Probabilistic and Approximate Computation in Software and Hardware Models

Professor Bala Ravikumar
Professor, Chair Department of Computer Science, SSU, Rohnert Park, CA

Cerent Engineering Science Complex, Salazar Hall 2009A
3:00 PM

Abstract - Everyone knows that modern digital computers are based on deterministic Boolean logic gates that are assumed to perform exact computation of logical operations such as AND, NOT etc. In this talk, we will explore two alternatives to this framework in which the demand on the output being correct on all inputs is relaxed. First, we will consider a state machine model as a way to approximate the solutions of some computational problems. The second one is a stochastic model of logic gates that provides an alternative hardware basis for building digital computers. Some applications of these models will also be presented.

Dr. Ravikumar received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota and has taught at many universities including University of Minnesota, University of Rhode Island, San Francisco State University and Sonoma State University. He has supervised many graduate and undergraduate projects. He is an editor of the International Journal of the Foundations of Computer Science and has served on the program committees of many international conferences. He has presented invited and contributed talks in more than fifty international conferences.