March 2009 - Categories - categories.org.au

Research positions
by Maria Manuel Clementino 26 Feb '14

26 Feb '14

5-YEAR RESEARCH POSITIONS The Centre for Mathematics of the University of Coimbra (CMUC) invites applications for five 5-year research positions in all areas of Mathematics. Applicants should have a PhD in Mathematics and at least three years of post-doctoral experience, with an international-level publication record and demonstrated ability to perform independent research. Preference will be given to candidates working in one of the areas in which the members of CMUC are currently active. A very good command of English is required. The appointments will be made for three years, renewable for two more. Successful applicants are expected to develop research within the areas of interest of CMUC. They should also contribute to graduate studies, supervising students from the Department of Mathematics. The basic salary is equivalent to the index 195 of the Portuguese research career (in the order of 42 500 euros a year), in accordance with the Ciência 2008 guidelines http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/contratacaodoutorados/edital2008 Benefits include private health insurance and social security. Applicants should send • cover sheet (available from www.mat.uc.pt/cmuc/coversheet.pdf) including names and contact information of three persons who can provide a letter of recommendation • curriculum vitae (publication list included) • a 5-year research proposal (2 pages max), emphasizing their own research goals as pdf files to cmuc(a)mat.uc.pt. The subject of the e-mail message must include the job reference C2008 FCTUC CMUC v15-v19. The deadline for applications is *September 10, 2008.* ------------------------------ More information can be found at www.mat.uc.pt

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Foundations?
by F W Lawvere 03 Sep '10

03 Sep '10

Down with "Foundations"! Up with algebra! Dear Friends, Presumably I am among those who are being "vilified" as "lovers of categories as foundation". By avoiding any precise definition, such a formulation might appeal to the widespread justified boredom induced by the past hundred years of "foundations as justification". Whenever I used the word "foundation" in my writings over the past forty years, I have explicitly rejected that reactionary use of the term and instead used the definition implicit in the work of my teachers Truesdell and Eilenberg. Namely, an important component of mathematical practice is the careful study of historical and contemporary analysis, geometry, etc. to extract the essential recurring concepts and constructions; making those concepts and constructions (such as homomorphism, functional, adjoint functor, etc.) explicit provides powerful guidance for further unified development of all mathematical subjects, old and new. What is the primary tool for such summing up of the essence of ongoing mathematics? Algebra! Nodal points in the progress of this kind of research occur when, as is the case with the finite number of axioms for the metacategory of categories, all that we know so far can be expressed in a single sort of algebra. I am proud to have participated with Eilenberg, Mac Lane, Freyd, and many others, in bringing about the contemporary awareness of Algebra as Category Theory Had it not been for the century of excessive attention given to the alleged possibility that mathematics is inconsistent, with the accompanying degradation of the F-word, we would still be using it in the sense known to the general public: the search for what is "basic". We, who supposedly know the explicit algebra of homomorphisms, functionals, etc. are long remiss in our duty to find ways to utilize those concepts also in guiding high school calculus. Best wishes, Bill Bibliography: - The Category of Categories as a Foundation for Mathematics, La Jolla conference 1965, Springer (1966) - Adjointness in Foundations, Dialectica, (1969), to be reprinted in TAC - Foundations and Applications: Axiomatization and Education, Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, (2003) vol 9, pp 213-224 - Sets for Mathematics, w/ Bob Rosebrugh, Cambridge Univ. Press, (2003) ************************************************************ F. William Lawvere Mathematics Department, State University of New York 244 Mathematics Building, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260-2900 USA Tel. 716-645-6284 HOMEPAGE: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~wlawvere ************************************************************

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Categories, Quanta, Concepts (CQC) at Perimeter Institute
by Bob Coecke 31 Mar '09

31 Mar '09

WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: Categories, Quanta, Concepts (CQC) June 1-5, 2009, Perimeter Institute, Waterloo, Canada Organizers: Andreas Doering, Theoretical Physics Group, Imperial College Bob Coecke, Computing Laboratory, Oxford University Lucien Hardy, Perimeter Institute In recent years, more and more mathematical methods and results from the field of category theory have been employed in the foundations of physics. These methods enable us to reconsider conceptual and structural issues in the foundations of quantum theory and possibly beyond, often providing surprising insights and new points of view. The workshop "Categories, Quanta, Concepts" (CQC) will bring together researchers from a variety of backgrounds, physicists, mathematicians, theoretical computer scientists and philosophers, all with a common interest in the foundations of physics. With talks in the morning and workgroups and in-depth sessions in the afternoon, the workshop will provide ample opportunity for interaction between the participants from this emerging community. The workshop also serves as an ideal platform for PhD students to get insight into the field and to discuss their own work. Invited speakers: Samson Abramsky, Wolfson College, Oxford University Harvey Brown, Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University Howard Barnum, Los Alamos National Laboratory Richard Blute, Dept. Mathematics and Statistics, Ottawa University Keye Martin, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Prakash Panangaden, School of Computer Science, McGill University Peter Selinger, Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie University Mike Stay, University of California at Riverside Webpage: http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/Events/Categories%2C_Quanta%2C_Concepts/Ca…

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Quantum Physics and Logic - Oxford April 8-9
by Bob Coecke 31 Mar '09

31 Mar '09

The program of: The 6th QPL workshop Quantum Physics and Logic April 8-9, 2009, Oxford University, UK http://web.comlab.ox.ac.uk/people/Bob.Coecke/QPL_09.html Is now available from: http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/people/bob.coecke/QPL_09_program.html There is no formal registration. There is a non-compulsory small registration fee to cover the coffee breaks, and for a copy of the proceedings. So just show up if you're interested. The location is Lecture Theatre B of Oxford University Computing Laboratory, at the corner of Keble rd and Parks rd.

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Cfc: CALCO-jnr 2009: CALCO Young Researchers Workshop, Udine, Italy
by Monika Seisenberger 30 Mar '09

30 Mar '09

[Apologies for multiple copies] !!! PLEASE FORWARD TO PHD STUDENTS AND YOUNG RESEARCHERS !!! *------------------------------------------------------------------* * Call for contributions * * * * CALCO-jnr 2009 * * * * CALCO-jnr: CALCO Young Researchers Workshop * * September 6, 2009, Udine, Italy * * * * part of * * 3rd Conference on Algebra and Coalgebra in Computer Science * * September 6-12, 2009, Udine, Italy * * * *------------------------------------------------------------------* * Abstract submission: May 8, 2009 * * Author notification: May 22, 2009 * * Final abstract due: June 15, 2009 * * Full paper submission: October 15, 2009 * *------------------------------------------------------------------* * http://calco09.dimi.uniud.it/ * *------------------------------------------------------------------* CALCO 2009 will be preceded by the CALCO Young Researchers Workshop, CALCO-jnr, dedicated to presentations by PhD students and young researchers at the beginning of their careers. CALCO brings together researchers and practitioners to exchange new results related to foundational aspects and both traditional and emerging uses of algebras and coalgebras in computer science. The study of algebra and coalgebra relates to the data, process and structural aspects of software systems. This is a high-level, bi-annual conference formed by joining the forces and reputations of CMCS (the International Workshop on Coalgebraic Methods in Computer Science), and WADT (the Workshop on Algebraic Development Techniques). The first and second, very successful CALCO conferences took place 2005 in Swansea, Wales, and 2007 in Bergen, Norway. The third event will take place 2009 in Udine, Italy. The CALCO Young Researchers Workshop, CALCO-jnr, is a CALCO satellite workshop dedicated to presentations by PhD students and by those who have completed their doctoral studies within the past few years. Attendance at the workshop is open to all - it is anticipated that many CALCO conference participants will want to attend the CALCO-jnr workshop (and vice versa). CALCO-jnr presentations will be selected according to originality, significance, and general interest, on the basis of submitted 2-page abstracts, by the CALCO-jnr PC. A booklet with the abstracts of the accepted presentations will be available at the workshop. After the workshop, the author(s) of each presentation will be invited to submit a full 10-15 page paper on the same topic. They will also be asked to write (anonymous) reviews of papers submitted by other authors on related topics. Additional reviewing and the final selection of papers will be carried out by the CALCO-jnr PC. The volume of selected papers from the workshop will be published as a technical report at Udine. Authors will retain copyright, and are also encouraged to disseminate the results reported at CALCO-jnr by subsequent publication elsewhere. Topics of Interest ------------------ The CALCO Young Researchers Workshop will invite submissions on the same topics as the CALCO conference: reporting results of theoretical work on the mathematics of algebras and coalgebras, the way these results can support methods and techniques for software development, as well as experience with the transition of resulting technologies into industrial practice. In particular, the workshop will encourage submissions included or related to the topics listed below. * Abstract models and logics - Automata and languages, - Categorical semantics, - Modal logics, - Relational systems, - Graph transformation, - Term rewriting, - Adhesive categories * Specialised models and calculi - Hybrid, probabilistic, and timed systems, - Calculi and models of concurrent, distributed, mobile, and context-aware computing, - General systems theory and computational models (chemical, biological, etc) * Algebraic and coalgebraic semantics - Abstract data types, - Inductive and coinductive methods, - Re-engineering techniques (program transformation), - Semantics of conceptual modelling methods and techniques, - Semantics of programming languages * System specification and verification - Algebraic and coalgebraic specification, - Formal testing and quality assurance, - Validation and verification, - Generative programming and model-driven development, - Models, correctness and (re)configuration of hardware/middleware/architectures, - Process algebra Submission ---------- Submission (pdf-file) is via e-mail to m.seisenberger(a)swansea.ac.uk. The use of LNCS style (see http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html) is strongly encouraged. Important Dates --------------- 8 May 2009 Deadline for 2-page abstract submission 22 May 2009 Notification of abstract selection decision 15 Jun 2009 Final version of abstract due 6 Sep 2009 CALCO Young Researchers Workshop 7-10 Sep 2009 CALCO technical programme 15 Oct 2009 Deadline for 10-15 page paper submission 15 Dec 2009 Notification of paper selection decision 20 Jan 2010 Final version of paper due Programme Committee ------------------- * Magne Haveraaen, University of Bergen, Norway http://www.ii.uib.no/~magne/ * Marina Lenisa, University of Udine, Italy http://sole.dimi.uniud.it/~marina.lenisa/ * John Power, University of Bath, UK http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/department/contact-department/academic-staff/dr-jo… * Monika Seisenberger, Swansea University, UK http://www.cs.swan.ac.uk/~csmona/ -- CALCO-jnr 2009: http://calco09.dimi.uniud.it/calcojnr.html CALCO 2009: http://www.dimi.uniud.it/calco09/

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naive questions about sets
by Meredith Gregory 28 Mar '09

28 Mar '09

Categorical, i have a question about a presentation of sets. The motivation for this question comes from a conversation i had a few years ago with Jamie Gabbay concerning the use of FM-set theory in semantics for 'freshness'. i was arguing that a certain use of 'reflection' gave a canonical (and smallest) set of atoms. Jamie objected that atoms are not allowed to have internal structure in FM-set theory. My question has to do with my response. Because my question has to do with a formulation in categorical language, rather than formulate it in that language, i will formulate it naively. In my view, heavily influenced by computing as it is, i see the basics of set theory as providing some operations for constructing and inspecting, de-structing a data type called set. Very primitively, we have operations for - extensionally constructing sets, '{ ... }' and - operations for intensionally constructing sets '{ ... | ... }' - operations for inspecting sets 'x in ... ' In this view, nothing prevents me from imagining two different versions of this data type. One of which i will call the 'black' version and one of which i will call the 'red' version. Initially, i might imagine these data types as copies of each other; but, we can only construct and inspect 'black sets' with 'black' braces and 'black' in predicate; and likewise for the 'red sets'. So, never the twain shall meet. Now, once we've built such a structure, there's nothing to prevent us from imaginging that the 'atoms' of a 'black' FM-set theory are none other than 'red sets'. Symmetrically, nothing prevents us from imagining that the 'atoms' of a 'red' FM-set theory are none other than 'black sets'. A suggestive use of data type specifications might illustrate the idea - Ordinary sets - Set ::= '{' Set* '}' - Red/black sets - BlackSet ::= '{b|' (BlackSet + RedAtom)* '|b}' - RedSet ::= '{r|' (RedSet + BlackAtom)* '|r}' - RedAtom ::= RedSet - BlackAtom ::= BlackSet Now, my question: is there a topos theoretic characterization of the obvious zoology that results from these musings? Best wishes, --greg -- L.G. Meredith Managing Partner Biosimilarity LLC 806 55th St NE Seattle, WA 98105 +1 206.650.3740 http://biosimilarity.blogspot.com

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PhD studentships - Dublin
by Matthew Hennessy 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

Apologies for multiple postings -------------------------------- The Foundations of Global Computing - Trinity College Dublin Two PhD studentships Applications are invited for two PhD studentships within the Software Systems Lab of the Department of Computer Science. The positions are part of a SFI-funded research project, under the direction of Matthew Hennessy, which seeks to establish a firm mathematical and logical basis for the next generation of widely distributed computing environments. The research programme within the project is wide ranging in scope, offering considerable flexibility to the successful candidates to pursue particular research interests. These range from the design and investigation of abstract calculi for describing the behaviour of complex systems, the use of types to enforce security policies, to the development of verification technologies for ensuring properties of mobile agents. Qualification requirements: Applicants should have at least a good honours primary degree in Computer Science or Mathematics, and have a proven aptitude in discrete mathematics and the manipulation of formal systems. Remuneration: 17,000 euros per annum, plus postgraduate fees, for three years, starting in October 2009. Application details: Interested applicants should, in the first instance, send their CV to the address below, together with a statement outlining their suitability for the project and the names of two referees. Applications by email are welcome. Matthew Hennessy Department of Computer Science The O'Reilly Institute Trinity College Dublin 2, Ireland email: matthew.hennessy(a)cs.tcd.ie tel: +353 (01) 8962634

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"Senior postdoc" research positions (5 years)
by Pedro Resende 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Dear categorists, The announcement below may be interesting for some readers of this list. Regards, Pedro. ####### Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:18:42 +0000 From: Diogo Aguiar Gomes <dgomes(a)math.ist.utl.pt> To: Diogo Aguiar Gomes <dgomes(a)math.ist.utl.pt> Subject: Post-doctoral positions Dear Colleagues, the UT Austin | Portugal program in the area of Mathematics invites applications for post-doctoral positions under the FCT Ciencia 2008 program. These are five year research positions at one of the Portuguese institutions participating in the UT Austin | Portugal Mathematics program, namely - Universidade de Coimbra - Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia; - Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Ciencias; - Instituto Superior Tecnico; - Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia. Candidates should have a PhD Degree in Mathematics, obtained less than 10 years ago and a minimum of 3 year post-doctoral experience. Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, a description of research project and ask that three letters of reference are sent directly to: Joanne Laranjeiro - jlaranj(a)math.ist.utl.pt before April 20, 2009.

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job opening in Nijmegen
by Jaap van Oosten 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

There is a job opening in Nijmegen. See below. Assistant professor (UD) in the Algebra & Logica group The Algebra&Logic group of IMAPP at Radboud University seeks a tenure-track assistant professor with preference for applicants working in the area between algebra, logic, and computer science. We seek candidates with international experience that have a demonstrable commitment to excellence in both research and teaching. The candidate should be motivated to contribute independently and through collaboration to the research and growth of the group. This includes contributing to the supervision of Master and PhD students and securing of funding for PhD positions through grant applications. The candidate must be a good communicator with experience in as well as enthusiasm for teaching that can contribute across the undergraduate mathematics curriculum as well as at the graduate level in algebra and especially in logic and in the joint research master with computer science. The candidate is expected to contribute the usual share in the management of the group and institute. The accepted candidate is required to master the Dutch language sufficiently to be able to teach in Dutch within two years after the appointment. Radboud University Nijmegen is situated in the oldest city in the Netherlands. It has nine faculties and enrols over 17,500 students in 107 study programmes. The Faculty of Science at Radboud University consists of seven research institutes, including the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Particle Physics (IMAPP), and the Institute for Computing and Information Science (ICIS). Research in non-classical logic and its interaction with applications in computer science is strongly represented locally and nationally. The group has close ties with the ICIS research groups in Foundations and in Security of Systems. At the national level the group collaborates with algebraists and logicians, notably in Leiden, Utrecht, at ILLC in Amsterdam, and at CWI. The salary of an assistant professor varies from a minimum of 3.195,-- Euros bruto per month to a maximum of 4.970,-- bruto per month, depending on relevant work experience. (scale 11/12). Female applicants are particularly encouraged to apply. In order to apply please send an application, with reference to vacancy number 18. DE including a full CV, information on research plans and teaching experience, and names and addresses of three references either by e-mail to pz(a)science.ru.nl or by post to: FNWI Personeel en Organisatie attn. mevr. Marielle Nelemans Postbus 9010 6500 GL Nijmegen The Netherlands Review of applications will begin May 1, 2009. For further information, see http://www.math.ru.nl/~mgehrke/Algebra&LogicUD.htm or contact Mai Gehrke at mgehrke(a)math.ru.nl **************** Profile: Profile of Algebra&Logic Assistant Professor at IMAPP at the Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen The Faculty of Science at Radboud University consists of seven research institutes, including the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Particle Physics (IMAPP), and the Institute for Computing and Information Science (ICIS). The Mathematics division of IMAPP consists of three groups: Algebra&Logic, Mathematical Physics, and Stochastics. The research of the Algebra&Logic group is focused in the two named areas with a particular focus on interactions of algebra and logic with computer science. Research in non-classical logic and its interaction with applications in computer and information science is strongly represented locally and nationally. The group has close ties with the ICIS research groups in Foundations and in Security of Systems. At the national level the group collaborates with algebraists and logicians, notably in Leiden, Utrecht, at ILLC in Amsterdam, and at CWI. In teaching, the algebra and logic group is part of the Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy Teaching Institute (WiNSt) and as such it provides high quality teaching of core and service courses in all branches of undergraduate mathematics as well as advanced courses and a Master track in Algebra and Logic. In addition, a new Radboud University Research Master program in the Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science is being set up jointly with computer science. The faculty as a whole and the mathematics department in particular are enthusiastically involved in outreach and actively recruit students through programs with schools. The Algebra&Logic group seeks a tenure track assistant professor with preference for applicants working in the algebra-logic-computer science triangle. We seek candidates with international experience that have a demonstrable commitment to excellence in both research and teaching. The candidate should be motivated to contribute independently and through collaboration to the research and growth of the group. This includes contributing to the supervision of Master and PhD students and securing of funding for PhD positions through grant applications. The candidate must be a good communicator with experience in as well as enthusiasm for teaching that can contribute across the undergraduate mathematics curriculum as well as at the graduate level in algebra and logic, and particularly in the joint research master with computer science. The candidate is expected to contribute the usual share in the management of the group and institute. The accepted candidate is required to master the Dutch language sufficiently to be able to teach in Dutch within two years after the appointment. Female applicants are particularly encouraged to apply. -- Prof.Dr.Mai Gehrke IMAPP Chair of Algebra Radboud Universiteit Toernooiveld 1 6525 ED NIJMEGEN THE NETHERLANDS mgehrke(a)math.ru.nl http://www.math.ru.nl/~mgehrke/ <http://www.math.ru.nl/%7Emgehrke/> +31 (0)24 365 3220 (office) +31 (0)24 329 5536 (home) +31 (0)24 365 2986 (secretariat) +31 (0)24 365 2191 (IMAPP fax)

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Grothendieck's legacy videos
by Jonathan CHICHE 齐正航 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Hello all, The conference devoted to Grothendieck's legacy (or, if you're French: l'héritage de Grothendieck) held at IHES at the end of January has already been mentioned here. I noticed but a few days ago that videos of the talks are available on the Internet at http:// video.google.fr/videosearch?hl=fr&q=ihes% 20grothendieck&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv# If the link is broken, look for "Grothendieck" at http:// www.dailymotion.com. Wilfried Scharlau's talk may be of interest to many members of this list. Jonathan

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