2016 Lecture Series with Nigel Boston, University of Wisconsin‑Madison

  • 09/26/2016
    Overview of Applied Algebra” – video – slides
    Abstract: I shall give a somewhat personal introduction to applied algebra, starting with coding theory and cryptography and then leading to a wide variety of topics.
  • 09/27/2016
    Entropy Regions and the Four-Atom Conjecture” – video
    Abstract: I shall introduce entropy regions, motivated by network coding, and then note how they are equivalent to something in finite group theory, allowing us to address fundamental questions regarding these regions.
  • 09/28/2016
    Low-Rank Matrix Completion” – video
    Abstract: “I shall describe recommender systems such as Netflix, which seek to complete arrays from sparse data, and explain our recent work using algebraic geometry to obtain uniqueness results.
  • 09/29/2016
    Belgian Chocolate Problem” – video
    Abstract: I shall introduce the Belgian Chocolate Problem, a question from robust control theory amenable to algebraic attack and mysteriously connected to the abc conjecture, and a few other open odds and ends.