- Nov 64:00 PMJapanese Pop Culture: Hip-Hop, Anime, and Spatial SoundGlobal Asia Hub and HUA Music are hosting Prof. Ian Condry, MIT Cultural Anthropologist and MIT Spatial Sound Lab organizer. He explores global flows of media and culture, focusing on Japanese Hip-Hop, anime, and spatial audio for live performance.
- Nov 65:00 PMAlumni & Student SocialAlumni & Student SocialJoin us on Thursday, November 6, from 5–7 PM in Odeum A/B for the Alumni & Student Social. This event brings together WPI alumni, students, and faculty for an evening of networking, conversation, and community building.Celebrate Business Week by strengthening connections, sharing experiences, and creating opportunities for future collaborations. Whether you’re a student eager to learn from alumni or an alum looking to give back and reconnect, this social is the perfect way to conclude the week.Don’t miss this chance to engage with the WPI Business School community!You can register by clicking this link.
- Nov 79:30 AMECE PhD Dissertation Defense by: Xiao Zhang, Algorithm–Hardware Co-Design for LiDAR Point Cloud Processing: Classic and Learning-Based ApproachesTitle:Algorithm–Hardware Co-Design for LiDAR Point Cloud Processing: Classic and Learning-Based Approaches Abstract:LiDAR perception is a cornerstone of modern autonomous systems, enabling reliable 3D scene understanding for self-driving, robotics, and intelligent infrastructure. As sensors shift from mechanical to solid-state designs and produce denser, higher-rate point clouds, computational demands escalate. Meeting real-time, low-power, and small-form-factor requirements on edge platforms remains challenging for conventional CPU/GPU pipelines.This dissertation presents a hardware-friendly LiDAR perception framework through algorithm–hardware co-design on FPGAs and introduces three key designs: (1) a stream-based ground-segmentation method with a parallel optimization path for solid-state LiDAR, enabling fully pipelined, low-latency processing; (2) a Fast Channel-Clustering (FCC) algorithm for real-time instance formation using line-buffered, local-search micro-architectures; and (3) a ReAct Binary PointPillar detector that binarizes network weights and replaces multiplications with XNOR–popcount, substantially reducing computational and memory requirement while preserving accuracy. All designs emphasize deep pipelining, resource efficiency, and deterministic execution to meet tight timing and energy budgets on edge platforms.In addition to standalone modules, this work integrates classical geometric methods with learning-based approaches to form a hybrid pipeline. It proposes a panoptic-segmentation flow that couples semantic segmentation with clustering-based instance formation, achieving state-of-the-art accuracy.The proposed designs are evaluated on KITTI/SemanticKITTI dataset and real-world collected LiDAR data, demonstrating strong accuracy, high throughput, and robust generalization across multiple types of LiDAR — pointing toward practical, deployable LiDAR intelligence at the edge. Research Advisor:Prof. Xinming HuangECE Department, WPI Committee Members:Prof. Shahin TajikECE Department, WPIProf. Tian Guo Computer Science Department, WPIProf. Honggang WangGraduate Department Chair, Computer Science & Engineering, Yeshiva University
- Nov 712:00 PMMilk & CookiesJoin ODIME on Fridays from 12:00-2:00pm ET in OASIS House for milk and freshly baked cookies! For more information or accommodations, please contact ODIME at diversity@wpi.edu. All are welcome!
- Nov 73:00 PMPreparing for Your Internship Virtual PanelGain insight from some of The Business School's most recent interns!Join us on Friday, November 7, from 3 PM–4 PM online for the "Preparing for your Internship Virtual Panel." Students who are currently or recently on internship will share about their experiences.Hear about their internship, their first date, lessons learned and what they would have done differently.You can register for the Zoom at this link.
- Nov 128:00 AMTIAA Consultant - Individual Employee Meetings - Wednesday, November 12, 2025Have questions regarding your retirement with WPI? Meet with a representative from TIAA and discuss 1:1 with them your retirement options. All meetings are confidential. All individuals are required to register beforehand.
- Nov 1212:15 PMMindful WednesdaysLooking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Wednesdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom.
- Nov 1311:00 AMRobotics Engineering Capstone Presentation - Manoj VelmuruganSaranga: milliWatt Ultrasound System for 3D Navigation in Visually Degraded Environments Abstract: Tiny autonomous aerial robots face severe limitations in sensing capability due to payload and power constraints, making robust 3D navigation in visually degraded environments extremely challenging. In this work, we propose Saranga, a lightweight, low-power ultrasonic 3D obstacle localization stack for aerial robots. Propellers generate ultrasonic noise that limits the efficacy of ultrasound systems on aerial platforms, for which I proposed a two-step solution: (1) a physical acoustic shield that mitigates propeller noise, and (2) a deep neural network that denoises echoes and estimates obstacle positions by reconstructing the impulse response of the scene. This talk will focus on the sensor suite configuration, denoising technique, synthetic data generation process, and the 3D trilateration method, along with comparisons against classical denoising and edge detection techniques. We demonstrate that the system enables reliable operation under low light, fog, transparent obstacles, and snow—conditions where conventional sensing modalities such as cameras, LiDAR, and radar fail—paving the way for robust all-weather perception in tiny aerial robots.Advisor: Professor Nitin SantekZoom link: https://wpi.zoom.us/my/vmanoj1996
- Nov 132:15 PMMindful ThursdaysLooking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Thursdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom. Mindful Thursdays: 2:15PM to 2:35PM Center for Well-Being, Daniels Hall 102E Zoom: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/186050714 Each Friday an email will be sent out to the group called Mindfulness Tools To-Go which will include information about meditations, poems shared during the week, and mindful resources. If you have questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Robin Benoit, rbenoit@wpi.edu
- Nov 133:00 PMHow to get the most out of your retirement incomeDiscover how to maximize your retirement income to ensure your financial security doesn’t stop when you stop working.
- Nov 135:00 PMCounted Out DocumentaryThe STEM Education Center is pleased to be hosting a free community screening and conversation of the Counted Out film, a powerful documentary that interrogates the way math is taught in schools and explores how math shapes everything from economic opportunity to democracy. @CountedOutDoc #CountedOut #ReImagineMathWatch the trailer and register. K–14 educators are especially encouraged to join us for this screening and discussion. Raffle and door prizes will be available for K–12 teachers.SynopsisIn our current information economy, math is everywhere. The people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we have access to, the jobs we get—all of it is underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice.But whether we know it or not, our numeric literacy—whether we can speak the language of math—is a critical determinant of social and economic power.Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, Counted Out shows what’s at risk if we keep the status quo. Do we want an America in which most of us don���t consider ourselves “math people”? Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where everyone can understand the math that undergirds our society—and can help shape it?ParkingParking is available at any of the WPI visitor parking lots. The closest lot to the WPI Fuller Laboratory, Fuller Upper Perreault Hall, is the Library / Boynton Parking Lot - North. There is additional parking at Park Ave Garage, located at 151 Salisbury Street, Worcester.
- Nov 1412:00 PMMilk & CookiesJoin ODIME on Fridays from 12:00-2:00pm ET in OASIS House for milk and freshly baked cookies! For more information or accommodations, please contact ODIME at diversity@wpi.edu. All are welcome!
- Nov 158:30 AMInvitation to Participate - Hack for Human Impact - Saturday, Nov. 15 @ WPICalling all WPI Students!Join us on Saturday, November 15, WPI and Holy Cross will host Hack for Human Impact — a one-day innovation sprint where engineering and liberal arts students join forces to turn civic data into human-centered solutions. Supported by the Massachusetts AI Hub, Worcester’s CTO, state leadership, alumni, and industry partners, the event marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration that brings together technical expertise, ethical perspective, and civic purpose to shape the future of responsible AI and data use in Massachusetts.All experience levels and students in other majors are more than welcome to participate! Please register using the link below!Highlights:Apply your skills in cross-disciplinary teamsGain hands-on experience with real civic dataPresent directly to faculty experts from WPI and Holy Cross, alumni, government, and industry leadersFaculty and Industry Mentors: We expect engagement from Sabrina Mansur (Director of the Massachusetts AI Hub), Secretary Snyder (CTO for the Commonwealth), Gabriela Alexa Torres (Sundai Club), Michael Hamill (CTO for the City of Worcester), Shauna Conway (SG+I, HC '04), and alumni/industry leaders.Event Details:Date: Saturday, November 15th, 2025Time: 8:30am - 4:00pmLocation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Unity Hall 4th FloorAddress: 27 Boynton Street, Worcester, MA 01609Additional reminders will be distributed leading up to the event along with a parking pass and relevant day of event details. Registration: To access the participation registration form, use the QR Code found on the flyer attached or use the registration link. Questions? Email Kelsey Briggs at kbriggs2@wpi.edu.
- Nov 1812:00 PM11/18 AI User Group Brown Bag LunchJoin Our Monthly AI User Group Brown Bag Lunch!Curious about AI? Join faculty, staff, and students for an informal monthly gathering where we explore the opportunities, challenges, and real-world applications of artificial intelligence across campus and beyond.Each month we'll dive into a featured AI theme, but the conversation is yours to shape—bring your questions, experiences, and ideas. Whether you're an AI enthusiast, skeptical observer, or somewhere in between, your perspective adds value to our dialogue.What to expect:Relaxed, collaborative discussions in a brown bag formatMonthly themes to spark conversation (with plenty of room to explore tangents!)Open submissions for future discussion topicsA welcoming space for all experience levelsPack your lunch and join us for engaging conversations about how AI is reshaping our work, learning, and daily lives. Together, we'll navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and learn from each other's diverse experiences and viewpoints.
- Nov 182:00 PMTravel Expense Training SessionThis session will provide a clear overview of existing travel policies and procedures, with a special focus on the backup documentation required to ensure smooth and timely expense report approvals.https://wpi.zoom.us/j/99216402336
- Nov 1912:15 PMMindful WednesdaysLooking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Wednesdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom.
- Nov 194:00 PMDS & AI BS/MS Information Session - All Welcome | Wed. November 19 @ 4:00pm, UH420Any student, regardless of major, interested in the Data Science BS/MS or the Artificial Intelligence BS/MS is invited to attend this information session!
- Nov 194:30 PMAdvisors, Connectors, Innovators, Supporters (ACIS) Kickoff EventREGISTERCalling all tech venture enthusiasts!Please join us for the ACIS (Advisory, Connections, Innovation and Support) Kickoff Event, Wednesday, November 19, at WPI's Innovation Studio from 4:30 to 8:30 PM. This will serve as our inaugural mentor-venture symposium—an evening that introduces ACIS to the broader community, spotlights faculty and student startups, and builds momentum for a connected ecosystem of alumni, mentors, and innovators.The evening will include:Welcome & Vision – Setting the stage for WPI’s leadership in deep-tech innovation.Faculty & Student Startup Showcases – Brief, high-energy pitches (no Q&A) to highlight ventures emerging from our research and incubator programs.Guided Networking & Mentor Marketplace – A structured opportunity for alumni, mentors, and innovators to connect around specific domains and readiness levels.Food and RefreshmentsAdvanced registration is requested. For any additional questions, please email Terry Adams, Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization, at TAdams1@wpi.edu.
- Nov 202:15 PMMindful ThursdaysLooking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Thursdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom. Mindful Thursdays: 2:15PM to 2:35PM Center for Well-Being, Daniels Hall 102E Zoom: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/186050714 Each Friday an email will be sent out to the group called Mindfulness Tools To-Go which will include information about meditations, poems shared during the week, and mindful resources. If you have questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Robin Benoit, rbenoit@wpi.edu
- Nov 203:30 PMThe Omnivore’s Deception: Professor John Sanbonmatsu (For a Change: WPI Author Series)Join us for a thought-provoking discussion with John Sanbonmatsu, WPI Professor of Philosophy, as he explores his 2025 book The Omnivore���s Deception: What we get wrong about meat, animals, and ourselves (NYU Press). Prof. Sanbonmatsu proposes a new perspective on our relationship with animals, the food we eat, and with each other. His book has received warm praise from leading thinkers and activists including Angela Davis, writing: “Everyone who believes in justice for all should read this brilliant book,” and Jeffrey Moussaief Masson, who writes: “You cannot read this book without changing your life. It is a work not only of immense moral significance, but a masterpiece." Prof. Sanbonmatsu will open the program, the second event in this year's Gordon Library WPI Author Series, "For a Change." He will be joined in conversation by Prof. Joel Brattin and Prof. Scott Barton, followed by an open Q&A with the audience. Copies of The Omnivore’s Deception will be available for sale for half an hour before the event begins (3-3:30pm, All major credit/debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex) or Google/Apple/Samsung Pay will be accepted).
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