2026 Viterbi Lecture. Left to right: Keith Chugg, Gaurav Sukhatme, Todd Brun, Robert Scholtz, Urbashi Mitra, Paul Siegel, Andrew Viterbi, Richard Leahy, Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan, Yannis Yortsos, Salman Avestimehr, Joshua Yang, Michelle Povinelli, Peter Beerel, Antonio Ortega (Photo Credit: Gaia Corvino)
On April 16, 2026, USC’s Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering hosted the 20th Viterbi Keynote Lecture, featuring memory and mathematics expert, Paul H. Siegel, an Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor at UC San Diego.
Joined by Andrew Viterbi, Siegel’s talk, titled “Coding Theory, Memory, and AI: A Harmonious Trio,” explored the evolving relationship among three critical technological pillars: coding theory, computer memory and artificial intelligence.
Richard Leahy, USC Leonard Silverman Chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiology, kicked off the lecture by inviting this year’s moderator, Salman Avestimehr, the dean’s professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, a joint appointment in USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science and USC School of Advanced Computing.
