Skip to content
Menu
Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich

SCCS Colloquium

The SCCS Colloquium is a forum giving students, guests, and members of the chair the opportunity to present their research insights, results, and challenges. Do you need ideas for your thesis topic? Do you want to meet your potential supervisor? Do you want to discuss your research with a diverse group of researchers, rehearse your conference talk, or simply cheer for your colleagues? Then this is the right place for you (and you are also welcome to bring your friends along).

Upcoming talks

Kai Nierula: Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Wave-Based Seismic Imaging

SCCS Colloquium |

This thesis investigates using a physics-informed continuous conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CcGAN) for simulating seismic wave propagation. Seismic wave simulations are a key element in seismic imaging used for subsurface exploration and discovery. In recent years, physics-informed machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods have emerged as valuable additions or substitutes to classical numerical simulation of partial differential equations (PDEs), one of their main benefits being fast computing time after training. We extend Kadeethum, et al.’s (2022) CcGAN designed to solve a time-dependent PDE on a 2D domain by adding a physics consistency-based loss. The time-depended PDE of interest in this thesis is the acoustic wave equation. A CcGAN allows for generalization across velocity distribution inputs and handling continuous conditional variables like time. To our knowledge, this is the first use of a physics-informed CcGAN.

We first compare a traditional CcGAN to a physics-informed one using uniform velocity distributions. Contrary to expectations, the traditional one outperformed the physics-informed one. Despite this, we applied the physics-informed CcGAN to a data set consisting of horizontally layered velocity distributions, hypothesizing that the advantages of using a physics-informed approach would become apparent with a more complex problem. However, the model showed mode collapse on the validation and test data sets, generating identical pressure wavefields regardless of the input velocity distributions. This mode collapse, a common issue in training traditional GANs, persisted despite employing a Wasserstein gradient-penalty GAN, which should have mitigated this problem.

Encouragingly, our model can generate varied pressure wavefields on the training dataset. Additionally, it demonstrated the ability to handle wavefield progression based on input times, thereby enabling the possibility of querying wavefields at individual timesteps without the need for preceding ones. Unfortunately, continuous time-stepping defaulted back on timesteps used during training.

These findings underscore the need for additional research to address the unexpected physics-informed CcGAN behavior. Despite the challenges, the possibility of querying wavefields at arbitrary time steps highlights the potential of using DL methods to contribute to computational speed-ups in seismic simulation and imaging.

Master's thesis presentation. Kai is advised by Sebastian Wolf, Prof. Dr. Michael Bader,  and Dr. Ban-Sok Shin.

◄ Back to: SCCS Colloquium

You don't want to miss a talk? Subscribe to our mailing list and our Colloquium calendar .

Previous talks →

Contribute a talk

To register and schedule a talk, you should fill the form Colloquium Registration at least two weeks before the earliest preferred date. Keep in mind that we only have limited slots, so please plan your presentation early. In special cases, contact colloquium@mailsccs.in.tum.de.

Colloquium sessions are now on-campus. We have booked room MI 02.07.023 for SS2024. You can either bring your own laptop or send us the slides as a PDF ahead of time. The projector only has an HDMI connection, so please bring your own adapters if necessary.

Do you want to attend but cannot make it in person? We now have a hybrid option. Simply join us through this BBB room: https://bbb.in.tum.de/shu-phv-eyq-rad

We invite students doing their Bachelor's or Master's thesis, as well as IDP, Guided Research, or similar projects at SCCS to give one 20min presentation to discuss their results and potential future work. The time for this is typically after submitting your final text. Check also with your study program regarding any requirements for a final presentation of your project work.

New: In regular times, we will now have slots for presenting early stage projects (talk time 2-10min). This is an optional opportunity for getting additional feedback early and there is no strict timeline.

Apart from students, we also welcome doctoral candidates and guests to present their projects.

During the colloquium, things usually go as follows:

  • 10min before the colloquium starts, the speakers setup their equipment with the help of the moderator. The moderator currently is Ana Cukarska. Make sure to be using an easily identifiable name in the online session's waiting room.
  • The colloquium starts with an introduction to the agenda and the moderator asks the speaker's advisor/host to put the talk into context.
  • Your talk starts. The scheduled time for your talk is normally 20min with additional 5-10min for discussion.
  • The moderator keeps track of the time and will signal 5 min before the end of time.
  • During the discussion session, the audience can ask questions, which are meant for clarification or for putting the talk into context. The audience can also ask questions in the chat.
  • Congratulations! Your talk is over and it's now time to celebrate! Have you already tried the parabolic slides that bring you from the third floor to the Magistrale?

Do you remember a talk that made you feel very happy for attending? Do you also remember a talk that confused you? What made these two experiences different?

Here are a few things to check if you want to improve your presentation:

  • What is the main idea that you want people to remember after your presentation? Do you make it crystal-clear? How quickly are you arriving to it?
  • Which aspects of your work can you cover in the given time frame, with a reasonable pace and good depth?
  • What can you leave out (but maybe have as back-up slides) to not confuse or overwhelm the audience?
  • How are you investing the crucial first two minutes of your presentation?
  • How much content do you have on your slides? Is all of it important? Will the audience know which part of a slide to look at? Will somebody from the last row be able to read the content? Will somebody with limited experience in your field have time to understand what is going on?
  • Are the figures clear? Are you explaining the axes or any other features clearly?

In any case, make sure to start preparing your talk early enough so that you can potentially discuss it, rehearse it, and improve it.

Here are a few good videos to find out more:

Did you know that the TUM English Writing Center can also help you with writing good slides?

Work with us!

Do your thesis/student project in Informatics / Mathematics / Physics: Student Projects at the SCCS.

To top