CS Forum: Amer Mouawad, University of Bergen

CS department's public guest lecture on 'A theory of change through the lens of reconfiguration'. The lecture is open to everyone free-of-charge.

Amer Mouawad
University of Bergen

Host: Prof. Parinya Chalermsook
Time: 14:15 (coffee at 14:00)
Venue: T5, CS building

A theory of change through the lens of reconfiguration

Abstract:

The bulk of algorithms research today is primarily focused on solving static optimization problems, i.e. problems where neither the input nor the solution is expected to change. However, real-life problems typically present themselves in a slightly different form: given the description of a system state and the description of a state that we would “prefer” the system to be in, is it possible to transform the system from its current state into the desired one without “breaking” the system in the process? If possible, what is the “best” way of performing such a transformation? Remarkably, there is currently no established framework for the systematic study of such problems. The research direction which comes closest is the investigation of combinatorial reconfiguration. In this talk, we give an overview of some older work on this type of problem and discuss techniques, results, and future research directions in the area.

Bio:

Amer got a PhD in Computer Science in 2015 from University of Waterloo. He is currently a postdoc at University of Bergen. His main research interests are graph theory and parameterized complexity.