Streams are infinite sequences of
symbols that are studied by both mathematicians and com-
puter scientists. A mathematicians interest
in streams may come from viewing them as represen- tations of numbers via expansion in
some
base p, as symbolic sequences representing a dynamical
system, or as combinatorial,
or fractal objects. A
computer scientist may be interested in streams as representations of executions of
non-terminating systems (such as operating systems),
or as streams of
data (e.g. Twitter).
The research in mathematics and computer
science seems to
run parallel, but along disjoint tracks. A few connections between the two fields exist via the areas of automata theory and combinatorics, but there is
much more to be explored. The aim of this workshop was to establish common ground
and stimulate collaboration
between mathematicians and computer scientists on the topic
of streams. We wanted
especially to bring together
the young researchers
of these areas,
as they will eventually be setting the future agenda. This was greatly
facilitated by the generous funding we received from the Lorentz Center
together with the STAR and DIAMANT clusters. This funding enabled us to
provide all young researchers with grants for travel and accommodation.
The workshop consisted of
a school week and a workshop week. In
the school week, we had 5
tutorials plus 8 short research talks. In the workshop week, we had 5 keynote talks plus 16 research talks. In both weeks, there was ample time for discussion and interaction between participants,
facilitated by scheduled problem sessions and frequent coffee
breaks. The mix between
mathematics and computer science was about 50/50 both in terms of scheduled talks and in terms of attendance. The school week had 46 participants of which 1/3 were PhD students. The
second week had 50 participants of which more than 1/4 were PhD students.
All participants were extremely
positive about the event, and we observed a
great deal
of interaction, especially among the younger participants. There were often lively discussions going
on in the common room until late in
the day, sometimes extending into joint dinners. The problem
sessions also resulted in new collaborations
between mathematicians and computer
scientists, and we expect publications from these projects over the coming year.
The facilities provided by the Lorentz Center,
especially its extremely helpful
staff, were crucial
in making this event a success.
Joerg Endrullis (VU Amsterdam) Helle Hvid Hansen (RU Nijmegen) Dimitri Hendriks (VU Amsterdam) Charlene Kalle (U. Leiden)
Evgeny
Verbitskiy (U. Leiden)
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