MCQMC 2014 Travel Support

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project funds the travel expenses of US-based researchers to the Eleventh International Conference on Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo methods in Scientific Computing, to be held in Leuven, Belgium, April 6--11 2014. The meeting will consider advanced methods for psuedo-random number generation, construction of low discrepancy point sets, complexity of algorithms, particle methods, rare event simulation, Markov chain Monte Carlo and applications of Monte Carlo methods. There will be tutorial sessions on multilevel Monte Carlo and on global sensitivity indices. The Monte Carlo (MC) method is a computer based simulation using random number generators. The name was given by atomic researchers in the 1940s who likened their simulation methods to keeping score in a casino in order to learn some odds. Monte Carlo methods are used in every branch of science and engineering because they allow brute force computer power to be used on problems that are too complicated to solve mathematically. Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods replace simulated random numbers by strategically chosen ones. By leaving less to chance, large improvements in accuracy are possible. MC and QMC methods are widely applied in computer graphics to make animated movies and other images, in computational finance to control risks, in statistical inference to separate real findings from chance fluctuations, and in many other areas. Much of the top QMC work is done in Europe, Asia, Canada and Australia. This conference will bring together leading researchers from around the world to share results. The project will support travel expenses of US based researchers to participate in this exchange of knowledge. One of the researchers is a US-based expert giving a major talk. The majority of the funds are for young US-based researchers in the mathematical sciences, including PhD students, postdocs, and junior professors. Further updates will be made available via the conference website: http://mcqmc2014.cs.kuleuven.be/