Fri 07 Feb 13:00: Barlow Twins Earth Foundation Model
Abstract
Satellite imagery provides a critical lens for monitoring Earth’s dynamic systems, yet integrating multi-source, multi-temporal data into globally consistent, high-resolution representations remains a challenge. Traditional remote sensing vision models, which process patches or images as inputs, often struggle to capture fine-grained spatiotemporal-spectral relationships critical for downstream tasks like land classification, climate modeling, and change detection. We present a self-supervised framework leveraging Barlow Twins to train an Earth Foundation Model that outputs pixel-level representations from diverse satellite data sources. Unlike conventional ML approaches, our model treats pixels as primary units of learning, explicitly optimizing for temporal-spectral coherence across billions of global 10m-resolution pixels. Preliminary results demonstrate that the resulting representation map encodes high-quality spatiotemporal patterns, outperforming traditional ML methods in land classification. By bridging multi-modal satellite data into a harmonized latent space, our approach unlocks new opportunities for monitoring planetary-scale processes with higher precision.
Bio
Frank Feng is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge. His research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning and earth sciences, with a particular focus on the application of self-supervised learning in remote sensing.
- Speaker: Frank Feng, University of Cambridge
- Friday 07 February 2025, 13:00-13:55
- Venue: FW11, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Strategies to Improve the Photovoltaic Performance of M-Series Acceptor-Based Polymer Solar Cells: Chemical Hybridization Versus Physical Blending of Acceptors
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00294J, PaperHaiting Shi, Hui Guo, Dongdong Cai, Jin-Yun Wang, Yunlong Ma, Qingdong Zheng
A novel asymmetric acceptor, M36-FCl, has been developed by chemically hybridizing two symmetric M-series acceptors: one with fluorinated terminal groups (M36F) and the other with chlorinated terminal groups (M36Cl). This...
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Mon 15 Sep 11:00: LMB Seminar - Title TBC
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Alan Brown, Harvard Medical School
- Monday 15 September 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link .
- Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.
Mon 10 Feb 11:00: LMB Seminar - Alpha-Synuclein and its aggregation: Past, Present and Future
Most neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the presence of abnormal intracellular protein inclusions. These inclusions were described at the beginning of last century as the defining neuropathological features of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Pick’s and Parkinson’s. In Alzheimer’s, Pick’s and several other diseases, the inclusions are made of the microtubule-associated protein tau. The filamentous inclusions of Parkinson’s disease, in the form of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, are made of the protein alpha-synuclein; the same is true of the Lewy pathology of dementia with Lewy bodies and the glial cytoplasmic inclusions of multiple system atrophy. Alpha-synuclein aggregates can be also found in about 60% of Alzheimer’s cases. The importance of the assembly of alpha-synuclein in these diseases is supported by the finding that mutations in its gene (SNCA) cause disease and these disorders are now also known as alpha-synucleinopathies. Studies on the distribution of Lewy pathology have suggested that in Parkinson’s disease alpha-synuclein aggregation begins in the periphery and spreads to the brain, resulting in pre-motor and then motor symptoms. Besides the Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra and other brain areas, smaller alpha-synuclein aggregates are present at synapses in the striatum, where they impair neurotransmitter release and contribute to the early stages of neurodegeneration. We have generated transgenic mouse models with alpha-synuclein aggregates that reproduce the characteristic features of disease and that can be used for testing new therapeutic approaches. Alpha-synuclein aggregation is a promising target for therapy.
- Speaker: Maria Grazia Spillantini, University of Cambridge, Dept of Clinical Neurosciences
- Monday 10 February 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/98728840077?pwd=Z0MZ2xWLsyUC6fI31cIklaUbSYALwy.1.
- Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.
Tue 11 Mar 14:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Daniel Kious (Bath)
- Tuesday 11 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR12.
- Series: Probability; organiser: ww295.
Tue 18 Mar 14:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Louis-Pierre Arguin (Oxford)
- Tuesday 18 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR12.
- Series: Probability; organiser: ww295.
Tue 04 Mar 14:00: TBA
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Armand Riera (Paris)
- Tuesday 04 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR12.
- Series: Probability; organiser: ww295.
Tue 18 Feb 14:00: TBA
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Titus Lupu (Paris)
- Tuesday 18 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR12.
- Series: Probability; organiser: ww295.
Fri 14 Mar 14:00: Evaluating a black-box algorithm: stability, risk, and model comparisons
When we run a complex algorithm on real data, it is standard to use a holdout set, or a cross-validation strategy, to evaluate its behavior and performance. When we do so, are we learning information about the algorithm itself, or only about the particular fitted model(s) that this particular data set produced? In this talk, we will establish fundamental hardness results on the problem of empirically evaluating properties of a black-box algorithm, such as its stability and its average risk, in the distribution-free setting. This work is joint with Yuetian Luo and Byol Kim.
- Speaker: Rina Foygel Barber (University of Chicago)
- Friday 14 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Centre for Mathematical Sciences MR12, CMS.
- Series: Statistics; organiser: Qingyuan Zhao.
Thu 13 Mar 16:00: Algorithmic stability for regression and classification
In a supervised learning setting, a model fitting algorithm is unstable if small perturbations to the input (the training data) can often lead to large perturbations in the output (say, predictions returned by the fitted model). Algorithmic stability is a desirable property with many important implications such as generalization and robustness, but testing the stability property empirically is known to be impossible in the setting of complex black-box models. In this work, we establish that bagging any black-box regression algorithm automatically ensures that stability holds, with no assumptions on the algorithm or the data. Furthermore, we construct a new framework for defining stability in the context of classification, and show that using bagging to estimate our uncertainty about the output label will again allow stability guarantees for any black-box model. This work is joint with Jake Soloff and Rebecca Willett.
Evaluating a black-box algorithm: stability, risk, and model comparisons
When we run a complex algorithm on real data, it is standard to use a holdout set, or a cross-validation strategy, to evaluate its behavior and performance. When we do so, are we learning information about the algorithm itself, or only about the particular fitted model(s) that this particular data set produced? In this talk, we will establish fundamental hardness results on the problem of empirically evaluating properties of a black-box algorithm, such as its stability and its average risk, in the distribution-free setting. This work is joint with Yuetian Luo and Byol Kim.
A wine reception in the Central Core will follow this lecture
- Speaker: Rina Foygel Barber (Chicago)
- Thursday 13 March 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Centre for Mathematical Sciences MR2.
- Series: Peter Whittle Lecture; organiser: HoD Secretary, DPMMS.
Thu 06 Feb 14:00: Low-power embedded event-based vision processing for low-latency robotics
Brain inspired information processing in hardware and in software – or “neuromorphic computing” – opens a possible path to real-time, low-energy computation. Today, various neuromorphic computing systems are available as customizable hardware for small or large applications, from single chips to computer server rooms. For efficient use of such novel hardware, we need to rethink computation in terms of event-based or spiking neuromorphic algorithms, instead of traditional sequential (CPU) or parallel (GPU) computing. In this presentation, I will first briefly introduce the concepts of neuromorphic computing, including a quick overview of present and upcoming neuromorphic hardware for sensing and computation. Following, I will show and discuss multiple application examples of event-based sensing and perception, leading a path towards closed-loop actuated robotic systems.
The seminar will be held in the JDB Seminar Room , Department of Engineering, and online (zoom): https://newnham.zoom.us/j/92544958528?pwd=YS9PcGRnbXBOcStBdStNb3E0SHN1UT09
- Speaker: Jörg Conradt, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
- Thursday 06 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: JDB Seminar Room, Department of Engineering and online (Zoom).
- Series: CUED Control Group Seminars; organiser: Fulvio Forni.
Fri 07 Feb 16:00: A CUED-developed flexible multi-sensor device enabling handheld sensing of heart sounds by untrained users
Heart valve disease has a large and growing burden, with a prognosis worse than many cancers. Screening with a traditional stethoscope is underutilised, often inaccurate even in skilled hands, and requires time-consuming, intimate examinations.
In this talk I will present a handheld device designed to enable untrained users to record high-quality heart sounds without requiring patients to undress. The device, developed at the CUED Acoustics Lab, incorporates multiple high-sensitivity sensors embedded in a flexible substrate that conforms to the contours of the human body.
The use of multiple sensors allows us to address challenges from localised heart sound vibrations and noise interference. I will introduce a time-frequency signal quality algorithm which we have developed to allow automated selection of the best sensor in the device and rejection of recordings with insufficient diagnostic quality.
A validation study conducted at CUED demonstrates the device’s effectiveness across a diverse range of body types, with multiple sensors significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful recording. The device has the potential to enable accurate, accessible and low-cost heart disease screening.
- Speaker: Dr Max Nussbaumer, CUED
- Friday 07 February 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: JDB Seminar Room, CUED.
- Series: Engineering - Dynamics and Vibration Tea Time Talks; organiser: div-c.
Mon 10 Feb 14:00: Extreme pushed and pulled fronts
I shall describe the propagation properties of a class of quasilinear reaction-diffusion equations, motivated by applications to biological tissue growth.
- Speaker: John R. King (University of Nottingham)
- Monday 10 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR13.
- Series: Partial Differential Equations seminar; organiser: Giacomo Ageno.
Tue 11 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed Zoom: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/82858548158?pwd=GxehopMD68LvYlArGHNjDmiLTgYAC0.1
Abstract not available
Zoom: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/82858548158?pwd=GxehopMD68LvYlArGHNjDmiLTgYAC0.1
- Speaker: Shyam Tailor, Google
- Tuesday 11 February 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Online.
- Series: Mobile and Wearable Health Seminar Series; organiser: Cecilia Mascolo.
Wed 05 Feb 11:00: Unpacking UK’s New AI Action Plan: Ambition versus Reality Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
We will have a guided discussion to examine of the UK’s new AI action plan, covering the main themes: 1) Building sufficient, secure, and sustainable infrastructure; 2) Unlocking data assets in the public and private sector; 3) Training, attracting and retaining the next generation of AI scientists and founders; 4) Enabling safe and trusted AI development and adoption through regulation, safety and assurance; 5) Adopt a “Scan > Pilot > Scale” approach in government and 6) Enable public and private sectors to reinforce each other.
Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
- Speaker: Miri Zilka and Usman Anwar, University of Cambridge
- Wednesday 05 February 2025, 11:00-12:30
- Venue: Cambridge University Engineering Department, CBL Seminar room BE4-38..
- Series: Machine Learning Reading Group @ CUED; organiser: .
Tue 04 Feb 11:00: Planetary uprising: Climate colonialism, Extinction Rebellion and the transformation of global politics Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Y2VlZmM3OTgtOTQwNS00ZTcxLTk5ZGEtZWZiMzU4NTdiMGY1%40thread.v2/0...
Dear all,
CAS seminar will welcome Tobias Müller who will give us a talk on climate colonialism. The talk will be held in a hybrid format with the speaker in-person at the Unilever lecture theatre and on Zoom on Tuesday, the 4th February , 11 AM-12 PM. Please find the abstracts of the talk below.
If you would like this seminar recorded, please let us know in advance. We look forward to seeing you there!
Best wishes, Megan and Yao
—————————————
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) The climate crisis is deeply entangled with the politics of race and colonialism. The concept of “climate colonialism”, (Bhambra and Newell 2022) urges us to analyse what forms of resistance to the socio-ecological continuities of colonialism emerge, and what challenges they face. However, we lack empirical and conceptual studies on how people on the ground confront the intersection of the climate crisis, colonialism, racism and extractivism, and how this differs across former coloniser and colonised countries. This raises the question, what kind of politics are able to confront the intersecting crises of climate and colonialism?
This presentation addresses this gap through an analysis of how climate activists in four different countries respond to the climate crisis and connected social justice issues. Using the case study of a transnationally operating group within the global movement, Extinction Rebellion, the paper compares strategic responses to climate colonialism in four different countries, namely Mexico, South Africa, the UK and the US. Methodologically, the paper uses multi-sited ethnography, comprising 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork and 140 interviews with activists, to gain a deep insight into the internal contentions within different parts of the movement.The paper advances not only our understanding of how facing climate colonialism challenges movement spaces, but also how white environmental activists struggle with building racial justice into their practices and to build coalitions across the social justice movement space. It thereby contributes to the much-needed bridging between decolonial theory, social movement studies and the social scientific accounts of climate change.
Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Y2VlZmM3OTgtOTQwNS00ZTcxLTk5ZGEtZWZiMzU4NTdiMGY1%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2253b919d9-f8a7-4f56-9bb0-baaf0ba7404d%22%7d
- Speaker: Tobias Müller, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH)
- Tuesday 04 February 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: Chemistry Dept, Unilever Lecture Theatre and Teams.
- Series: Centre for Atmospheric Science seminars, Chemistry Dept.; organiser: Dr Megan Brown.
Melamine holding PbI2 with three “arms”: an effective chelation strategy to control the lead iodide to perovskite conversion for inverted perovskite solar cells
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE04692G, PaperShizi Luo, Shuguang Cao, Tongjun Zheng, Zhuoneng Bi, Yupeng Zheng, Yiqun Li, Biniyam Zemene Taye, Victoria V. Ozerova, Lyubov A. Frolova, Nikita A. Emelianov, Eugeniy D. Tarasov, Zheng Liang, Lavrenty G. Gutsev, Sergey M. Aldoshin, Bala R. Ramachandran, Pavel A. Troshin, Xueqing Xu
Herein, we have proposed a novel tridentate chelation strategy to manage the excessive amount of unreacted PbI2 in perovskite films, achieving a inverted PSC device with a PCE of 25.66% by sequential deposition method.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
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Tue 11 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Shyam Tailor, Google
- Tuesday 11 February 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Online.
- Series: Mobile and Wearable Health Seminar Series; organiser: Cecilia Mascolo.
Tue 04 Feb 14:30: Squarefree values of discriminant polynomials
Given a multivariable polynomial with integer coefficients, what is the probability that it takes a squarefree value? This was determined by Granville and Poonen assuming the ABC conjecture, but an unconditional proof remains unknown. We will start the talk by discussing a paper by Bhargava, Shankar and Wang that unconditionally determines a result for the discriminants of monic polynomials of any given degree. In the second part of the talk, we will see how the methods of BSW can be interpreted into a more general framework developed by Thorne, and how they can be used to obtain new results for other families of discriminant polynomials.
- Speaker: Marti Oller Riera (Cambridge)
- Tuesday 04 February 2025, 14:30-15:30
- Venue: MR13.
- Series: Number Theory Seminar; organiser: Rong Zhou.
Wed 05 Feb 15:05: EU AI Act: A firsthand perspective
The talk will provide an overall introduction about the origin of the EU AI Act, the context in which the legislation evolved and its main components. Considering the high degree of complexity of the legal text, the presentation aims to break it down by offering insight into the rationale of the choices that were made and help the audience gather an initial understanding of the scope and potential impact.
Link to join virtually: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87421957265
This talk is being recorded. If you do not wish to be seen in the recording, please avoid sitting in the front three rows of seats in the lecture theatre. Any questions asked will also be included in the recording. The recording will be made available on the Department’s webpage
- Speaker: Dr Gabriele Mazzini - Research Affiliate, MIT Media Lab. Architect & lead author of the EU AI Act
- Wednesday 05 February 2025, 15:05-15:55
- Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building.
- Series: Wednesday Seminars - Department of Computer Science and Technology ; organiser: Ben Karniely.