2026's Seminars
[INGI] 2026-05-12 (13:00) : AI for societal impact: research at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
At Shannon (Maxwell - a.105)
Speaker :
Ratheil V. Houndji (UAC Benin)
Abstract : This presentation showcases AI research conducted at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) that addresses real-world challenges in agriculture, health, and optimization. It begins with an overview of the AI ecosystem at the UAC, followed by a focus on our team's work in the “Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Informatiques et Applications (LRSIA)”. The talk presents selected projects and ongoing work in three main areas:
- AI for Agriculture, including research on:
- Optimizing tomato yield using machine learning techniques
- Modeling maize (Zea mays) yield in Benin
- Monitoring cotton jassid infestation
- AI for Health, including research on:
- AI for Chronic Kidney Disease
- AI for neurological diseases, specifically for epilepsy
- Optimization, including research on:
- Bias evaluation and mitigation in datasets using constraint programming
- VRP-CC
[INMA] 2026-05-12 (14:00) : Supervisory Control–Driven Scheduling for Complex Manufacturing Systems
At Euler building (room A.002)
Speaker :
Patrícia Pena (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil)
Abstract : This talk presents methods for solving scheduling problems in manufacturing systems using Supervisory Control Theory (SCT) of Discrete Event Systems. The objective is to ensure that task sequences are logically correct and physically feasible by design while optimizing performance. The presentation outlines three strategies: i) reducing model complexity to accelerate the search for optimal solutions; ii) maximizing simultaneous resource activity as a heuristic to find solutions; and iii) using Markov Decision Processes to learn optimal scheduling policies for real-time application. Aspects of implementation in PLCs are discussed, and other related problems of interest are identified.
[LINGI2399] 2026-05-07 (10:45) : Successful development of a Marketplace
At BARB94
Speaker :
Sébastien Deletaille (Rosa)
,
and
Antoine Pairet (Rosa)
Abstract : A marketplace is an online platform that allows sellers to offer their products or services to a large audience, thus facilitating the meeting between supply and demand. In our daily life, several marketplaces have become essential: Amazon, Booking.com, Doctolib, Uber, Airbnb,...What does it take to launch a marketplace? Through the analysis of the launch of Rosa.be, one of the largest medical platforms in Belgium, we will understand the means, resources and time required to succeed.
[INMA] 2026-05-06 (11:00) : Tensor-based Analysis of Hypergraphs and Higher-Order Network Dynamics
At Euler building (room A.002)
Speaker :
Shaoxuan Cui (University of Groningen)
Abstract : In graph-theoretical terms, an edge in a graph connects two vertices, whereas a hyperedge in a hypergraph can connect more than two vertices. From a modeling perspective, a conventional edge denotes a pairwise interaction between two nodes, while a hyperedge may denote a group-wise interaction among several nodes. A hypergraph is said to be uniform if all its hyperedges connect the same number of vertices. In algebraic graph theory, a graph is characterized by an adjacency matrix; correspondingly, a uniform hypergraph can be described by an adjacency tensor. Furthermore, a nonuniform hypergraph can be represented as a set of tensors of different orders. This structural similarity enables the extension of classical matrix analysis techniques, traditionally used for graphs and networked dynamical systems, to hypergraphs and higher-order dynamical systems by leveraging tensor properties. Specifically, we introduce novel notions of tensor irreducibility, corresponding to various forms of strong connectedness in hypergraphs analogous to the graph case. Moreover, we demonstrate that the Perron–Frobenius theorem for nonnegative tensors can be employed to analyze the stability of a class of systems evolving on hypergraphs. This tensor-based framework provides a powerful analytical tool for addressing challenges in network science, complex systems, and control theory.
[INMA] 2026-05-05 (14:00) : Designing Provably Safe Autonomous Systems Under Uncertainty
At Euler building (room A.002)
Speaker :
Sofie Haesaert (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Abstract : The deployment of autonomous aerial and ground vehicles in real-world environments presents fundamental challenges in ensuring safety and resilience under uncertainty. As autonomy increases and human oversight diminishes, we must develop formal methods that provide mathematical guarantees on system behavior in the face of stochastic disturbances and environmental variability.
This talk presents recent advances in data-driven verification and control synthesis for both linear and nonlinear stochastic models. We differentiate between abstraction-based and abstraction-free approaches and show how approximate stochastic simulation relations can be used to quantify abstractions, enabling scalable formal verification of systems with uncertainty. Building on this foundation, we address control synthesis for autonomy via a tight integration of symbolic logic, stochastic formal methods, and uncertainty quantification — paving the way toward interacting autonomous systems that are not only capable, but also provably safe.
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