Maia Fraser

E-mail:
maia "at" cs "dot" uchicago "dot" edu

Phone:
(773)702-6614

Office:
Ryerson 177

Research areas:

Machine Learning, Topological Data Analysis, Ad Hoc Networks, Computational Geometry

Who I am:

I am a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago. My main area of research is machine learning, specifically neural network models, but also broader questions in computational learning theory. In addition, I work in topological data analysis. I am especially interested in problems where computer science, statistics, and geometry or topology come together. In pure math, I have started to work again in symplectic and contact topology. I am doing my PhD thesis on neural networks under the guidance of Yali Amit and Risi Kondor. My initial advisers were Partha Niyogi and Steve Smale (currently at City University Hong Kong).

I have a first background in Math, having done my BSc and PhD in Math (at the University of Toronto and Stanford University respectively). Afterwards I worked in Computer Science for several years in industry, doing research and development at Supercomputing Systems AG, Zurich. I returned to academia in 2007, teaching Math, Stat and CS in Mexico, raising my two young children (now a bit older, one can be seen in the photo!) and publishing in the area of ad hoc networks (mainly). I came to graduate school in 2009.

Master's Thesis 2011:

  • M. Fraser, Structural Observations on Neural Networks for Hierarchically Derived Reproducing Kernels. Revised version (pdf). March 2012. NEW!

  • Master's Presentation (pdf).

Refereed publications since 2007:

  1. M. Fraser, Tight Linear Lower Memory Bound for Local Routing in Planar Digraphs. To appear Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry (CCCG12), August 2012. NEW!

  2. A. Fraser, D. Fraser, M. Fraser, Parameter Curvature Revisited and the Bayes-Frequentist Divergence. J. of Statistical Research, Vol 44 number 2, 2010.(pdf )

  3. Y. Eliashberg and M. Fraser, Topologically Trivial Legendrian Knots. In Journal of Symplectic Geometry, Vol. 7, pp.77-127, 2009. (arxiv version)

  4. E. Chávez, M. Fraser and H. Tejeda, Proximal Labeling for Oblivious Routing in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks. In Proceedings of ADHOC-NOW 2009, Springer Verlag LNCS 5793, pp. 360-365.

  5. M. Fraser, E. Kranakis, J. Urrutia, Memory Requirements for Local Geometric Routing or Traversal in Digraphs. In proceedings of 20th Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry (CCCG2008), Montreal, August 2008. (pdf)

  6. M. Fraser, Local Routing on Tori (extended, invited version of next paper). In Ad Hoc and Sensor Wireless Networks, journal issue dedicated to ADHOC-NOW 2007, Vol. 6, pp. 179-196, 2008.

  7. M. Fraser, Local Routing on Tori. In proceedings of ADHOC-NOW 2007, Springer Verlag LNCS 4686, pp. 153-166, E. Kranakis and J. Opatrny (Eds.), Morelia, September 2007.

Recent non-refereed publications:

  1. M. Fraser, L. Polterovich and D. Rosen, On Sandon-type metrics for contactomorphism groups . 2012. (arxiv version) NEW!

  2. M. Fraser, Persistent Homology of filtered covers, under review. 2012. (arxiv version) NEW!

  3. M. Fraser, Comparison of learning with or without knowledge of underlying invariances. 2012. (pdf) NEW!

  4. M. Fraser, Local Routing in Graphs Embedded on Surfaces of Arbitrary Genus, under review. 2011. (arxiv version)

  5. M. Fraser, Two Extensions to Manifold Learning Algorithms Using α-Complexes . Dept. of Computer Science, University of Chicago, Technical Report TR-2010-07, 2010.

Recent TA'ing:

CMSC28100 Introduction to Complexity Theory

CMSC25010 Introduction to AI

CMSC15300 Foundations of Software,

Recent Teaching (in Mexico):

Introducción a la Programmación, Estadística, Análisis Matemático,

Teoría de Galois, Introducción al Algebra Moderna, Cálculo I y II

Previous Teaching:

Three-dimensional contact geometry (ETH Zurich), Multivariate Calculus (Dept. Electrical Eng., University of Toronto)