Celebrating the work of Chris Godsil

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Chris Godsil
The Department of Combinatorics & Optimization in the Faculty of Mathematics will host a conference "Algebraic Combinatorics: Spectral Graph Theory, Erdos-Ko-Rado Theorems, and Quantum Information Theory" from June 23-27. The conference celebrates the work of Professor Chris Godsil and features 32 invited speakers from around the world. 122 participants from 19 countries will gather in the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre for the week-long conference.

Professor Godsil, who joined the University of Waterloo in 1987, works in the area of algebraic combinatorics. He has made many fundamental contributions to his research specialty, algebraic graph theory, which explores connections, often unexpected, between two apparently unrelated branches of mathematics: algebra and graph theory.

Professor Godsil's work has had a profound influence on the development of the subject, and has impacted the work of many researchers working in mathematics, physics and chemistry. He has co-authored two of the standard textbooks on the topic: Algebraic Graph Theory and Algebraic Combinatorics. In recent years, he has been a pioneer in using techniques from algebraic graph theory to address fundamental questions in quantum information theory including state transfer, graph isomorphism, and lines/measurements with restriction on their mutual angles.

The conference is organized by five of Professor Godsil's former PhD and postdoctoral students. In addition, nine of the lectures will be delivered by his current and former graduate students.

The conference is supported by funds from the University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics, Institute for Quantum Computing, Fields Institute, Perimeter Institute, National Science Foundation, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.