Mathematics of Information seminar. CS286, 2004-05

A concern with logical and statistical quantities --- information --- is central to science and engineering. The pertinent mathematics is being actively developed in disciplines such as algorithms, complexity, communications, control, quantum mechanics, economics, probability, combinatorics, algebra and harmonic analysis. This seminar is devoted to synthesis of methods across disciplines. Participants will give short lecture series on techniques and current questions in specific areas.

Instructor: Schulman
Prerequisites: Coursework in some of the relevant fields at the first-year graduate level, and permission of the instructor
Course sponsored by the CMI
The lectures this year will be given by postdocs or faculty

Fall 2004, CS286a
Credit: 3 units P/F
Times: Fridays 2:30-4:00 in Moore 239, followed by tea
First meeting: October 15

Speaker schedule:
Oct 15 Lin Xiao - Convex Optimization and Applications
(No meeting Oct 22 because of IPAM workshop)
Oct 29 Lin Xiao - Optimal Design of Diffusion-type Distributed Algorithms
Nov 5 Cedric Langbort - Computational Complexity in Robust Control Theory. Abstract Bibliography
Nov 12 Cedric Langbort - Computational Complexity in Robust Control Theory
Nov 19 Manor Mendel - Finite metric spaces and their embeddings Abstract Notes
Dec 3 Manor Mendel - Finite metric spaces and their embeddings Notes


Winter 2005, CS286b
Credit: 3 units P/F
Times: Fridays 2:30-4:00 in Moore 239 (but sometimes 3:00-4:30---see individual talk announcements), followed by tea
First meeting: Jan 7

Speaker schedule:
Jan 7 Jie Gao - Kinetic data structures Abstract Survey (L. Guibas, Motion. In Handbook of Discrete and Computational Geometry, J. Goodman and J. O'Rourke, Eds, 2nd Ed., Chapman and Hall/CRC, 1117-1134, 2004.)
Jan 14 Jie Gao - Deformable spanners and applications. Slides Paper (J. Gao, L. J. Guibas, A. Nguyen, Deformable Spanners and Applications. In Proc. 20th ACM Symposium on Computational Geometry, 179-199, 2004.)
Jan 21 (no seminar)
Jan 28 Noam Berger - Percolation Abstract
Feb 4 Noam Berger
Feb 11 Michael Langberg - Approximation Algorithms Abstract Scanned notes
Feb 18 Michael Langberg - Approximation Algorithms Abstract and further reading
Feb 25 Daniel Marco - Quantization I Abstract Scanned notes
Mar 4 Daniel Marco - Quantization II Abstract Scanned notes
Mar 11 Chaitanya Swamy - Approximation Algorithms Abstract
Mar 18 Chaitanya Swamy - Approximation Algorithms - LP Rounding Methods Abstract

Spring 2005, CS286c
Credit: 3 units P/F

Speaker schedule:
Apr 1 Cancelled in favor of the Caltech Workshop on Integrated Control, Estimation and Communication
Apr 8 Razvan Cristescu - Independent Component Analysis Abstract Scanned notes References
Apr 15 Razvan Cristescu - Trees for correlated data gathering Abstract Scanned notes
Apr 22 Scott Aaronson - Oracles Are Subtle But Not Malicious Abstract and links
Apr 29 Nevin Kapur - Analytic Combinatorics Abstract Scanned notes
May 6 Nevin Kapur - Cutting random trees Abstract Scanned notes
May 13 Prasad Tetali - An Entropy Technique in Combinatorics Abstract
May 20 Michael Woodroofe - Shape restricted estimation in the search for dark matter Abstract
May 27 Ron Lavi - Introduction to Algorithmic Mechanism Design Abstract and references
Jun 3 Ron Lavi