The C&O department has 36 faculty members and 60 graduate students. We are intensely research oriented and hold a strong international reputation in each of our six major areas:
- Algebraic combinatorics
- Combinatorial optimization
- Continuous optimization
- Cryptography
- Graph theory
- Quantum computing
Read more about the department's research to learn of our contributions to the world of mathematics!
News
Laura Pierson wins Governor General's Gold Medal
The Governor General’s Gold Medal is one of the highest student honours awarded by the University of Waterloo.
Sepehr Hajebi wins Graduate Research Excellence Award, Mathematics Doctoral Prize, and finalist designation for Governor General's Gold Medal
The Mathematics Doctoral Prizes are given annually to recognize the achievement of graduating doctoral students in the Faculty of Mathematics. The Graduate Research Excellence Awards are given to students who authored or co-authored an outstanding research paper.
Three C&O faculty win Outstanding Performance Awards
The awards are given each year to faculty members across the University of Waterloo who demonstrate excellence in teaching and research.
Events
Algebraic Graph Theory-Hermie Monterde-Conrad-Quantum walks on infinite graphs
| Speaker: | Hermie Monterde |
| Affiliation: |
University of Regina |
| Location: | Please contact Sabrina Lato for Zoom link. |
Abstract: A weighted graph G with countable vertex set is bounded if there is an upper bound on the maximum of the sum of absolute values of all edge weights incident to a vertex in G. Most work done on quantum walks focus on finite graphs. In this talk, we extend the theory to bounded infinite graphs and discuss results concerning the rarity of perfect state transfer. This is joint work with Chris Godsil, Steve Kirkland, Sarojini Mohapatra and Hiranmoy Pal.
Crypto Reading Group -Sam Jaques-Impossibility Results for Post-Compromise Security in Real-World Communication Systems
| Speaker | Sam Jaques |
| Affiliation | University of Waterloo |
| Location | MC 6029 |
Abstract: Modern secure communication systems, such as iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal include intricate mechanisms that aim to achieve very strong security properties. These mechanisms typically involve continuously merging fresh secrets into the keying material that is used to encrypt messages during communications. In the literature, these mechanisms have been proven to achieve forms of Post-Compromise Security (PCS): the ability to provide communication security even if the full state of a party was compromised some time in the past. However, recent work has shown these proofs cannot be transferred to the end-user level, possibly because of usability concerns. This has raised the question of whether end-users can actually obtain PCS or not, and under which conditions.
Algebraic and enumerative combinatorics seminar - Moriah Elkin- Open quiver loci, CSM classes, and chained generic pipe dreams
| Speaker: | Moriah Elkin |
| Affiliation: | Cornell University |
| Location: | MC 5417 |
Abstract: In the space of type A quiver representations, putting rank conditions on the maps cuts out subvarieties called "open quiver loci." These subvarieties are closed under the group action that changes bases in the vector spaces, so their closures define classes in equivariant cohomology, called "quiver polynomials." Knutson, Miller, and Shimozono found a pipe dream formula to compute these polynomials in 2006. To study the geometry of the open quiver loci themselves, we might instead compute "equivariant Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes," which interpolate between cohomology classes and Euler characteristic. I will introduce objects called "chained generic pipe dreams" that allow us to compute these CSM classes combinatorially, and along the way give streamlined formulas for quiver polynomials.
There will be a pre-seminar presenting relevant background at the beginning graduate level starting at 1:30pm.