New Directions in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support an international conference entitled "New directions in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization". The central theme of this conference will be combinatorics and its applications in theoretical computer science and operations research. The conference will take place in May 2008 on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in midtown Atlanta, and will honor the 65th birthday of William T. Trotter. There are two main reasons for holding the conference in Atlanta, namely direct flights from most of the world's major airports, and the presence of the PhD program in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization (ACO) at Georgia Tech, with its more than 45 affiliated faculty and 40 students. The conference program will consist of approximately 30 invited lectures, a poster session and a problem session. The conference is expected to attract 200-300 attendees, including local, regional, national and international delegates. A conference proceedings will be published as a special issue of the journal Combinatorics, Probability and Computing. The list of invited speakers includes only the leading experts and fine expositors. The organizing committee consists of experienced senior researchers who will uphold very high standards. Georgia Tech has excellent facilities to accommodate a conference of this type. Using federal support the organizers will be able to offer financial assistance to attendees with no outside funding, including students, postdoctoral associates, junior faculty, women, and underrepresented minorities, with priority given to young people and members of underrepresented groups. While the main lectures will be by invitation only, junior scientists will be able to present in the poster session and participate in the scientific discussions throughout the conference. A further aspect of broader impact is the interplay of mathematics, computer science and operations research, that is already present in the ACO program at Georgia Tech. This conference will further promote the fruitful interactions of these disciplines, drawing upon the successful experience at Georgia Tech, and in doing so will further strengthen the ACO program. The conference proceedings will be stringently refereed subject to the standards of premier combinatorics journals. Thus the conference will have lasting impact not limited to its attendees.