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
Remembering Dominic Welsh
The University of Waterloo community deeply mourns the loss of Professor Dominic Welsh, a distinguished mathematician and a recipient of our honorary doctorate.
Sophie Spirkl receives Sloan Foundation Fellowship
Sophie Spirkl, an assistant professor of Combinatorics and Optimization, has received a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Spirkl is one of 125 early career researchers in the United States and Canada who received a Fellowship this year.
Karen Yeats awarded renewed Canada Research Chair
Karen Yeats, an associate professor in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, has recently been named among the latest cohort of Canada Research Chairs.
Events
Algebraic Graph Theory - Akihiro Munemasa
Title: Abelian covers of association schemes with applications to SIC-POVM
Speaker: | Akihiro Munemasa |
Affiliation: | Tohoku University |
Location: | Please contact Sabrina Lato for Zoom link. |
Abstract: Godsil and Hensel (1992) developed a theory of abelian covers of complete graphs to construct antipodal distance-regular graphs of diameter 3. More recently, Coutinho, Godsil, Shirazi and Zhan (2016) showed that equiangular tight frames can be constructed from covers of complete graphs in terms of cyclic groups of prime order. In this talk, we introduce covers of (not necessarily symmetric) association scheme of d classes in terms of an (not necessarily cyclic) abelian group G of order d.
Graphs and Matroids - Jonathan Leake
Title: Lorentzian polynomials
Speaker: | Jonathan Leake |
Affiliation: | University of Waterloo |
Location: | MC 5417 |
Abstract: Lorentzian (aka completely log-concave) polynomials were recently developed by Brändén-Huh and Anari-Liu-Oveis Gharan-Vinzant to settle Mason's conjectures on the log-concavity of the number of size-k independent sets of a matroid. In this talk, we will define these polynomials and sketch the proof of these conjectures. Along the way we will also state other results which will demonstrate the very strong connection between matroids and Lorentzian polynomials.
Fulkerson 100
Fulkerson 100 is a workshop organized by the Dept. of Combinatorics & Optimization (C&O) from July 17-19, 2024 at the University of Waterloo, to celebrate Fulkerson's legacy and impact in discrete mathematics, especially in the fields of graph theory, optimization, and operations research. Fulkerson 100 will feature invited talks in graph theory, combinatorics, optimization, and theoretical computer science, given by some of the foremost researchers in these areas, as well as lightning talks and a poster session devoted to students and postdocs. By bringing together various leading researchers in discrete mathematics with junior researchers and students, the workshop aims to boost research in the areas pioneered by Fulkerson, while commemorating his vision and contributions.