eemensch

[eemensch]

Getting SageTex to work in Windows

Sage is a cool and free open source mathematics software system that strives to be an alternative to Magma, Maple, Mathematica, and Matlab. SageTexis a Latex package that can make life easier or more interesting for those of us who use Latex for writing technical documents and occasionally need to include plots, numerical calculations, or symbolic derivations. I came across this in a tweet and…

[eemensch]

Launching STAEOnline

All of this started to make sure that dissemination of ideas does not stop in the time of Corona by adopting an online mode of operations for conducting seminars. While the pandemic has stopped face-to-face meetings, discussions, and departmental seminars, going online not only allows us to continue our intellectual discussions but also enables us to broaden the talks’ audience. Now potentially…

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Bullshit is Everywhere

Virtually nothing threatens the future of human kind more than the proliferation of bullshit. Admittedly, it sounds like a grand bullshit statement in itself. One could argue, why–half-truths, exaggerations, empty meaningless words–bullshit should be singled out, when there are more obvious and tangible threats. Climate change, possible nuclear confrontations, and a probable global financial…

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Postdoc/Research Fellow in Planning, Optimisation, and Control

Postdoc/Research Fellow in Planning, Optimisation, and Control

The ideal applicant will have an outstanding background in Engineering, Computer Science, or Applied Mathematics (or equivalent), as well as experience with the implementation of numerical methods and engineering applications of optimisation techniques (continuous and discrete) in real-time control of dynamical systems with exposure to mathematical foundations of learning, graph theory, system…

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Research Fellows (2)

Girish Nair and I are looking for a couple of postdocs to work on a multidisciplinary project on perception, navigation and spatial awareness in mobile robots, using vision or other sensing modalities. Contracts of up to 2.5 years could be offered.

http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/900793/research-fellow

Candidates should ideally have PhDs in areas related to Systems & Control, Robotic…

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Neuroscience-Inspired Perception, Navigation, and Spatial Awareness for Autonomous Robots

Neuroscience-Inspired Perception, Navigation, and Spatial Awareness for Autonomous Robots

The project will advance a science of autonomy, which is critical in enhancing DoD capabilities to execute missions using ground, sea, and aerial AVs. The team of investigators combines experts in robotics and engineered systems with experts in neuroscience, with the conviction that their synergy will lead to neurobiologically-inspired methods enabling breakthroughs in autonomy and robotics…

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Workshop on Optimisation in Systems Engineering

Workshop on Optimisation in Systems Engineering

Program Time Speaker Title 0830 – 0900 Coffee 0900 – 0925 Julio Braslavsky 0925 – 0950 Ye Pu Inexact and distributed optimisation for control with limited resources 0950 – 1015 Steven Low Time-varying nonconvex optimization with application to OPF 1015 – 1030 Coffee 1030 – 1055 Iman Shames POCO: Predictive Convex Online Optimisation 1055 – 1120 Valery Ugrinovskii Wiener…

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RESEARCH FELLOW IN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

RESEARCH FELLOW IN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

The ideal candidate will have a great attitude, enjoy working in a collaborative team and will be someone who thrives in an environment where we are committed to working with industry leaders to respond to the challenges they face.

A PhD in Engineering, Computer Science or Applied Mathematics

Expert knowledge in the theory of system modelling and control

Prior experience in the application of…

[eemensch]

A great discovery, opinions, and remembering Bruce Francis

A great discovery, opinions, and remembering Bruce Francis

Yesterday I discovered a page maintained by Oded Goldreich where a set of ideas, essays and opinions are posted. It is absolutely great. I particularly enjoyed:

Why do people become and remain scientists – a related post by Daniel Liberzon is interesting as well.

On Modest, Suggestive, and Imposing Theories (and Fields)

On offering advice to aspiring scientists

On our duties as scientists

How to…

[eemensch]

Research Fellow in Machine Learning for Engine Control

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering School of Electrical, Mechanical and Infrastructure Engineering University of Melbourne

Salary: PhD entry Level A.6 $87,415 -$93,830 p.a. plus 9.5% superannuation

The research fellow will join a team of academic staff and postgraduate students working on problems related to the control and calibration of diesel engines. The team maintains a…

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Research Fellow in Optimisation and Control

Research Fellow in Optimisation and Control

Salary: PhD entry Level A.6 $87,415 -$93,830 p.a.) plus 9.5% superannuation

The research fellow will join a team of academic staff and postgraduate students working on problems pertaining to real-time decision making in dynamic systems. The team maintains a longstanding partnership with Defence Science and Technology Group in this area.

In this research, the investigation will focus on the…

[eemensch]

Open PhD Positions

The work will be based within the Control and Signal Processing (CSP) Lab, MIDAS Lab, the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The student will be supervised by Dr Iman Shames (see https://imanshames.blog for more information) and co-supervised by another MIDAS Lab faculty member.

The ideal candidate should have a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, computer science,…

[eemensch]

New Democracy

I stopped watching Q&A a couple of years ago as it, or rather most of people invited to be on it, stopped arguing rationally. Too much emotions and unfounded claims from both side of the politics drove me away from it.This continues to be the case and showed itself again in the episode that had Yassmin Abdel-Magied1  and Jacqui Lambie 2 shouting at each other3. Background aside one by-product of that episode was me being introduced to New Democracy and the idea of randomised legislative assemblies. I have been thinking about such a system for a long time, mainly in the context of some sci-fi futuristic society, and I couldn't believe it that other people -- none of them seem to be particularly interested in the sort of thought experiments that I enjoy, advocate the same system.

She is objectively wrong when she claims that Islam is progressive in any sense and I really feel bad for her. In the end of the day, she is entitled to her belief not matter how wrong it is as long as she can tolerate other people's beliefs. ↩︎

I see where she comes from,  but a bit of measured thinking and better articulation would go a long way. ↩︎

I over-heard the discussion when my wife was watching the episode ↩︎

[eemensch]

Moved my blog

You can find me at https://imanshames.blog/ See you there!

[eemensch]

Time to update the music list for 2016

[eemensch]

The common-sense scientific method, where are you?

You can go on and on about what the scientific method entails. If you are after some mild controversy you can just check out the wikipedia talk page. Anyhow, I do not want to discuss its philosophy here, what I really want to briefly rant about is the fact that it in its most common sense form is being forgotten, even in some of the “leading research institution” (what the hell a leading research institution is can be the subject of another lengthy discussion, but I digress). Let’s first clarify what is meant when I use the term “common-sense scientific method”. It is the process of making an educated guess based on some prior knowledge about a system or phenomenon, computing the consequences and implications of the aforementioned guess, checking the veracity of the guess through observations and experiment, and then repeating the process if the guess turns out to be rubbish (Check out this legendary Feynman’s lecture on it if you have time). 

Now, I do not know what happened, and when it happened for that matter. I have some culprits in mind for the rise of this apparent disregard for the common-sense scientific method, particularly the hacker/agile bull-shit entrepreneur culture, but I haven’t been able to really pin it on them. Is their world view the reason for this disregard or they are its product. We never will know the answer. I even tried to blame the baby boomers for it, sure they are definitely at fault; at some points they just decided to maximise their own pay-offs with no respect for facts. But I still really cannot solely blame them. They just took advantage of a mood in the society where everyone stopped appreciating doing anything systematically based on hard facts. I don’t know what can be done except for begging my students (who are going to be engineers soon) to maybe, just maybe, consider doing things in a bit old-fashioned way.

[eemensch]

The echoes of a distant motherland

I rarely think about the place where I spent the first twenty two years of my life. That place has a name, and it is Iran. I don’t know the reason. Maybe I am just too caught up with the daily life. Or I just don’t want to think about it. Perhaps, I just don’t care anymore. On a second thought, probbaly it is because I feel the same about Iran as James Joyce did about Ireland. With some minor modifications, really just chaning a few names, what he said in his lecture, Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages can be applied to Iran. Here is the updated version of Joyce’s, and my, sentiment.

“The Irishman Iranian, finding himself in another environment, outside Ireland Iran, very often knows how to make his worth felt. The economic and intellectual conditions of his homeland do not permit the individual to develop. The spirit of the country has been weakened by centuries of useless struggle and broken treaties. Individual initiative has been paralyzed by the influence and admonitions of the church mosque, while the body has been shackled by peelers basij, duty officers and soldiers. No self-respecting person wants to stay in Ireland Iran. Instead he will run from it, as if from a country that has been subjected to a visitation by an angry Jove.”

But sometimes my mind wanders there. One of those times was today, August 19. It coincides with a day that, in my view, snuffed out any hope, albeit faint, of Iran becoming a modern and democratic country. It is the day that Mossadegh’s government was overthrown after a coup d’etat, later known as Operation Ajax, some 62 years ago. Mossadegh was a man of priciple, maybe even he had too much principle. He was illogical in the extent of his nationalism and strangely parochial in the way that he dealt with world powers. Nevertheless, he was a man of principle. Mossadegh and Fatemi, one of his cabinet members, are possibly the only two Iranians that serve as inspiration for me. Not in the way that they viewed the world, which I disagree with, but in the way that they decided to bring self confidence to a battered nation. They managed to do it, but only for two years. Maybe it is just looking at the past through a romantic lens, but I always wonder what would have happened if his government life was not cut short.

“Excitement filled the air as the Security Council assembled on October 15 to hear from Mossadegh. Delegates fell silent when he entered the chamber. All gazed at the tall, elegant-looking statesman who had riveted the world’s attention since coming to power six months before. Mossadegh seemed completely at ease, and with good reason. He was, after all, a trained lawyer from a distinguished family who had been educated in Europe and honed his persuasive talents in countless trials and parliamentary speeches. More important, he was utterly convinced not only that his case was just but also that Providence had brought him to this moment. He had come to New York to carry out the mission to which he had devoted his life.” -- All the Shah’s Men, page 122