Past Events

Given two disjoint sets W_1 and W_2 of points in the plane, the Optimal Discretization problem asks for the minimum size of a family of horizontal and vertical lines that separate W_1 from W_2, that is, in every region into which the lines partition...

Over the last forty years, most progress in four-dimensional topology came from gauge theory and related invariants. Khovanov homology is an invariant of knots in of a different kind: its construction is combinatorial, and connected to ideas from...

This is a joint initiative between optimizers and mathematicians at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan campus. 1:30-2:30: Yana Nec (TRU): Spike pattern as a window into non-injective transient...

The theory of large deviations provides with a way to compute asymptotically the probability that an interacting particle system moves from a given configuration to another one over a fixed time interval. The problem of finding the most likely...

The theory of large deviations provides with a way to compute asymptotically the probability that an interacting particle system moves from a given configuration to another one over a fixed time interval. The problem of finding the most likely...

We discuss constructions based on finite fields of three types of combinatorial arrays: orthogonal, covering and ordered orthogonal arrays. Other combinatorial arrays have been similarly considered in the literature, including permutation arrays...

A celebrated theorem of Jorgens-Calabi-Pogorelov says that global convex solutions to the Monge-Ampere equation det(D^2u) = 1 are quadratic polynomials. On the other hand, an example of Pogorelov shows that local solutions can have line singularities...

Hyperbolic Lattices are tessellations of the hyperbolic plane using, for instance, heptagons or octagons. They are relevant for quantum error correcting codes and experimental simulations of quantum physics in curved space. Underneath their...

Abstract: The development of quantum electrodynamics is one of the major achievements of theoretical physics and mathematics of the 20th century, called the "Jewel of physics" by Richard Feynman. This talk is not about that. Instead, I explain two of...