This is a joint seminar with Applied PDEs https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/183916/qianxiao-li-learning-approximation-and-control.

Title

Learning, Approximation and Control

Abstract

In this talk, we discuss some interesting problems and recent results on the interface of deep learning, approximation theory and control theory. Through a dynamical system viewpoint of deep residual architectures, the study of model complexity in deep learning can be formulated as approximation or interpolation problems that can be studied using control theory, but with a mean-field twist. In a similar vein, training deep architectures can be formulated as optimal control problems in the mean-field sense. We provide some basic mathematical results on these new control problems that so arise, and discuss some applications in improving efficiency, robustness and adaptability of deep learning models.

Bio

Qianxiao Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, and a principal investigator in the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials, National University of Singapore.

He graduated with a BA in mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in applied mathematics from Princeton University. His research interests include the interplay of machine learning and dynamical systems, control theory, stochastic optimisation algorithms and data-driven methods for science and engineering.