Ο Καθηγητής Χρίστος Παπαδημητρίου, U.C. Berkeley, προσκεκλημένος του Τμήματος Πληροφορικής θα δώσει ομιλία στις 5 Ιουνίου 2008, 11:00, στο Αμφιθέατρο Αντωνιάδου.

Ο Καθηγητής Χρίστος Παπαδημητρίου, U.C. Berkeley, προσκεκλημένος του

Τμήματος Πληροφορικής του Οικονομικού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών θα δώσει ομιλία

στις 5 Ιουνίου 2008, 11:00, στο Αμφιθέατρο Αντωνιάδου.

Ο τίτλος της ομιλίας είναι "The Algorithmic Lens: How the Computational

Perspective is Transforming the Sciences".

Abstract

Computational research transforms the sciences (physical, mathematical, life

or social) not just by empowering them analytically, but mainly by providing

a novel and powerful perspective which often leads to unforeseen insights.

Examples abound: quantum computation provides the right forum for

questioning and testing some of the most basic tenets of quantum physics,

while statistical mechanics has found in the efficiency of randomized

algorithms a powerful metaphor for phase transitions. In mathematics, the P

vs. NP problem has joined the list of the most profound and consequential

problems, and in economics considerations of computational complexity revise

predictions of economic behavior and affect the design of economic

mechanisms such as auctions. Finally, in biology some of the most

fundamental problems, such as understanding the brain and evolution, can be

productively recast in computational terms. The talk is structured around

eight vignettes exemplifying this pattern.

Biography

Christos H. Papadimitriou is C. Lester Hogan Professor of Computer Science

at UC Berkeley. Before joining Berkeley in 1996 he taught at Harvard, MIT,

Athens Polytechnic, Stanford, and UCSD. He has written five textbooks and

many research articles on algorithms and complexity, and their applications

to optimization, databases, AI, economics, and the Internet. He holds a PhD

from Princeton, and honorary doctorates from ETH (Zurich), the University of

Macedonia, and the University of Athens. He is a member of the American

Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the National Academy of Engineering, and

a fellow of the ACM. His novel "Turing" was published by MIT Press in 2003,

and his graphic novel "Logicomix" (with Apostolos Doxiadis) will be

published by Bloomsbury in 2008.

For more information, please visit http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~christos/