CSL concludes another successful Allerton Conference

The 57^th annual Allerton Conference came to a close last Friday after four days of sharing research related to communication, control, and computing with nearly 450 attendees. The conference was held September 24-27 and was co-chaired by Daniel Liberzon and Alejandro Dominguez-Garcia.

                The conference started with two tutorial sessions by former CSL faculty Christoforos Hadjicostis, now with the University of Cyprus and Angelia Nedich, now with Arizona State University. Current CSL Research Assistant Professor Roy Dong noted the

opportunity that the Allerton Conference provides.

“I enjoy the sessions related to my research about data and how the strategic use of data affects the dynamics of systems,” shared Dong, who is also a member of Illinois’ Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “I also appreciate seeing new ideas and how they are applied.”

Conference attendee Parinaz Naghizadeh, who traveled to Monticello from The Ohio State University where she is an assistant professor, echoed a similar sentiment. When asked what she most enjoyed about the conference, she acknowledged the quality of talks given on control optimization and added the chance for networking to the list of conference draws.

This year’s Plenary Speaker was Professor Benjamin Van Roy from Stanford University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. Van Roy was excited to be speaking on reinforcement learning.

“Reinforcement learning is at a point where, to make substantial further advances, it will rely on skills represented at this event,” shared Van Roy. “It’s humbling to speak here, given the intellectual power present at this event and the distinguished list of past Plenary Speakers.”

To get involved with next year’s conference, keep an eye on the Allerton Conference website for registration and proceedings dates.