines:
Are We Living Science Fiction?

Nellie Bowles, Reporter, The New York Times
Date: Thursday, Nov 21, 2019
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library
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What if search-and-rescue robots could sense survivors through dense smoke? What if surgical robots could perform impossible surgeries by seeing details invisible to a human doctor? At Dr. Achuta Kadambi’s UCLA lab, his team works to make these possibilities a reality. By symbiotically blending camera and algorithm designs, Kadambi gives the gift of sight to machines. With journalist Nellie Bowles, who covers tech and internet culture from San Francisco for The New York Times, Kadambi discusses how computational imaging has the potential to unleash an era of superhuman robotics.

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Achuta Kadambi

Achuta Kadambi is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA. With applications to cyberphysical system and digital health, his research has been recognized with best paper awards, fellowships, and Lemelson-MIT student prize. His imaging research has resulted in 15t US patent filings, specifically for AI applications for autonomous cars. Kadambi received his Ph.D. From MIT.

Nellie Bowles

Nellie Bowles covers tech and internet culture from San Francisco for The New York Times. Before joining The Times, she was a correspondent for “VICE News Tonight.” She has written for California Sunday, Recode, The Guardian, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Image Credit: Robot and girls on Venice Beach, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

This program is generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

630 W. Fifth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071

213.228.7500

info@lfla.org

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As President and CEO of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), Stacy Lieberman is an innovative and inclusive leader whose career dwells at the intersection of arts and culture, lifelong learning, storytelling, and equitable access. Stacy guides the Foundation’s philanthropic and public-facing priorities to serve the Los Angeles Public Library, embracing the notion that libraries are beacons of democracy where everyone is welcome. She works intentionally with community leaders, donors, and internal and external strategic partners to raise awareness and resources for the Library and its life-changing initiatives.

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