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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120226T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120303T000000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20150109T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T162157Z
UID:3958-1330214400-1330732800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Geometry Over Non-Closed Fields (2012)
DESCRIPTION:Classically\, arithmetic is the study of rational or integral solutions of diophantine equations and geometry the study of lines and conics. From the modern standpoint\, these areas are synthesized in the study of rational and integral points on algebraic varieties over nonclosed fields. A major insight of the 20th century was that the arithmetic properties of an algebraic variety are tightly linked to the geometry of rational curves and families of rational curves on it. One incarnation of this insight is Lang’s philosophy\, which continues to drive modern research in this area: hyperbolic varieties have few rational points. Another is Grothendieck’s anabelian geometry: hyperbolic varieties are characterized by their ´etale fundamental groups\, and rational points correspond to Galois-theoretic sections. The discussion of Geometry of nonclosed fields will focus on the intertwined manifestations of these aspects of higher-dimensional arithmetic geometry. \nThe focus of the first meeting is the geometry of spaces of rational curves\, with an emphasis on applications to arithmetic questions. Topics include: rational connectedness and simply connectedness\, rational curves on log-varieties\, rationally connected quotients of spaces of rational curves\, degenerations of spaces of rational curves\, rational curves in prescribed homology classes\, cones of rational curves on rationally connected and Calabi-Yau varieties. Possible applications include: existence of rational points over function fields of curves and surfaces\, potential density of rational points over global fields\, weak and strong approximation. \n\nParticipants\n\n\n\n\nDan Abramovich\nBrown University\n\n\nFedor Bogomolov\nNew York University\n\n\nJean-Louis Colliot-Thélène\nOrsay\n\n\nIzzet Coskun\nUniversity of Illinois\, Chicago\n\n\nOlivier Debarre\nÉcole Normale Supérieure\, Paris\n\n\nTom Graber\nCalifornia Institute of Technology\n\n\nBrendan Hassett\nRice University\n\n\nStefan Kebekus\nAlbert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg\n\n\nSándor Kovács\nUniversity of Washington\n\n\nJun Li\nStanford University\n\n\nMax Lieblich\nUniversity of Washington\n\n\nChristian Liedtke\nUniversity of Düsseldorf\n\n\nJames McKernan\nMassachuetts Institute of Technology\n\n\nMartin Olsson\nUniversity of California\, Berkeley\n\n\nJason Starr\nState University of New York\, Stony Brook\n\n\nBurt Totaro\nUniversity of Cambridge\n\n\nYuri Tschinkel\nNew York University\n\n\nRavi Vakil\nStanford University\n\n\nAnthony Varilly-Alvarado\nRice University\n\n\nChenyang Xu\nUniversity of Utah\n\n\nAgenda & Notes\n\nFoundations\n\nDan Abramovich Logarithmic stable maps (PDF)\nChanyang Xu Irreducibility and degenerate fibers of Fano fibrations (PDF)\nBurt Totaro The integral Hodge conjecture for threefolds (PDF)\n\nConstructing rational curves\n\nJames McKernan MMP and rational curves (PDF)\nChristian Liedtke Constructing rational curves on K3 surfaces (PDF)\n\nCone of curve classes\n\nIzzet Coskun MMP for the Hilbert scheme of points (PDF)\n\nGeometry of spaces of rational curves\n\nStefan Kebekus Uniruledness criteria and applications to classification and foliations (PDF)\nOlivier Debarre Curves of low degree on projective varieties (PDF)\n\nArithmetic applications\n\nJean-Louis Colliot-Thélène Brauer-Manin obstructions and integral points (PDF)\nAnthony Várilly-Alvarado Transcendental obstructions on K3 surfaces (PDF)\nMax Lieblich The period-index problem for Severi-Brauer varieties (PDF)\nJason Starr Rational points over function fields of curves and surfaces\nFedor Bogomolov On the section conjecture
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/geometry-over-non-closed-fields-february-26-march-3-2012/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120222T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120222T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155638Z
UID:420-1329930000-1329933600@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Taking the Universe's Baby Picture
DESCRIPTION:Observations of the microwave background\, the left-over heat from the big bang\, are snapshots of the universe only three hundred thousand years after the big bang. These observations have answered many of the questions that have driven cosmology for the past few decades: How old is the universe? What is its size and shape? What is the composition of the universe? How do galaxy emerge? \nThis talk focuses on results from NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and from other recent cosmological experiments and show how they have addressed these questions. \nWhile there has been significant progress\, many key cosmological questions remain unanswered: what happened during the first moments of the big bang? What is the dark energy? What were the properties of the first stars? Do neutrinos affect the formation of galaxies and structure? This lecture addresses how future observations from Subaru and from upcoming microwave background experiments may start to answer these new questions. \nSuggested Reading: \nSpergel\, DN et al. Astrophysical Journal Supplement 148\, 175 (2003) \nA 2% Distance to z = 0.35 by Reconstructing Baryon Acoustic Oscillations – III : Cosmological Measurements and Interpretation \nhttp://arxiv.org/pdf/0803.0834.pdf \nAbout the Speaker: \nDavid Spergel is the Chair of the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. He also is the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation and an Associate Faculty Member in the Physics Department and in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. Spergel is also currently co-chair of the NAS Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics. \nSpergels research in theoretical astrophysics ranges from the search for planets around nearby stars to the shape of the universe. \nOver the last few years\, the WMAP Satellite has been the main focus of his research. WMAP was successfully launched on June 30\, 2001. \nSpergel is part of a group of scientists and engineers at Princeton University who are developing new technologies that should hopefully enable the direct imaging of earth-like planets. He is part of the new Princeton Center for Theoretical Science. In 2008/9\, the program was focused on “Big Bang and Beyond”. Spergel is also part of the new Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU). \nHomepage: http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~dns/ \n 
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/taking-the-universes-baby-picture/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120205T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120211T000000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20150109T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T162101Z
UID:3955-1328400000-1328918400@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Analysis of Boolean Functions: New Directions and Applications (2012)
DESCRIPTION:The 2012 Analysis of Boolean Functions workshop focused mainly on application areas in theoretical computer science\, including: \n\nHardness of approximation\nProperty testing\nPseudorandomness\nConcrete complexity\nComputational learning theory\n\nThe symposium included some traditional talks on recent results\, but its aim was also to encourage research through a variety of talk/discussion formats: group exploration of new ideas\, survey and area-introduction talks\, and discussion of partial progress towards open problems. \nFollow-up workshops are planned for 2014 and 2016\, expanding the theme of discrete analysis to other areas of mathematics.\n  \n\nMaterials\n\n\nDownload scribe notes (PDF)\nanalysisofbooleanfunctions.org\n\nParticipants\n\n\n\nPer Austrin\nUniversity of Toronto\n\n\nIrit Dinur\nThe Weizmann Institute of Science\n\n\nDavid Ellis\nUniversity of London\n\n\nParikshit Gopalan\nMicrosoft Research\n\n\nJohan Hastad\nKTH Royal Institute of Technology\n\n\nHamed Hatami\nMcGill University\n\n\nGil Kalai\nInstitute of Mathematics Hebrew University\n\n\nDaniel Kane\nHarvard University\n\n\nTali Kaufman\nMassachusetts Institute of Technology\n\n\nGuy Kindler\nThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem\n\n\nShachar Lovett\nInstitute for Advanced Study\n\n\nElchanan Mossel\nUC Berkeley\n\n\nJelani Nelson\nMassachusetts Institute of Technology\n\n\nRyan O’Donnell\nCarnegie Mellon University\n\n\nKrzysztof Oleszkiewicz\nUniversity of Warsaw\n\n\nOded Regev\nÉcole Normale Supérieure\n\n\nAlexander Samorodnitsky\nThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem\n\n\nShubhangi Saraf\nInstitute for Advanced Study\n\n\nRocco Servedio\nColumbia University\n\n\nMadhu Sudan\nMassachusetts Institute of Technology\n\n\nLuca Trevisan\nStanford University\n\n\nAvi Wigderson\nInstitute for Advanced Study\n\n\nAgenda\n\nMonday\, February 6\n\nOpening Remarks\nOpen problems session (organizer: Ryan O’Donnell)\nMadhu Sudan Invariance in Property Testing\nAvi Wigderson Matrix Scaling\nRocco Servedio Recent Results on Chow Parameters\nBreakout Sessions / Research in Small Groups\nAlex Samorodnitsky A Conjectural Isoperimetric-type Inequality for Functions on the Hamming Cube\nInformal Discussions\n\nTuesday\, February 7\n\nDaniel Kane New Structure Theorems for Low-degree Polynomials of Rademachers\nPer Austrin Adversarial Biasing of Boolean Functions\nLuca Trevisan Higher-order Cheeger Inequalities\nKrzysztof Oleszkiewicz Extensions of the FKN Theorem\nOded Regev Noncommutative Grothendieck Inequalities\nBreakout Sessions / Research in Small Groups\nIrit Dinur Coloring and Covering PCPs\nInformal Discussions\n\nWednesday\, February 8\n\nHamed Hatami A structure Theorem for Boolean Functions with Small Total Influences\nElchanan Mossel Geometric Influences\nShachar Lovett Probabilistic Existence of Rigid Combinatorial Objects\nInformal Discussions\n\nThursday\, February 9\n\nTali Kaufmann Locally Testable Codes and Expanders\nParikshit Gopalan The Short Code\nOpen Problem Session II\nGuy Kindler Gaussian Noise Sensitivity\nBreakout Sessions / Research in Small Groups\nDavid Ellis Triangle Intersecting Families of Graphs\nInformal Discussions\n\nFriday\, February 10\n\nJelani Nelson Applications of FT-mollification\nJohan Håstad Ideas for Improved NP-hardness of 2CSPs \nShubhangi Saraf Lower Bounds for 2-query Locally Correctable Codes\nGil Kalai Near Equality Cases for Harper’s Inequality\nBreakout Sessions / Research in Small Groups\nInformal Discussions\n\n		↓ Download full agenda (PDF)
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/analysis-of-boolean-functions-new-directions-and-applications-february-5-february-11-2012/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120129T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120204T000000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20141022T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T161939Z
UID:3936-1327795200-1328313600@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Quantum Physics Beyond Simple Systems: Complex Dynamics\, Decoherence\, Topology and Information (2012)
DESCRIPTION:Condensed matter physics has evolved greatly in recent years from studying bulk properties of naturally occurring materials to constructing complex materials and systems not found in nature\, and to controlling rather than observing quantum mechanics. This dramatic broadening has been accompanied by corresponding advancement in experimental and theoretical tools. \nDiversification has enriched the subject greatly but has also lead to specialization that inhibits understanding and progress. This symposium aims to develop a more unified view of quantum mechanics in these new systems. The focus will be on the most rapidly advancing fronts\, with the goal of applying breakthroughs in one area to barriers to progress in others. \nTopics to be addressed include out-of-equilibrium quantum states\, graphene and similar materials\, topology and Majorana physics\, quantum Hall states\, and qubits and entanglement. We also plan to conclude the symposium with an informal discussion of open problems across condensed matter physics.\n  \n\nParticipants\n\n		 \n\n\nIgor Aleiner\nColumbia University\n\n\nBoris Altshuler\nColumbia University\n\n\nPiet Brouwer\nDahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems\n\n\nSankar Das Sarma\nUniversity of Maryland\n\n\nVladimir Falko\nLancaster University\n\n\nMatthew Fisher\nUniversity of California\, Santa Barbara\n\n\nMichael Freedman\nMicrosoft Station Q\n\n\nAndre Geim\nThe University of Manchester\n\n\nLeonid Glazman\nYale University\n\n\nBertrand Halperin\nHarvard University\n\n\nLeo Kouwenhoven\nDelft University of Technology\n\n\nLeonid Levitov\nMassachusetts Institute of Technology\n\n\nDaniel Loss\nUniversity of Basel\n\n\nCharles Marcus\nHarvard University\n\n\nEugene John Mele\nUniversity of Pennsylvania\n\n\nAdiel Stern\nWeizmann Institute of Science\n\n\nAmir Yacoby\nHarvard University\n\n\nAgenda & Slides\n\nMonday\, January 30\n\nIgor Aleiner 		 \nBoris Altshuler 	 \nPiet Brouwer 		Subgap States in Spinless p-Wave Superconducting Wires (PDF)\nSankar Das Sarma 	Condensed Matter Search for (elusive?) Majorana Modes (PDF)\n\nTuesday\, January 31\n\nVladimir Falko 	Graphene: From Simple to Complex (PDF)\nMatthew Fisher 	Part I: Non-Fermi Liquid Phases for 2d Itinerant Electrons / Part II: Majorana Fermions in Superconducting Nanowires: Interaction and Fluctuation Effects (PDF)\nMichael Freedman 	 \nLeonid Glazman 	Phase Slips Interference in a Chain of Josephson Junctions (PDF)\n\nWednesday\, February 1\n\nBert Halperin 		Quantum Hall Systems (PDF)\nLeo Kouwenhoven 	Spin-Orbit Qubits and Majorana Fermions (PDF)\n\nThursday\, February 2\n\nLeonid Levitov 	Spontaneously Ordered Electronic States in Graphene (PDF)\nDaniel Loss 		Part I: Nuclear Spin Ordering in Low Dimensions / Part II: Long-distance entanglement of spin-qubits (PDF)\nCharles Marcus 	 \nGene Mele 		An Unexpected Turn for Twisted Graphenes (PDF)\n\nFriday\, February 3\n\nAdy Stern 		Topological Insulators – Effects of Disorder and Interactions (PDF)\nAmir Yacoby 		Unconventional FQHE in Suspended Graphene (PDF)
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/quantum-physics-beyond-simple-systems-complex-dynamics-decoherence-topology-and-information-january-29-february-4-2012/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120111T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120111T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170428T040000Z
UID:418-1326301200-1326304800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Quantum Mechanics and Space-Time in the 21st Century
DESCRIPTION:One of the leading particle physics phenomenologists of his generation\, Nima Arkani-Hamed is concerned with the relation between theory and experiment. His research has shown how the extreme weakness of gravity\, relative to other forces of nature\, might be explained by the existence of extra dimensions of space\, and how the structure of comparatively low-energy physics is constrained within the context of string theory. He has taken a lead in proposing new physical theories that can be tested at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. \nUniversity of California\, Berkeley\, Ph.D. 1997; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory\, Postdoctoral Fellow 1997–99; University of California\, Berkeley\, Assistant Professor 1999–2001\, Associate Professor 2001; Harvard University\, Visiting Professor 2001–02\, Professor 2002–07; Institute for Advanced Study\, Professor 2008–; Sloan Fellowship 2000–02; Packard Fellowship 2000–05; American Academy of Arts and Sciences\, Member; European Physical Society\, Gribov Medal 2003; Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Physics 2008 \nInstitute for Advanced Study: \nhttp://www.ias.edu/people/faculty-and-emeriti/arkani-hamed/ \nIndividual Homepage at IAS: \nhttp://www.sns.ias.edu/~arkani/ \nAbout the Speaker: \nNima Arkani-Hamed is a theoretical physicist with interests in high-energy physics\, string theory and cosmology. Formerly a professor at Harvard\, Arkani-Hamed is now on the faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton\, New Jersey.
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/quantum-mechanics-and-space-time-in-the-21st-century/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20111130T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20111130T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155649Z
UID:416-1322672400-1322676000@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Controlling Quantum Coherence: Toward New Paradigms of Computation
DESCRIPTION:This talk describes experimental progress toward controlling quantum mechanical coherence and entanglement in a solid-state environment. After describing what coherence and entanglement are\, I will explain why using these attributes of the quantum world might be useful for information processing. I will then report from the experimental front lines\, describing two approaches to this challenging problem: using electron spin as a quantum bit\, and realizing nonabelian excitations in the fractional quantum Hall effect. \nSuggested Reading: \nReview on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/otherpapers/Hanson_RMP2007.pdf \nTechnical on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/papers/Barthel_InterlacedPRL2010.pdf \nNontechnical on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/papers/DiVincenzo_Science_Perspective.pdf
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/controlling-quantum-coherence-toward-new-paradigms-of-computation/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20111026T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20111026T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155700Z
UID:412-1319648400-1319652000@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Beautiful Thoughts from Ugly Neurons
DESCRIPTION:My talk is based on mathematical and computational studies of neural network models. Understanding the range of dynamic phenomena in such models provides a basis for thinking about the more complex dynamics of real neural circuits. Neuroscientists typically look for neural responses that have a direct relationship to a task being performed. I will discuss how populations of neurons can generate useful responses even when the activity of individual neurons (the ugly ones) cannot be interpreted in a straightforward manner. This provides a basis for modeling adaptive behaviors as arising from relationships between apparently random patterns of neural activity. \nSuggested Reading: \nAbbott\, L.F. (2008) Theoretical Neuroscience Rising. Neuron 60:489-495. \nBuonomano\, D.V.\, and Maass\, W. (2009). State-dependent computations: spatiotemporal processing in cortical networks. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 10\, 113–125. \nSussillo\, D. and Abbott\, L.F. (2009) Generating Coherent Patterns of Activity from Chaotic Neural Networks. Neuron 63:544-557. \nAbout the Speaker: \nLarry Abbott’s research involves the computational modeling and mathematical analysis of neurons and neural networks. Analytic techniques and computer simulation are used to study how single neurons respond to their many synaptic inputs\, how neurons interact to produce functioning neural circuits\, and how large populations of neurons represent\, store\, and process information. Areas of particular interest include spike-timing dependent forms of synaptic plasticity; transformations of sensory encoding in olfaction\, and the dynamics of internally generated activity and signal propagation in large neural networks. \nMost neural activity is generated internally but nervous systems are nevertheless highly sensitive to external influences such as sensory stimuli.  We study how stimulus driven and internally generative activity interact and combine to produce responses.  We also model how chaotic ongoing activity can be harnessed and controlled to produce useful motor output.  We are interested in representing perception not as a passive analysis of sensory input\, but as a dynamic process that involves modeling the external world\, making inferences about predictable events and noting when something unexpected happens.  This requires both representing sensory stimuli and modifying ongoing activity through synaptic plasticity. \nHomepage: http://neuroscience.columbia.edu/profile/larryabbott
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/beautiful-thoughts-from-ugly-neurons/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20110928T050000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20110928T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155713Z
UID:410-1317186000-1317232800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:The Regulation of Fidelity in the Transmission of Genetic Information from Parent to Offspring
DESCRIPTION:The evolution of organisms requires the generation of some diversity in the offspring and then the selection of the fittest in the present environment from among this diversity in the population. Diversity is accomplished by several mechanisms including novel combinatorial trials that arise by having two sexes\, recombination of maternal and paternal chromosomes and mutations or errors in the transmission of information. The rates of evolution can be influenced by mutation rates that are in turn influenced by a wide variety of stresses that can occur as sperm or eggs are produced or even as the organism develops. There is a dramatic increase in error frequency when the genetic information\, DNA\, is duplicated in cells under stress. Stress can be initiated by inadequate nutrients\, hypoxia\, DNA damage from various sources\, thermal variation and other environmental changes. If the error frequency increases too much an error catastrophe threshold is reached and disabled offspring can be produced. Thus there is a tension between fidelity and a useful error frequency that generates enough diversity to permit selection and changes in the species. \nAbout a billion years ago common ancestors of today’s humans and sea anemones developed a mechanism to detect stress leading to a high error frequency in germ cells and eliminate these cells by death. A relative of the gene and protein in sea anemones can be found in flies and worms and three related copies of this gene are observed in humans. One of these genes and its protein is called p53 and it is employed to prevent cancers from arising in somatic cells of humans. Two other genes found in the female germ line are called p63 and p73 and they are responsible for killing eggs that are damaged so as to prevent altered offspring. Like all genes in a population the p63 and p73 genes exist in several forms with a variation in the efficiency with which they monitor mistakes and kill cells. These are called genetic polymorphisms in the population and it suggests that some parents and families have higher mutation rates than others. Because of these polymorphisms or variations in the parents the offspring can have mutations not found in the chromosomes of the parents\, termed de novo mutations. One type of de novo mutation that has been detected in offspring is called a copy number variation\, a deletion or duplication of the DNA\, which results in one to three copies of a gene in the offspring. De novo copy number variations have been observed in developmental abnormalities\, autism and some early onset cancers in offspring but not observed in the parents. Evidence will be presented linking mutations and polymorphisms in the\, p53\, p63 and p73 genes of humans with these disorders. \nSuggested Reading: \nBelyi\, V.A.\, Ak\, P.\, Markert\, E.\, Wang\, H.\, Hu\, W.\, Puzio-Kuter\, A.\, and Levine\, A.J. 2010. The Origins and Evolution of the p53 Family of Genes. The P53 Family: Chapter 1\, Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. \nFeng Z.\, Zhang C.\, Kang H.\, Sun Y.\, Wang H.\, Naqvi A.\, Frank A.\, Rosenwaks Z.\, Murphy M.\, Levine A.\, Hu W. (2011) The regulation of female reproduction by p53 and its family members. FASEB J.\, Epub ahead of print. \nLevine\, A.J.\, Tomasini\, R.\, McKeon\, F.D.\, Mak\, T.W. Melino\, G.\, The p53 family: guardians of maternal reproduction. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology\, April 2011\, 12:259-265. \nAbout the Speaker \nArnie Levine is a Systems Biology Professor Emeritus at the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study.  Levine is a widely acclaimed leader in cancer research. In 1979\, Levine and others discovered the p53 tumor suppressor protein\, a molecule that inhibits tumor development. He established the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute\, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences: on genetics and genomics\, polymorphisms and molecular aspects of evolution\, signal transduction pathways and networks\, stress responses\, and pharmacogenomics in cancer biology. \nHomepage: http://www.sns.ias.edu/~alevine/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/the-regulation-of-fidelity-in-the-transmission-of-genetic-information-from-parent-to-offspring/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20110511T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20110511T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155725Z
UID:408-1305133200-1305136800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Merging Mind and Machine: Creating technology to reconnect the brain to action
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Donoghue will discuss progress being made to develop devices that can restore lost functions of the nervous system following disease or injury. In particular\, he will discuss the development of the BrainGate neural interface system\, a form of brain computer interface (BCI) that is designed to restore independence and control for people with paralysis. BrainGate uses a tiny sensor implanted in the brain that detects motor intentions that are converted to movement command signals using signal processors outside the body. BrainGate\, now in a pilot human clinical trial\, has been tested in five people who have longstanding\, severe paralysis. It will be shown how people have been able to use their own brain signals to directly control a range of devices\, such as computers and robotic arms. Dr. Donoghue will explain how it is possible to detect and decode motor signals from the brain and discuss the future implications of technology that can read out or write into brain circuitry. Finally\, he will also discuss what we are learning by being able to study human brain activity at a resolution and form never before available. \nJohn Donoghue is director of the Institute for Brain Science and a professor of neuroscience and a professor of engineering at Brown University. \nSuggested Reading: \nNeuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia. \nHochberg\, L.R.\, Serruya\, M.D\, Friehs\, G.M\, Mukand\, J.A.\, Saleh\, M\, Caplan\, A.H.\, Branner\, A.\, Chen\, D.\, Penn\, R.D.\, and Donoghue\, J.P. (2006) Nature\, 442(7099)\, 164-171 (13 July 2006) PMID: 16838014 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE] \nAbstract:\nhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/abs/nature04970.html \nNature issue:\nhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/index.html \nWeb Focus on Brain-Machine Interfaces (supplemental movies):\nhttp://www.nature.com/nature/focus/brain/index.html \n  \nNurmikko\, A.V.; Donoghue\, J.P.; Hochberg\, L.R.; Patterson\, W.R.; Yoon-Kyu Song; Bull\, C.W.; Borton\, D.A.; Laiwalla\, F.; Sunmee Park; Yin Ming; Aceros\, J. (2010) \nListening to Brain Microcircuits for Interfacing With External World—Progress in Wireless Implantable Microelectronic Neuroengineering Devices Proceedings of the IEEE (invited) vol. 98\, Issue 3\, 375-388. March 2010 doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2009.2038949\nIEEE PDF \nAssistive technology and robotic control using motor cortex ensemble-based neural interface systems in humans with tetraplegia.\nJohn P. Donoghue\, Arto Nurmikko\, Michael Black\, and Leigh R. Hochberg (2007)\nJ Physiol. Special Issue on Brain Computer Interfaces\, 2007 Mar 15; 579(Pt 3):603-11.\nEpub 2007 Feb 1. Review.\nPMID: 17272345 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]\nDOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2006.127209\nhttp://jp.physoc.org/cgi/content/full/579/3/603 \nhttp://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17272345 \nAbout the Speaker: \nJohn Donoghue is the head of the Donoghue Lab at Brown University. The lab investigates how the brain turns thought into voluntary behaviors and how that knowledge can be used to help persons with paralysis. Donoghue and his colleagues study how populations of neurons represent and transform information as a motor plan becomes movement. This approach has required the creation of a novel recording array to study neural ensembles. With the knowledge they have gained about movement representation\, have translated their findings to a clinical application in which humans with paralysis can use their neurons directly to control devices. \nDr. Donoghue is Henry Merritt Wriston Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University\, Director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science\, VA Senior Career Research Scientist\, and Director of the Center of Excellence for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology\, Rehabilitation R&D Service\, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center\, Providence\, RI. From 1991 to 2006\, Dr. Donoghue was the founding Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience at Brown. For more than 20 years\, Dr. Donoghue has conducted research on brain computer interfaces and his laboratory is internationally recognized as a leader in this field. Dr. Donoghue has published over 80 scientific articles in leading journals such as Nature and Science\, and has served on advisory panels for the National Institutes of Health\, the National Science Foundation and NASA. Dr. Donoghue has won awards for his work from Discover\, Popular Mechanics\, and Reader’s Digest magazines. In 2007\, he won the K. J. Zulch Prize\, Germany’s highest honor for neurological research. Dr. Donoghue is a fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as a member of the board of directors for the MIT Media Lab. Dr. Donoghue received an A.B. from Boston University in 1971\, an M.S. in anatomy from the University of Vermont in 1976\, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brown University in 1979. \nHomepage: http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/John_Donoghue
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/merging-mind-and-machine-creating-technology-to-reconnect-the-brain-to-action/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20110413T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20110413T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155736Z
UID:406-1302714000-1302717600@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Computational Perspectives on Social Phenomena at Global Scales
DESCRIPTION:With an increasing amount of social interaction taking place in the digital domain\, and often in public online settings\, we are accumulating enormous amounts of data about phenomena that were once essentially invisible to us: the collective behavior and social interactions of hundreds of millions of people\, recorded at unprecedented levels of scale and resolution. Analyzing this data with powerful computational techniques offers a radically new perspective on fundamental questions in the social sciences: how is the collective attention of a population focused; how does social influence between people operate; and how do our social networks reconfigure as we interact with one another? Such developments are not just taking place at the level of large groups; as each of us accumulates large digital traces of our behavior\, we also confront the prospect of software that — at some level — knows more about us than we know about ourselves. \nSuggested Reading: \nAs an introduction to some of the issues in this area:\nThe convergence of social and technological networks. Communications of the ACM\, 51(11):66-72\, 2008. \nFor a more technical discussion of some of the underlying models\, mathematical results\, and empirical studies:\nComplex Networks and Decentralized Search Algorithms. Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM)\, 2006. \nFor general background:\nChapter 1 of the book Networks\, Crowds\, and Markets provides a high-level overview. The full book is on-line and Chapter 1\, specifically\, is here. \nAbout the Speaker: \nJon Kleinberg received his A.B. from Cornell University in 1993 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT in 1996. He subsequently spent a year at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the faculty at Cornell\, where he currently holds the position of Tisch University Professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Information Science. His research focuses on issues at the interface of algorithms\, networks\, and information\, with an emphasis on the social and information networks that underpin the Web and other on-line media; his work in this area helped form the foundation for the current generation of Internet search engines. \nHe is a member of the National Academy of Sciences\, the National Academy of Engineering\, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he has served on the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Advisory Committee of the National Science Foundation\, and currently serves on the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council and the Scientific Advisory Board of the newly formed Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. He is the author of the books “Algorithm Design” (with Eva Tardos) and “Networks\, Crowds\, and Markets” (with David Easley); the latter book received the Lanchester Prize from the Institute for Operations Resarch and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and the PROSE Award in Computing and Information Science from the Association of American Publishers. \nHe is the recipient of MacArthur\, Packard\, and Sloan Foundation Fellowships\, a Simons Investigator Award\, the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research\, the Nevanlinna Prize from the International Mathematical Union\, and the ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences. \nHomepage: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/computational-perspectives-on-social-phenomena-at-global-scales/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20110323T050000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20110323T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155751Z
UID:404-1300856400-1300903200@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:The Missing Circuits: Studying Entire Brains
DESCRIPTION:Fundamental gaps remain in our understanding of animal brains\, especially so for human brains\, in comparison with other organ systems in the body. This is evident from our limited mechanistic understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders and the difficulty in developing therapies\, despite decades of intensive research. One of these gaps is our very partial knowledge of the circuit architecture of brains\, even in the best studied model organisms. \nA frequently mentioned reason for this gap is the complexity of the circuitry: the astronomical numbers of neurons and synapses are often cited in this context. However\, although brains are complex\, this complexity is not entirely disorganized – classical neuroanatomical studies exhibit the existence of an intermediate\, “mesoscopic” level of organization\, as can be seen from classical neuroanatomical atlases which exhibit brain nuclei\, layered structures\, and organized projection patterns. Although the whole brain circuit architecture is more tractable at this mesoscopic scale\, our knowledge of it also remains incomplete. Reasons for this are partly technical (the large volumes of data involved\, which have only been recently become possible to store and process\, the focus on slice physiology which precludes the study of many long range circuits\, etc). Background theoretical attitudes also play a role (a “chemical soup” theory of brain function\, exclusive focus on mechanisms of synaptic plasticity\, or an exclusive focus on hypothesized core operational units such as “canonical microcircuits” in cortex). All these ideas are useful\, however a deeper understanding of the whole brain circuit architecture may be necessary to provide context for\, and integrate\, these different perspectives. A move towards a circuit dysregulation based (rather than a “chemical soup” imbalance based) view is already evident in the conceptual understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders. \nWe have argued for the need and feasibility of determining brain-wide circuit architecture\, starting with the mouse and eventually in multiple model organisms chosen to suitably span the phylogenetic tree. This talk will present some historical and theoretical background\, and a description of ongoing experimental work as well as intermediate results. Ideas about how to fruitfully analyze whole brain data sets will also be presented. \nSuggested Reading: \nProposal for a Coordinated Effort for the Determination of Brainwide Neuroanatomical Connectivity in Model Organisms at a Mesoscopic Scale\nOptional Reading: \nWhile not directly related to this talk\, Dr. Mitra’s basic approach to quantitative neuroscience research can be found in the first four chapters of Observed Brain Dynamics \nAbout the Speaker:  \nPartha Mitra is the head of the Mitra Lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Mitra and his fellow lab members combine theoretical\, computational and experimental approaches to understand biological complexity. \nThe lab’s goal is to obtain conceptual breakthroughs into how brains work. Despite extensive research\, we are still far from a comprehensive understanding of how the nervous system gives rise to the behavioral complexities\, cognition and affect. We do not yet know what precisely goes wrong in human brains in most major neuropsychiatric disorders\, and therapeutic advances remain slow. Part of the difficulty arises from the complexity of the systems involved: neurobiological phenomena have to be studied at the molecular/cellular level\, neural circuit level\, behavioral as well as social levels\, and in multiple species. Given this complexity\, there remain large empirical gaps in our knowledge that can only be filled in experimentally. However\, an equally important problem is that of integrating the information thus obtained. \nPrevious work in the laboratory was largely theoretical and computational in nature\, and focused on analyzing behavioral and electrophysiological measurements in a number of model organisms. Currently\, the laboratory is focused on the Brain Architecture Project. The basic premise of this project is that\, while great advances have been made at the individual neuron and microcircuit levels\, there is a large gap at the whole-brain level of analysis of neural circuitry. The Mouse Brain Architecture Project seeks to fill this gap experimentally\, by systematically mapping the whole brain meso-circuit of the mouse brain\, and simultaneously addressing the computational and theoretical questions that arise. \nHomepage: http://mitralab.org/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/the-missing-circuits-studying-entire-brains/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20110209T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20110209T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155803Z
UID:402-1297270800-1297274400@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:When and How Can We Compute Approximately Optimal Solutions to Intractable Computational Problems?
DESCRIPTION:The discovery of NP-completeness by computer scientists in the 1970s showed that many computational problems in a variety of disciplines do not have efficient algorithms (assuming the classes P and NP are different\, as is widely believed). This was a profound discovery. However\, in practice it often suffices to solve problems approximately: say\, to obtain a solution of cost within 10% of optimum. Can efficient algorithms find approximately optimal solutions? The classical theory of NP-completeness didn’t address or preclude this possibility. Research in the past two decades has answered the approximability issue for a large subset of NP-complete problems. We know the precise approximation threshold that can be achieved by efficient algorithms\, and also know that improving upon that threshold is no easier than exact optimization. The former is the domain of “approximation algorithms\,” and the latter of the theory of “probabilistically checkable proofs.” This theory makes connections with a host of other disciplines and yields surprising results such as the PCP Theorem\, which states that mathematical proofs can be checked by examining a constant number of bits in them (this constant is independent of the size of the proof). \nSuggested Reading: \nChapter 8 on NP-completeness from Algorithms by Dasgupta\, Papadimitriou & Vazirani \nNP-completeness: A Retrospective \nThe Approximability of NP-hard Problems \nAbout the Speaker: \nSanjeev Arora is the Charles C. Fitzmorris Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. His research area is Theoretical Computer Science. Specific topics that Arora has worked on: Computational Complexity\, Probabilistically Checkable Proofs (PCPs)\, computing approximate solutions to NP-hard problems\, geometric embedding of metric spaces\, unique games conjecture\, complexity of financial derivatives\, provable bounds for Machine Learning. \nArora received his PhD from UC Berkeley in 1994. In 2012 he received a Simons Investigator award and the AMS-MOS D.R. Fulkerson Prize. Past awards include ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences; Best paper\, IEEE Foundations of Computer Science; EATCS-SIGACT Goedel Prize; elected ACM Fellow; Engineering Council Teaching Award for Fall 2008\, Princeton University. \nHomepage: http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arora/bio.html
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/when-and-how-can-we-compute-approximately-optimal-solutions-to-intractable-computational-problems/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20101215T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20101215T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155815Z
UID:400-1292432400-1292436000@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Unbiased Reconstruction of Mammalian Regulatory Networks
DESCRIPTION:Deciphering the regulatory networks that control dynamic and specific gene expression responses in mammalian cells remains a major challenge. While models inferred from genomic data have identified candidate regulatory mechanisms\, such models remain largely unvalidated. Here\, we present an unbiased strategy based on systematic gene perturbation and innovative multiplex detection to derive regulatory networks in mammalian cells. \nWe first apply this approach to decipher the network that controls the transcriptional response to pathogens in primary dendritic cells (DCs)\, testing the regulatory function of over a hundred transcription factors\, chromatin modifiers\, and RNA binding proteins. Our approach accurately assigned dozens of known regulators (e.g. NFkB\, IRFs\, and STATs) to their target genes and discovered dozens additional functional regulators that were not previously implicated in this response\, quantifies their contribution of each regulator to two major transcriptional programs. We identify a core network of key regulators and fine-tuners\, which uses a combination of coherent feed-forward circuits\, dominant activation\, and cross-inhibition to control response specificity. Among these we discover a tier of chromatin modifiers that specifically repress interferon beta 1 (IFNB1) expression upon bacterial but not viral stimulation\, and a large circuit of cell cycle regulators that was co-opted to regulate the viral response. We then show how a similar strategy can be used to study the global architecture of gene regulation across ~40 cell populations in human hematopoiesis\, from hematopoietic stem cells\, through multiple progenitor and intermediate maturation states\, to terminally differentiated cell type\, implicating dozens of new regulators in hematopoiesis and demonstrate a substantial re-use of gene modules and their regulatory programs in distinct lineages. \nOur work establishes a broadly-applicable\, comprehensive and unbiased approach to identifying the wiring and function of a regulatory network controlling a major transcriptional response in primary mammalian cells. \nSuggested Reading: \nLearning Module Networks\, Journal of Machine Learning Research 6 (2005) 557–588 \nMinReg: A Scalable Algorithm for Learning Parsimonious Regulatory Networks in Yeast and Mammals\, Journal of Machine Learning Research 7 (2006) 167–189 \nUnbiased Reconstruction of a Mammalian Transcriptional Network Mediating Pathogen Responses\, Ido Amit\, et al.\, Science 326\, 257 (2009) \nAbout the Speaker: \nComputational biologist Aviv Regev’s joined the Broad Institute as a core faculty member in 2006. Her research centers on understanding how complex molecular networks function and evolve in the face of genetic and environmental changes. In addition to her position at the Broad Institute\, Aviv is an assistant professor in the department of biology at MIT and an Early Career Scientist at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2008\, she received the Overton Prize from the International Society for Computational Biology and the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award. She is a past recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award.
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/unbiased-reconstruction-of-mammalian-regulatory-networks/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sf-web-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/10181056/aviv-regev.jpeg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20101117T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20101117T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170428T040000Z
UID:398-1290013200-1290016800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Fluctuations\, Information and Survival: Some Lessons from Bacteria
DESCRIPTION:Growing (micro)organisms are subject to different types of environmental changes. Some of these fluctuations are regular: for example\, daily variations of light intensity. Others are stochastic\, such as the random appearance of predators or toxins. Bacteria have developed an astonishing panoply of survival strategies in varying environments. In this talk\, Leibler will describe some recent experimental and theoretical studies connected with microbial behavior. \nAbout the Speaker: \nStanislas Leibler is the Gladys T. Perkins Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Living Matter at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Leibler is interested in the quantitative description of microbial systems\, both on cellular and population levels. \nIn recent years\, the field of molecular biology has moved away from the study of individual components and toward the study of how they interact\, creating a “systemic” approach that seeks an appropriate and quantitative description of cells and organisms. Dr. Leibler’s laboratory is developing both the theoretical and experimental methods necessary for conducting studies on the collective behavior of biomolecules\, cells and organisms. By selecting a number of basic questions on how simple genetic and biochemical networks function in bacteria\, his lab is beginning to understand how individual components can give rise to complex\, collective phenomena. \nRecent research topics in the laboratory include quantitative studies of interacting microorganisms. In particular\, the question of the survival of microbial populations in varying environments is being addressed both experimentally and theoretically. Dr. Leibler and his collaborators are developing new experimental techniques that will facilitate quantitative analysis of long-time population dynamics in microbial populations. In parallel\, they are developing statistical methods for the so-called inverse problems\, in which the interactions between different components of a biological system are deduced from measured statistical correlations. Long-term dynamics of closed microbial ecosystems are being analyzed by these inverse methods.  Similar theoretical approaches are also applied to other types of data\, such as spiking activity of retinal neuron assemblies or evolution of protein families. \nHomepage: http://lab.rockefeller.edu/leibler/ \n  \n 
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/fluctuations-information-and-survival-some-lessons-from-bacteria/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20101013T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20101013T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155827Z
UID:396-1286989200-1286992800@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Normalization as a Canonical Neural Computation
DESCRIPTION:It is hypothesized that the computations performed by the brain are modular\, and are repeated across brain regions and modalities to apply similar operations to different problems. A candidate for such a canonical neural computation is normalization\, whereby the responses of a neuron is divided by a common factor\, which typically includes the summed activity of the local population of neurons. Normalization was developed to explain responses in primary visual cortex\, and it is now thought to operate throughout the visual system and in multiple other sensory modalities and brain regions. Normalization may underlie operations as diverse as the deployment of visual attention\, the encoding of value in parietal cortex\, and the integration of multisensory information. It is present not only in mammals but also in the neural systems of invertebrates\, suggesting that it is a computation that was developed at an early stage in evolution. I will present the normalization model of neural computation\, some of the empirical tests of the model\, and elaborate the hypothesis that dysfunctions of normalization may be associated with schizophrenia\, amblyopia\, epilepsy\, and autism spectrum disorders. \nAbout the Speaker: \nDavid Heeger is a Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University\, where he is a member of the Center for Brain Imaging. His research focuses on biological and artificial vision. He has made a number of influential contributions. These include a model how one can measure motion from optic flow\, a nonlinear model of responses in the visual cortex called the “normalization model”\, and a method for texture synthesis. Since the late 1990s he has been at the forefront of the field of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). \nHomepage: http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~david/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/normalization-as-a-canonical-neural-computation/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sf-web-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/10181051/David-Heeger.jpeg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20100922T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20100922T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211207T155838Z
UID:394-1285174800-1285178400@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:Strategic Behavior and the Science of Social Networks
DESCRIPTION:The modern ability to carefully measure large-scale social networks has driven new empirical studies and theoretical models of growth\, dynamics\, influence\, and collective behavior in such systems. This emerging science is inherently interdisciplinary\, with key contributions coming from sociologists\, computer scientists\, mathematicians\, physicists\, and economists. \nWhile much of the empirical investigation so far has focused on documenting social network structure or topology\, less is understood about how topology *matters* — that is\, in what ways social network structure influences behavior and collective outcomes. In this talk I will survey some of the progress on this topic\, particularly in settings in which there is some kind of strategic or economic interaction taking place in the network. I will illustrate some of the concepts with results from an extensive series of human-subject experiments in networked interaction conducted at Penn. \nPart 1 \n \nPart 2 \n \nAbout the Speaker: \nMichael Kearns is a professor in the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania\, where he holds the National Center Chair in Resource Management and Technology. Kearns is the Founding Director of Penn Engineering’s new Networked and Social Systems Engineering (NETS) Program; his co-director is Ali Jadbabaie\, and the program’s curriculum chair is Zack Ives. Kearns has secondary appointments in the Statistics and Operations and Information Management (OPIM) departments of the Wharton School. He is an active member of Penn’s machine learning community PRiML\, and am an affiliated faculty member of Penn’s Applied Math and Computational Science graduate program. Until July 2006 Kearns was the co-director of Penn’s interdisciplinary Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. \nKearns also works closely with a quantitative trading group at SAC Capital in New York City. \nKerns currently serves as an advisor to the companies Yodle\, Wealthfront (formerly known as kaChing)\, PayNearMe (formerly known as Kwedit)\, Activate Networks\, Convertro\, and RootMetrics. He is also involved in the startup Hunch (recently acquired by eBay)\, and in the seed-stage fund Founder Collective and several of its portfolio companies. Kearns is a member of the scientific advisory board of Opera Solutions. He also occasionally serves as an expert witness/consultant on technology-related legal and regulatory cases. \nHomepage: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~mkearns/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/strategic-behavior-and-the-science-of-social-networks/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20100512T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20100512T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T102351
CREATED:20170428T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250206T172847Z
UID:392-1273683600-1273687200@www.simonsfoundation.org
SUMMARY:The Power and Weakness of Randomness (When You are Short on Time)
DESCRIPTION:Man has grappled with the meaning and utility of randomness for centuries. Research in the Theory of Computation in the last thirty years has enriched this study considerably. I’ll describe two main aspects of this research on randomness\, demonstrating respectively its power and weakness for making algorithms faster. I will address the role of randomness in other computational settings\, such as space bounded computation and probabilistic and zero-knowledge proofs. \nAbout the Speaker: \nAvi Wigderson received his Ph.D. in computer science in 1983 from Princeton University. Since then he has held permanent positions at the Hebrew University Computer Science Institute\, where he was the chair from 1992-95\, and at the Institute for Advanced Study School of Math\, heading their Computer Science and Discrete Math Program since 1999. He has held visiting positions at the University of California\, Berkeley\, IBM Research\, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute\, Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. \nWigderson’s research interests include computational complexity theory\, algorithms\, parallel and distributed computation\, combinatorics and graph theory\, cryptography\, randomness and pseudorandomness. \nHonors include being a two-time invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians\, where he was presented in 1994 with the Nevanlinna Prize for outstanding contributions in mathematical aspects of information sciences. Widgerson was an invited speaker at the AMS Gibbs Lectures and the recipient of the Conant Prize. Most recently\, Wigderson was the honored recipient of the 2009 Gödel Prize\, which recognizes outstanding papers in theoretical computer science. \nHomepage: http://www.math.ias.edu/avi/
URL:https://www.simonsfoundation.org/event/the-power-and-weakness-of-randomness-when-you-are-short-on-time/
CATEGORIES:Simons Science Series
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END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR