University of California, Berkeley
The
Algorithmic
Lens:
How
the
Computational
Perspective
is
Transforming
the
Sciences
Abstract: Computational
research
transforms
the
sciences
(physical,
mathematical,
life
or
social)
not
just
by
empowering
them
analytically,
but
mainly
by
providing
a
novel
and
powerful
perspective
which
often
leads
to
unforeseen
insights.
Examples
abound:
quantum
computation
provides
the
right
forum
for
questioning
and
testing
some
of
the
most
basic
tenets
of
quantum
physics,
while
statistical
mechanics
has
found
in
the
efficiency
of
randomized
algorithms
a
powerful
metaphor
for
phase
transitions.
In mathematics, the P vs. NP problem has joined the list of the most profound and consequential problems, and in economics considerations of computational complexity revise predictions of economic behavior and affect the design of economic mechanisms such as auctions. Finally, in biology some of the most fundamental problems, such as understanding the brain and evolution, can be productively recast in computational terms. My talk is structured around eight vignettes exemplifying this pattern.
Biography: Christos H. Papadimitriou is C. Lester Hogan Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley. Before joining Berkeley in 1996 he taught at Harvard, MIT, Athens Polytechnic, Stanford, and UCSD. He has written five textbooks and many research articles on algorithms and complexity, and their applications to optimization, databases, AI, economics, and the Internet. He holds a PhD from Princeton, and honorary doctorates from ETH (Zurich), the University of Macedonia, and the University of Athens.
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of ACM. His novel was published by MIT Press in 2003, and his graphic novel Logicomix (with Apostolos Doxiadis) will be published by Bloomsbury in 2008.