The University of Warwick will be hosting the Seventh Workshop on Algebraic Complexity Theory (WACT) from March 27 to March 31, 2023.

https://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~u2270030/wactLink opens in a new window

Algebraic Complexity Theory is a vibrant field that has been seeing a tremendous amount of activity in the recent years. Its classical questions have been interwoven with deep questions from algebraic geometry, invariant theory, and representation theory. Researchers study a wide range of interlinked topics: arithmetic circuit lower bounds, algorithmic algebra, algorithmic invariant theory, geometric complexity theory, tensor rank, polynomial identity testing, and polynomial reconstruction, to name a few. The workshop brings together experts from different parts of this rich field to discuss the current state of the art, discover new connections, and set the directions for the future.

Two papers by members of Warwick Quantum were accepted to QIP 2023, the most prestigious conference in Quantum Computing and Quantum Information.

These works provide a methodology for boosting the power of quantum algorithms using deep mathematical tools from additive combinatorics, as well as provide the techniques, tools, and abstractions necessary to answer when classical zero-knowledge protocols remain secure against quantum attacks.

• "Quantum Worst-Case to Average-Case Reductions for All Linear Problems" by Vahid R. Asadi, Alexander Golovnev, Tom Gur, Igor Shinkar, and Sathyawageeswar Subramanian.
• "Post-Quantum Zero Knowledge, Revisited" by Alex Lombardi, Fermi Ma and Nicholas Spooner.

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced that Dr Igor OliveiraLink opens in a new window is among the winners of its prestigious Starting Grant competition. According to the European Research Council: "The funding is worth in total €636 million and is part of the Horizon Europe programme. It will help excellent younger scientists, who have 2 to 7 years’ experience after their PhDs, to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas."

Igor OliveiraLink opens in a new window has been awarded a €1.5M ERC Starting grant for a 5-year project entitled "Synergies Between Complexity and Learning". The project aims to exchange ideas and techniques between Complexity Theory and Learning Theory to accelerate progress in both fields, broaden the arsenal of tools available to attack their open problems, as well as to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of efficient computation and of its logical aspects.

Two projects in Computer Science and Informatics (PE6 panel) in the United Kingdom were awarded ERC Starting Grants in the 2022 round. The press releaseLink opens in a new window contains more information about the ERC funding programme.

We are happy to announce that Prof Christian Ikenmeyer joined the Department of Computer Science and the Warwick Mathematics Institute on October 1st 2022. In his research, he combines ideas and challenges from theoretical computer science, algorithmic algebra, algebraic complexity theory, algebraic geometry, representation theory, and algebraic combinatorics. We welcome him to the department!

We are delighted to announce that the paper "Dynamic Matching with Better-than-2 Approximation in Polylogarithmic Update Time", coauthored by Sayan Bhattacharya and Peter Kiss from the Theory and Foundations Research Division at Warwick, along with Thatchaphol Saranurak (University of Michigan) and David Wajc (Stanford University), has received the best paper award at SODA 2023.

Computing a maximum matching in a graph is a fundamental problem in combinatorial optimisation. The paper considers this problem in a dynamic graph, which keeps changing over time via a sequence of edge insertions and deletions. It was a decade-old open question to decide whether one can beat the performance guarantee of the simple greedy algorithm for this problem (which gives 2 approximation), in a dynamic setting. The paper answers this question in the affirmative, and provides the first efficient dynamic algorithm which can maintain a better-than 2 approximation to the size of the maximum matching in the input graph.

PhD positions are available at the Theory and Foundations group in the Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, UK. The group works on various aspects of theoretical computer science such as:

* automata and formal languages,
* logic and games,
* algorithmic game theory,
* online and dynamic algorithms,
* sublinear and streaming algorithms,
* parameterized complexity and structural graph theory,
* string algorithms,
* parallel algorithms,
* approximation algorithms,
* combinatorial and graph algorithms,
* random structures and randomized algorithms,
* computational complexity,
* privacy-preserving algorithms, cryptography and quantum computing.

The group has strong ties with the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP), established in 2007 jointly with Warwick Mathematics Institute and Warwick Business School. Together with DIMAP, the group is one of the leading theory groups in Europe, with regular publications in top international conferences and journals in theoretical computer science.

The Department of Computer Science at Warwick offers an excellent research environment. It was ranked 4th in the latest UK research assessment in Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021. The University of Warwick is one of the founding members of the Alan Turing Institute.

The university campus is located on the border of two counties, West Midlands and Warwickshire, is about one hour train ride from London, and 15 minutes from Birmingham International Airport.

The applicants are expected to have a strong background in discrete mathematics, algorithms, or related topics with undergraduate and/or Master's degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related disciplines. The position(s) will be fully funded, and the successful applicant(s) will be receiving a stipend at rate in line with current Research Councils UK rates.

If you are interested in this opening, please send an email to either Dr Sayan Bhattacharya (S.Bhattacharya@warwick.ac.uk) or Dr Tom Gur (Tom.Gur@warwick.ac.uk), with a SINGLE .pdf file containing your CV and the names and email addresses of two references, by 4 November 2022. You are strongly encouraged to informally contact faculty members in the group you might want to work with prior to submitting your application.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed informally during the week of 14 November - 18 November, 2022.

List of faculty members in the group:

https://warwick.ac.uk/focs/people/<https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/research/focs/people/>

Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications:
https://warwick.ac.uk/dimap/<https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/dimap/>