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
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.
Sina Kalantarzadeh 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.
Two 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 and Enumerative combinatorics seminar -Oliver Pechenik-Revenge of the increasing tableau dynamics
| Speaker: | Oliver Pechenik |
| Affiliation: | University of Waterloo |
| Location: | MC 6460 |
Abstract: Standard tableaux are certain grids of numbers that lead a double life in algebraic combinatorics, with distinct roles in geometry and in representation theory. Extending the geometry to K-theory led to a corresponding extension of the combinatorics to a theory of increasing tableaux. I will discuss a longstanding plot by such tableaux to prevent me from explicating their combinatorial dynamics. Despite their reticence, we seem to be uncovering that these tableaux also have a mysterious second life in representation theory.
There will be a pre-seminar presenting relevant background at beginning graduate level starting at 1:30pm in MC 5417.
Crypto Reading Group - Maggie Simmons-HQC Implementation and Optimization
Abstract: This week will cover the implementation and optimization of key sub-routines within HQC. We will begin by examining the implementation of Reed-Solomon decoding within HQC, which includes the BCH-view of syndromes, weighted Newton's identity, the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm, and more. We will also discuss high-performance polynomial multiplication via the Karatsuba algorithm and hardware optimization.
References: [3] and [4]
[3] J. Dong, Y. Hou, S. Wang, L. Sha, F. Xiao, Z. Dong, and J. Lin. HIGH: Harnessing GPU Parallelism for Optimized HQC Performance. In IACR Cryptology ePrint Archive, 2026.
[4] HQC Team. Hamming Quasi-Cyclic (HQC), NIST Submission, 2025.
A week-by-week plan is outlined at the following link: https://www.leonardocolo.com/seminars/Spring26.html.
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CombOpt ReadingGroup - Nathan Benedetto Proenca-Why are SDP Rounding Algorithms Randomized?
Abstract: Randomization is a powerful technique within theoretical computer science. There is strong theoretical picture studying distinct complexity models with access to random bits, in particular focused on what types of algorithms can be de-randomized. This discussion will not venture into this part of the literature, rather questioning an implicit assumption present when discussing the need for random bits. Why is randomness helpful at all, in particular in the design of rounding algorithms in the SDP literature? Granted, the value of randomness in other contexts is quite explicit. For example, a quicksort implementation uses randomization to avoid worst case inputs. The probabilistic method allows for simple constructions of complex objects by harvesting complexity from a randomness source. But what purpose does randomness serve when rounding a SDP solution into a solution to a NP-hard problem? Why Goemans and Williamson had to use a random hyperplane to turn vectors in the hypersphere into a edge-cut in a graph? This talk attempts to answer this question by presenting a couple of theorems which connect the existence of randomized rounding algorithms to cornerstone results in functional analysis. |