Sungsoo Ahn
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology · Computer Science
About the Lab
Professor Sungsoo Ahn's research lab specializes in probabilistic graphical models, optimization, and machine learning, with a strong focus on developing efficient inference algorithms and scalable learning frameworks. The lab explores the theoretical foundations of belief propagation, Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, and variational inference, particularly in loopy or complex graphical structures. It also investigates deep reinforcement learning for combinatorial optimization and neural network pruning, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical guarantees and practical efficiency. A recurring theme is the design of algorithms that balance accuracy, speed, and scalability in large-scale systems.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15Recent discoveries on neural network pruning reveal that, with a carefully chosen layerwise sparsity, a simple magnitude-based pruning achieves state-of-the-art tradeoff between sparsity and performance. However, without a clear consensus on "how to choose," the layerwise sparsities are mostly selected algorithm-by-algorithm, often resorting to handcrafted heuristics or an extensive hyperparameter search. To fill this gap, we propose a novel importance score for global pruning, coined layer-adap
Abstract This paper discusses an adaptive procedure of a simplified power method for computing the eigenvector corresponding to the largest eigenvalue of an autocovariance matrix. The objective is to generate a suboptimal weight vector for an adaptive array operating in a multipath fading CDMA (code‐division multiple access) channel. The total computational load of the proposed procedure is about O (4 N ), including an autocovariance matrix update, where N is the number of weights. The performan
Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Belief Propagation (BP) are the most popular algorithms for computational inference in Graphical Models (GM). In principle, MCMC is an exact probabilistic method which, however, often suffers from exponentially slow mixing. In contrast, BP is a deterministic method, which is typically fast, empirically very successful, however in general lacking control of accuracy over loopy graphs. In this paper, we introduce MCMC algorithms correcting the approximation erro
We study the Maximum Weight Matching (MWM) problem for general graphs through the max-product Belief Propagation (BP) and related Linear Programming (LP). The BP approach provides distributed heuristics for finding the Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) assignment in a joint probability distribution represented by a Graphical Model (GM) and respective LPs can be considered as continuous relaxations of the discrete MAP problem. It was recently shown that a BP algorithm converges to the correct MWM assign
Designing efficient algorithms for combinatorial optimization appears ubiquitously in various scientific fields. Recently, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) frameworks have gained considerable attention as a new approach: they can automate the design of a solver while relying less on sophisticated domain knowledge of the target problem. However, the existing DRL solvers determine the solution using a number of stages proportional to the number of elements in the solution, which severely limits t
Max-product Belief Propagation (BP) is a popular message-passing algorithm for computing a Maximum-A-Posteriori (MAP) assignment over a distribution represented by a Graphical Model (GM). It has been shown that BP can solve a number of combinatorial optimization problems including minimum weight matching, shortest path, network flow and vertex cover under the following common assumption: the respective Linear Programming (LP) relaxation is tight, i.e., no integrality gap is present. However, whe
Computing the partition function $Z$ of a discrete graphical model is a fundamental inference challenge. Since this is computationally intractable, variational approximations are often used in practice. Recently, so-called gauge transformations were used to improve variational lower bounds on $Z$. In this paper, we propose a new gauge-variational approach, termed WMBE-G, which combines gauge transformations with the weighted mini-bucket elimination (WMBE) method. WMBE-G can provide both upper an
We study the maximum weight matching (MWM) problem for general graphs through the max-product belief propagation (BP) and related Linear Programming (LP). The BP approach provides distributed heuristics for finding the maximum a posteriori (MAP) assignment in a joint probability distribution represented by a graphical model (GM), and respective LPs can be considered as continuous relaxations of the discrete MAP problem. It was recently shown that a BP algorithm converges to the correct MAP/MWM a
This paper proposes a new blind adaptive algorithm for computing the weight vector of an antenna array system that provides the beam pattern having its maximum gain along the direction of the mobile target signal source in the presence of strong interference. The proposed algorithm provides a suboptimal weight vector maximizing the SINR (signal to interference plus noise ratio) with a linear computational load. Based on the analysis obtained from various simulations, it is observed that the prop
In order to achieve the maximum gain along the desired signal, This work propose a beamforming algorithm that utilizes the generalized on-off algorithm. Also, we present a novel demodulation method enhancing the performance of the smart antenna by using the pilot channel of the CDMA2000 1X channel to obtain the exact weight vector.
Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Belief Propagation (BP) are the most popular algorithms for computational inference in Graphical Models (GM). In principle, MCMC is an exact probabilistic method which, however, often suffers from exponentially slow mixing. In contrast, BP is a deterministic method, which is typically fast, empirically very successful, however in general lacking control of accuracy over loopy graphs. In this paper, we introduce MCMC algorithms correcting the approximation erro
Computing the partition function $Z$ of a discrete graphical model is a fundamental inference challenge. Since this is computationally intractable, variational approximations are often used in practice. Recently, so-called gauge transformations were used to improve variational lower bounds on $Z$. In this paper, we propose a new gauge-variational approach, termed WMBE-G, which combines gauge transformations with the weighted mini-bucket elimination (WMBE) method. WMBE-G can provide both upper an
Generative Flow Networks (GFlowNets) are amortized sampling methods that learn a distribution over discrete objects proportional to their rewards. GFlowNets exhibit a remarkable ability to generate diverse samples, yet occasionally struggle to consistently produce samples with high rewards due to over-exploration on wide sample space. This paper proposes to train GFlowNets with local search, which focuses on exploiting high-rewarded sample space to resolve this issue. Our main idea is to explore
Research Areas
Dive deeper into Sungsoo Ahn's research on Nubint
Open this lab's papers in the app to read with AI, summarize, and cite in your writing.