The Combinatorics and Optimization square: A history
Contact Info
Combinatorics & Optimization
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2L 3G1
Phone: 519-888-4567, ext 33038
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Welcome to Combinatorics and Optimization
The C&O department has 33 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!
Tutte's Distinguished Lecture Series
The very successful Tutte's 100th Distinguished Lecture Series has now completed. That success has led to a Tutte Distinguished Lecture once per term. The next lecture will happen in the Spring term.
*Recordings of occurred talks are all available on C&O's YouTube Channel.
Grad Studies: Fall 2020 applications now open
New Deadline: February 1, '20
News
- May 21, 2021Stephen Melczer's book on Analytic Combinatorics has been published
"An Invitation to Analytic Combinatorics: From One to Several Variables", written by C&O professor Stephen Melczer, has been published by Springer.
- May 20, 2021Spring 2021 convocation
Three Ph.D. and seven M.Math. C&O students will receive their degrees at the Spring 2021 convocation on June 18.
- May 5, 2021C&O welcomes its two newest faculty members
Olya Mandelshtam and Kanstantsin Pashkovich are the newest faculty members in the C&O department.
Events
- June 18, 2021Algebraic Graph Theory Seminar - Dheer Noal Desai
Title: The spectral radius of graphs with no odd wheels
Speaker: Dheer Noal Desai Affiliation: University of Delaware Zoom: Contact Soffia Arnadottir Abstract:
The odd wheel W_{2k+1} is the graph formed by joining a vertex to a cycle of length 2k. In this talk, we will investigate the largest value of the spectral radius of the adjacency matrix of an n-vertex graph that does not contain W_{2k+1}.
- June 18, 2021Tutte Colloquium - Marni Mishna
Title: Lattice Walk Enumeration: Analytic, algebraic and geometric aspects
Speaker: Marni Mishna Affliliation: Simon Fraser University Zoom: Contact Emma Watson Abstract:
This talk will examine the rich topic of lattice path enumeration. A very classic object of combinatorics, lattice walks withstand study from a variety of perspectives. Even the simple task of classifying the two dimensional walks restricted to the first quadrant has brought into play a surprising diversity of techniques from algebra to analysis to geometry. We will consider walks under a few different lenses.
- June 21, 2021Algebraic Graph Theory Seminar - Paula Kimmerling
Title: Average Mixing Matrices of Trees and Stars
Speaker: Paula Kimmerling Affiliation: Washington State University Zoom: Contact Soffia Arnadottir Abstract:
We define the average mixing matrix (AMM) of a continuous-time quantum walk on a graph using the orthogonal projections onto the eigenspaces of the adjacency matrix A. From there, one of the properties that has been studied is the rank of the AMM. This is easiest to do if the eigenvalues of A are simple, and we’ll review some of the results on this from Coutinho et. al. (2018).