Undergraduate Research Assistantship Noticeboard

General

When are the seminars held?

Every Wednesday 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm on Zoom.
Virtual Coffee Break held before at 2:15 pm.

Who is speaking at these seminars?

Graduate students, faculty members, and guests. The last few weeks of seminars will be presentations from the URA students themselves.

How do I get the Zoom information?

Faculty members and URA students will receive an email before each seminar with the Zoom meeting information. If you wish to join the seminar and did not recieve an email, please contact Faculty Coordinator Douglas Stebila for the Zoom information.

Schedule

May 26 Alex Kerzner - Fun and nonlocal games: An introduction to quantum computing

Speaker:	Alex Kerzner
Affiliation:	University of Waterloo

Abstract:

The CHSH game is a two-player cooperative game. Players receive random bits as input and must output bits such that a particular equality is satisfied. No communication during the game is permitted. If players behave according to classical physics then they can only win this game with probability 0.75. Amazingly, even though no communication is permitted, quantum mechanics can be used to win with probability 0.85. We will discuss the mathematical framework of quantum computing and then describe this quantum strategy. We will also describe some current research directions in quantum computing. No prior knowledge of physics is necessary.

June 2 Fei Wang: Laman graphs and the coin packing problem

Speaker:	Fei Wang
Affiliation:	University of Waterloo

Abstract:

A planar laman graph is a planar minimal rigid graph. In this talk, we will explore the connections between Laman graphs and the tangency graphs of coins. We will discuss a very interesting conjecture relating these two and a possible approach to tackle this conjecture.

Jun 9 Lina Li - An overview of the Erdős-Rothschild problem

Speaker:	Lina Li
Affiliation:	University of Waterloo

Abstract:

In 1974, Erdős and Rothchild conjectured that the complete bipartite graph has the maximum number of two-edge-colorings without monochromatic triangles over all n-vertex graphs. Since then, this new class of colored extremal problems has been extensively studied by many researchers on various discrete structures, such as graphs, hypergraphs, Boolean lattices and additive sets. In this talk, I will give an overview of developments of the Erdős-Rothschild problem, and present some interesting results on this topic.

June 16 Sarah McCarthy - An Introduction to Lattice-Based Cryptography

Speaker:	Sarah McCarthy
Affiliation:	University of Waterloo

Abstract:

Under the advent of full-scale quantum computers, all existing cryptography will be rendered insecure. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently working towards standardising quantum-resistant public-key cryptography algorithms, with preliminary standards expected in 2022. One family of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) contenders is lattice-based cryptography (LBC). Lattices are abstract mathematical structures, which can be considered as discrete additive subgroups. In this talk, we will consider hard problems over lattices upon which we can base the security of these cryptographic primitives and give some examples of such public-key encryption and digital signature schemes. We will also discuss further arguments for and against LBC and considerations for applications.