SCGP Spring School on Discrete and Computational Geometry: April 17-21, 2017

Organized by: Christopher Bishop and Joe Mitchell

Workshop ScheduleVideos

The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is running a week-long workshop on discrete and computational geometry April 17-21, 2017.The intended audience is graduate students, postdocs, and researchers in mathematics and computer science who are not necessarily working in this area, but are interested in learning what it is about and how ideas from algebra, analysis, probability and topology get used in
solving problems in computational geometry and computational topology, such as shape analysis, proximity search, automatic meshing, geometric networks, approximation of geometric optimization problems, and a host of other algorithmic problems. While the emphasis will be on an introduction to the basic ideas, rather than the latest refinements, topics will include some of the exciting recent applications of “abstract” mathematics to concrete problems of active interest in discrete and computational geometry, including topological data analysis, algebraic methods for counting, the geometry of random sets, etc. The workshop will have an eclectic mix of topics that range from theoretical to practical and from abstract to applied.

The workshop will feature four mini-courses:

Esther Ezra, Georgia Tech – Geometric Set Systems: Structures and Applications

David Mount, Univsersity of Maryland – Approximation Algorithms for Multidimensional Proximity Problems

Scott Sheffield, MIT – Random Geometric Structures: A Three-Lecture Overview

Yusu Wang, Ohio State University – Mini-course on Computational Topology

In addition to the mini-courses, there will be a number of related lectures and other activities, such an open problem session and a demonstration of geometric software.

The workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation through an RTG grant to the Simons Center and the Department of Mathematics.

Talk Schedule


Time Title Presenter Location
12:00pm Registration N/A SCGP Lobby
12:45pm Welcoming Remarks N/A SCGP 102
1:00pm Random Geometric Structures I Scott Sheffield SCGP 102
2:30pm Random Geometric Structures II Scott Sheffield SCGP 102

Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Random Geometric Structures III Scott Sheffield SCGP 102
10:30am Geometric Set Systems: Structures and Applications I Esther Ezra SCGP 102
1:00pm SCGP Weekly Talk: On Soft Foundations for Geometric Computation Chee Yap SCGP 103
2:30pm Geometric Set Systems: Structures and Applications II Esther Ezra SCGP 103
4:00pm Open Problem Session N/A SCGP 103
7:00pm TBA N/A Math S-240

Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Geometric Set Systems: Structures and Applications III Esther Ezra SCGP 102
11:00am Mini-course on Computational Topology I Yusu Wang SCGP 102
1:00pm Math Club Lecture: Euler’s Polyhedral Formula Still Inspires New Geometrical Results Joe Malkevitch Math S-240
2:30pm Mini-course on Computational Topology II Yusu Wang SCGP 102
4:00pm Student Presentations TBA Math S-240

Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Mini-course on Computational Topology III Yusu Wang SCGP 102
10:30am Approximation Algorithms for Multidimensional Proximity Problems I David Mount SCGP 102
1:00pm Simplex Lemma And The Applications in Data Analysis Hu Ding SCGP 103
2:30pm Approximation Algorithms for Multidimensional Proximity Problems II David Mount SCGP 103
4:00pm Math Department Colloquium: Networking Applications of Curvature and Ricci Flow Jie Gao SCGP 103

Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Approximation Algorithms for Multidimensional Proximity Problems III David Mount SCGP 102
10:30am Breaking depth-order cycles and other adventures in 3D Boris Aronov SCGP 102