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Stacy Patterson

Stacy Patterson appears in the imported research catalog. Authorship, coauthor and topic links are available while profile ownership is still unclaimed.

ResearcherUnclaimed source record
Systems and Controlmath.OCDistributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computingeess.SYSocial and Information NetworksNetworking and Internet ArchitectureInformation TheoryMachine Learningmath.ITRoboticsArtificial IntelligenceComputation and LanguageData Structures and AlgorithmsDatabasesMultiagent SystemsSoftware Engineering

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Published work

22 published item(s)

preprint2026arXiv

CRANE: Constrained Reasoning Injection for Code Agents via Nullspace Editing

Code agents must both reason over long-horizon repository state and obey strict tool-use protocols. In paired Instruct/Thinking checkpoints, these capabilities are complementary but misaligned. The Instruct model is concise and tool-disciplined, whereas the Thinking model offers stronger planning and recovery behavior but often over-deliberates and degrades agent performance. We present CRANE (Constrained Reasoning Injection for Code Agents via Nullspace Editing), a training-free parameter-editing method that treats the Thinking-Instruct delta as a directional pool of candidate reasoning edits for the Instruct backbone. CRANE combines magnitude thresholding to denoise the delta, a Conservative Taylor Gate to retain edits that are jointly beneficial for reasoning transfer and tool-use preservation, and Graduated Sigmoidal Projection to suppress format-critical update directions. By merging paired Instruct and Thinking checkpoints, CRANE delivers strong gains over either individual model while preserving Instruct-level efficiency: on Roo-Eval it achieves pass1 of 66.2% (+19.5%) for Qwen3-30B-A3B and 81.5% (+8.7%) for Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B; on SWE-bench-Verified it resolves up to 14 additional instances at both scales (122/500 and 180/500); and on Terminal-Bench v2 it improves pass1/pass5 by up to 2.3%/7.8%, reaching 7.6%/17.9% and 14.8%/30.3%, respectively, consistently outperforming alternative merging strategies across all three benchmarks.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2022arXiv

A Continuum Approach for Collaborative Task Processing in UAV MEC Networks

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming a viable platform for sensing and estimation in a wide variety of applications including disaster response, search and rescue, and security monitoring. These sensing UAVs have limited battery and computational capabilities, and thus must offload their data so it can be processed to provide actionable intelligence. We consider a compute platform consisting of a limited number of highly-resourced UAVs that act as mobile edge computing (MEC) servers to process the workload on premises. We propose a novel distributed solution to the collaborative processing problem that adaptively positions the MEC UAVs in response to the changing workload that arises both from the sensing UAVs' mobility and the task generation. Our solution consists of two key building blocks: (1) an efficient workload estimation process by which the UAVs estimate the task field - a continuous approximation of the number of tasks to be processed at each location in the airspace, and (2) a distributed optimization method by which the UAVs partition the task field so as to maximize the system throughput. We evaluate our proposed solution using realistic models of surveillance UAV mobility and show that our method achieves up to 28% improvement in throughput over a non-adaptive baseline approach.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2022arXiv

A Sample-Based Algorithm for Approximately Testing $r$-Robustness of a Digraph

One of the intensely studied concepts of network robustness is $r$-robustness, which is a network topology property quantified by an integer $r$. It is required by mean subsequence reduced (MSR) algorithms and their variants to achieve resilient consensus. However, determining $r$-robustness is intractable for large networks. In this paper, we propose a sample-based algorithm to approximately test $r$-robustness of a digraph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges. For a digraph with a moderate assumption on the minimum in-degree, and an error parameter $0<ε\leq 1$, the proposed algorithm distinguishes $(r+εn)$-robust graphs from graphs which are not $r$-robust with probability $(1-δ)$. Our algorithm runs in $\exp(O((\ln{\frac{1}{εδ}})/ε^2))\cdot m$ time. The running time is linear in the number of edges if $ε$ is a constant.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2022arXiv

Multi-Level Local SGD for Heterogeneous Hierarchical Networks

We propose Multi-Level Local SGD, a distributed gradient method for learning a smooth, non-convex objective in a heterogeneous multi-level network. Our network model consists of a set of disjoint sub-networks, with a single hub and multiple worker nodes; further, worker nodes may have different operating rates. The hubs exchange information with one another via a connected, but not necessarily complete communication network. In our algorithm, sub-networks execute a distributed SGD algorithm, using a hub-and-spoke paradigm, and the hubs periodically average their models with neighboring hubs. We first provide a unified mathematical framework that describes the Multi-Level Local SGD algorithm. We then present a theoretical analysis of the algorithm; our analysis shows the dependence of the convergence error on the worker node heterogeneity, hub network topology, and the number of local, sub-network, and global iterations. We back up our theoretical results via simulation-based experiments using both convex and non-convex objectives.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2021arXiv

Multi-Tier Federated Learning for Vertically Partitioned Data

We consider decentralized model training in tiered communication networks. Our network model consists of a set of silos, each holding a vertical partition of the data. Each silo contains a hub and a set of clients, with the silo's vertical data shard partitioned horizontally across its clients. We propose Tiered Decentralized Coordinate Descent (TDCD), a communication-efficient decentralized training algorithm for such two-tiered networks. To reduce communication overhead, the clients in each silo perform multiple local gradient steps before sharing updates with their hub. Each hub adjusts its coordinates by averaging its workers' updates, and then hubs exchange intermediate updates with one another. We present a theoretical analysis of our algorithm and show the dependence of the convergence rate on the number of vertical partitions, the number of local updates, and the number of clients in each hub. We further validate our approach empirically via simulation-based experiments using a variety of datasets and both convex and non-convex objectives.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

A Hierarchical Model for Fast Distributed Consensus in Dynamic Networks

We present two new consensus algorithms for dynamic networks. The first, Fast Raft, is a variation on the Raft consensus algorithm that reduces the number of message rounds in typical operation. Fast Raft is ideal for fast-paced distributed systems where membership changes over time and where sites must reach consensus quickly. The second, C-Raft, is targeted for distributed systems where sites are grouped into clusters, with fast communication within clusters and slower communication between clusters. C-Raft uses Fast Raft as a building block and defines a hierarchical model of consensus to improve upon throughput in globally distributed systems. We prove the safety and liveness properties of each algorithm. Finally, we present an experimental evaluation of both algorithms in AWS.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Diffusion and Consensus in a Weakly Coupled Network of Networks

We study diffusion and consensus dynamics in a Network of Networks model. In this model, there is a collection of sub-networks, connected to one another using a small number of links. We consider a setting where the links between networks have small weights, or are used less frequently than links within each sub-network. Using spectral perturbation theory, we analyze the diffusion rate and convergence rate of the investigated systems. Our analysis shows that the first order approximation of the diffusion and convergence rates is independent of the topologies of the individual graphs; the rates depend only on the number of nodes in each graph and the topology of the connecting edges. The second order analysis shows a relationship between the diffusion and convergence rates and the information centrality of the connecting nodes within each sub-network. We further highlight these theoretical results through numerical examples.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Disagreement and Polarization in Two-Party Social Networks

We investigate disagreement and polarization in a social network with two polarizing sources of information. First, we define disagreement and polarization indices in two-party leader-follower models of opinion dynamics. We then give expressions for the indices in terms of a graph Laplacian. The expressions show a relationship between these quantities and the concepts of resistance distance and biharmonic distance. We next study the problem of designing the network so as to minimize disagreement and polarization. We give conditions for optimal disagreement and polarization, and further, we show that a linear combination of disagreement and polarization of the follower nodes is a convex function of the edge weights between followers. We propose algorithms to address some related continuous and discrete optimization problems and also present analytic results for some interesting examples.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Performance Optimization for Edge-Cloud Serverless Platforms via Dynamic Task Placement

We present a framework for performance optimization in serverless edge-cloud platforms using dynamic task placement. We focus on applications for smart edge devices, for example, smart cameras or speakers, that need to perform processing tasks on input data in real to near-real time. Our framework allows the user to specify cost and latency requirements for each application task, and for each input, it determines whether to execute the task on the edge device or in the cloud. Further, for cloud executions, the framework identifies the container resource configuration needed to satisfy the performance goals. We have evaluated our framework in simulation using measurements collected from serverless applications in AWS Lambda and AWS Greengrass. In addition, we have implemented a prototype of our framework that runs in these same platforms. In experiments with our prototype, our models can predict average end-to-end latency with less than 6% error, and we obtain almost three orders of magnitude reduction in end-to-end latency compared to edge-only execution.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Shifting Opinions in a Social Network Through Leader Selection

We study the French-DeGroot opinion dynamics in a social network with two polarizing parties. We consider a network in which the leaders of one party are given, and we pose the problem of selecting the leader set of the opposing party so as to shift the average opinion to a desired value. When each party has only one leader, we express the average opinion in terms of the transition matrix and the stationary distribution of random walks in the network. The analysis shows balance of influence between the two leader nodes. We show that the problem of selecting at most $k$ absolute leaders to shift the average opinion is $\mathbf{NP}$-hard. Then, we reduce the problem to a problem of submodular maximization with a submodular knapsack constraint and an additional cardinality constraint and propose a greedy algorithm with upper bound search to approximate the optimum solution. We also conduct experiments in random networks and real-world networks to show the effectiveness of the algorithm.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Skedulix: Hybrid Cloud Scheduling for Cost-Efficient Execution of Serverless Applications

We present a framework for scheduling multifunction serverless applications over a hybrid public-private cloud. A set of serverless jobs is input as a batch, and the objective is to schedule function executions over the hybrid platform to minimize the cost of public cloud use, while completing all jobs by a specified deadline. As this scheduling problem is NP-Hard, we propose a greedy algorithm that dynamically determines both the order and placement of each function execution using predictive models of function execution time and network latencies. We present a prototype implementation of our framework that uses AWS Lambda and OpenFaaS, for the public and private cloud, respectively. We evaluate our prototype in live experiments using a mixture of compute and I/O heavy serverless applications. Our results show that our framework can achieve a speedup in batch processing of up to 1.92 times that of an approach that uses only the private cloud, at 40.5% the cost of an approach that uses only the public cloud.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Compressed Learning for Tactile Object Classification

The potential of large tactile arrays to improve robot perception for safe operation in human-dominated environments and of high-resolution tactile arrays to enable human-level dexterous manipulation is well accepted. However, the increase in the number of tactile sensing elements introduces challenges including wiring complexity, power consumption, and data processing. To help address these challenges, we previously developed a tactile sensing technique based compressed sensing that reduces hardware complexity and data transmission, while allowing accurate reconstruction of the full-resolution signal. In this paper, we apply tactile compressed sensing to the problem of object classification. Specifically, we perform object classification on the compressed tactile data. We evaluate our method using BubbleTouch, our tactile array simulator. Our results show our approach achieves high classification accuracy, even with compression factors up to 64.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Compressed Sensing for Tactile Skins

Whole body tactile perception via tactile skins offers large benefits for robots in unstructured environments. To fully realize this benefit, tactile systems must support real-time data acquisition over a massive number of tactile sensor elements. We present a novel approach for scalable tactile data acquisition using compressed sensing. We first demonstrate that the tactile data is amenable to compressed sensing techniques. We then develop a solution for fast data sampling, compression, and reconstruction that is suited for tactile system hardware and has potential for reducing the wiring complexity. Finally, we evaluate the performance of our technique on simulated tactile sensor networks. Our evaluations show that compressed sensing, with a compression ratio of 3 to 1, can achieve higher signal acquisition accuracy than full data acquisition of noisy sensor data.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Distributed Semi-Stochastic Optimization with Quantization Refinement

We consider the problem of regularized regression in a network of communication-constrained devices. Each node has local data and objectives, and the goal is for the nodes to optimize a global objective. We develop a distributed optimization algorithm that is based on recent work on semi-stochastic proximal gradient methods. Our algorithm employs iteratively refined quantization to limit message size. We present theoretical analysis and conditions for the algorithm to achieve a linear convergence rate. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of our algorithm through numerical simulations.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Optimal k-Leader Selection for Coherence and Convergence Rate in One-Dimensional Networks

We study the problem of optimal leader selection in consensus networks under two performance measures (1) formation coherence when subject to additive perturbations, as quantified by the steady-state variance of the deviation from the desired trajectory, and (2) convergence rate to a consensus value. The objective is to identify the set of $k$ leaders that optimizes the chosen performance measure. In both cases, an optimal leader set can be found by an exhaustive search over all possible leader sets; however, this approach is not scalable to large networks. In recent years, several works have proposed approximation algorithms to the $k$-leader selection problem, yet the question of whether there exists an efficient, non-combinatorial method to identify the optimal leader set remains open. This work takes a first step towards answering this question. We show that, in one-dimensional weighted graphs, namely path graphs and ring graphs, the $k$-leader selection problem can be solved in polynomial time (in both $k$ and the network size $n$). We give an $O(n^3)$ solution for optimal $k$-leader selection in path graphs and an $O(kn^3)$ solution for optimal $k$-leader selection in ring graphs.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2014arXiv

Distributed Compressed Sensing For Static and Time-Varying Networks

We consider the problem of in-network compressed sensing from distributed measurements. Every agent has a set of measurements of a signal $x$, and the objective is for the agents to recover $x$ from their collective measurements using only communication with neighbors in the network. Our distributed approach to this problem is based on the centralized Iterative Hard Thresholding algorithm (IHT). We first present a distributed IHT algorithm for static networks that leverages standard tools from distributed computing to execute in-network computations with minimized bandwidth consumption. Next, we address distributed signal recovery in networks with time-varying topologies. The network dynamics necessarily introduce inaccuracies to our in-network computations. To accommodate these inaccuracies, we show how centralized IHT can be extended to include inexact computations while still providing the same recovery guarantees as the original IHT algorithm. We then leverage these new theoretical results to develop a distributed version of IHT for time-varying networks. Evaluations show that our distributed algorithms for both static and time-varying networks outperform previously proposed solutions in time and bandwidth by several orders of magnitude.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2014arXiv

Efficient, Optimal $k$-Leader Selection for Coherent, One-Dimensional Formations

We study the problem of optimal leader selection in consensus networks with noisy relative information. The objective is to identify the set of $k$ leaders that minimizes the formation's deviation from the desired trajectory established by the leaders. An optimal leader set can be found by an exhaustive search over all possible leader sets; however, this approach is not scalable to large networks. In recent years, several works have proposed approximation algorithms to the $k$-leader selection problem, yet the question of whether there exists an efficient, non-combinatorial method to identify the optimal leader set remains open. This work takes a first step towards answering this question. We show that, in one-dimensional weighted graphs, namely path graphs and ring graphs, the $k$-leader selection problem can be solved in polynomial time (in both $k$ and the network size $n$). We give an $O(n^3)$ solution for optimal $k$-leader selection in path graphs and an $O(kn^3)$ solution for optimal $k$-leader selection in ring graphs.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2014arXiv

In-Network Leader Selection for Acyclic Graphs

We study the problem of leader selection in leader-follower multi-agent systems that are subject to stochastic disturbances. This problem arises in applications such as vehicle formation control, distributed clock synchronization, and distributed localization in sensor networks. We pose a new leader selection problem called the in-network leader selection problem. Initially, an arbitrary node is selected to be a leader, and in all consequent steps the network must have exactly one leader. The agents must collaborate to find the leader that minimizes the variance of the deviation from the desired trajectory, and they must do so within the network using only communication between neighbors. To develop a solution for this problem, we first show a connection between the leader selection problem and a class of discrete facility location problems. We then leverage a previously proposed self-stabilizing facility location algorithm to develop a self-stabilizing in-network leader selection algorithm for acyclic graphs.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2013arXiv

Consensus and Coherence in Fractal Networks

We consider first and second order consensus algorithms in networks with stochastic disturbances. We quantify the deviation from consensus using the notion of network coherence, which can be expressed as an $H_2$ norm of the stochastic system. We use the setting of fractal networks to investigate the question of whether a purely topological measure, such as the fractal dimension, can capture the asymptotics of coherence in the large system size limit. Our analysis for first-order systems is facilitated by connections between first-order stochastic consensus and the global mean first passage time of random walks. We then show how to apply similar techniques to analyze second-order stochastic consensus systems. Our analysis reveals that two networks with the same fractal dimension can exhibit different asymptotic scalings for network coherence. Thus, this topological characterization of the network does not uniquely determine coherence behavior. The question of whether the performance of stochastic consensus algorithms in large networks can be captured by purely topological measures, such as the spatial dimension, remains open.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2013arXiv

Distributed Sparse Signal Recovery For Sensor Networks

We propose a distributed algorithm for sparse signal recovery in sensor networks based on Iterative Hard Thresholding (IHT). Every agent has a set of measurements of a signal x, and the objective is for the agents to recover x from their collective measurements at a minimal communication cost and with low computational complexity. A naive distributed implementation of IHT would require global communication of every agent's full state in each iteration. We find that we can dramatically reduce this communication cost by leveraging solutions to the distributed top-K problem in the database literature. Evaluations show that our algorithm requires up to three orders of magnitude less total bandwidth than the best-known distributed basis pursuit method.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2012arXiv

Serializability, not Serial: Concurrency Control and Availability in Multi-Datacenter Datastores

We present a framework for concurrency control and availability in multi-datacenter datastores. While we consider Google's Megastore as our motivating example, we define general abstractions for key components, making our solution extensible to any system that satisfies the abstraction properties. We first develop and analyze a transaction management and replication protocol based on a straightforward implementation of the Paxos algorithm. Our investigation reveals that this protocol acts as a concurrency prevention mechanism rather than a concurrency control mechanism. We then propose an enhanced protocol called Paxos with Combination and Promotion (Paxos-CP) that provides true transaction concurrency while requiring the same per instance message complexity as the basic Paxos protocol. Finally, we compare the performance of Paxos and Paxos-CP in a multi-datacenter experimental study, and we demonstrate that Paxos-CP results in significantly fewer aborted transactions than basic Paxos.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2011arXiv

Coherence in Large-Scale Networks: Dimension-Dependent Limitations of Local Feedback

We consider distributed consensus and vehicular formation control problems. Specifically we address the question of whether local feedback is sufficient to maintain coherence in large-scale networks subject to stochastic disturbances. We define macroscopic performance measures which are global quantities that capture the notion of coherence; a notion of global order that quantifies how closely the formation resembles a solid object. We consider how these measures scale asymptotically with network size in the topologies of regular lattices in 1, 2 and higher dimensions, with vehicular platoons corresponding to the 1 dimensional case. A common phenomenon appears where a higher spatial dimension implies a more favorable scaling of coherence measures, with a dimensions of 3 being necessary to achieve coherence in consensus and vehicular formations under certain conditions. In particular, we show that it is impossible to have large coherent one dimensional vehicular platoons with only local feedback. We analyze these effects in terms of the underlying energetic modes of motion, showing that they take the form of large temporal and spatial scales resulting in an accordion-like motion of formations. A conclusion can be drawn that in low spatial dimensions, local feedback is unable to regulate large-scale disturbances, but it can in higher spatial dimensions. This phenomenon is distinct from, and unrelated to string instability issues which are commonly encountered in control problems for automated highways.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access