Linguistics brownbag series: Transdisciplinary connections

Informal conversation exploring some of the common interests and goals, and possible transdisciplinary projects between linguistics and engineering.

Benjamin Tan, PhD, BE(Hons), PEng is Assistant Professor of Electrical and Software Engineering at Schulich School of Engineering. His interest areas include improving system-on-chip security, robustness of applied AI, hardware security and machine learning, and Large Language Models and security.

Dennis Storoshenko, PhD is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures. He is also the director of the University of Calgary Experimental Syntax Lab. His work focuses on generative syntax, and the syntax/semantics interface. His research is empirically driven, making use of diverse methodologies, including corpus work, traditional field elicitation, and psycholinguistic experimentation. This work proceeds from a guiding principle that new data should always be a motivating factor in theoretical development. His typical workflow starts from noticing something that seems to bump against existing theory, leading to good old-fashioned introspection, followed by corpus searching (if possible), and then experiments or fieldwork to test the predictions of existing theory.