January 2010 - 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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separable locale
by Thomas Streicher 17 May '13

17 May '13

Recently rereading Fourman's "Continuous Truth" I came across the term "separable locale" but could nowhere find an explanation. Does it mean a cHa A for which there exists a countable subset B such that ever a in A is the supremum of those b in B with b leq a. This would be the point free account of "second countable", i.e. having a countable basis. Of course, second countable T_) spaces are separable, i.e. have a countable dense set. Is this reading the "usual" one? Thomas [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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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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PhD Position
by Neil Ghani 28 Jan '10

28 Jan '10

****************************************************************** PhD Position Applications of Category Theory to Computer Science Mathematically Structured Programming Group University of Strathclyde ****************************************************************** Applications are invited for PhD study under the supervision of Prof Neil Ghani in an application of category theory to computer science. The applicant must hold either a first class UK degree (or equivalent) in their first degree or a distinction (or equivalent) at masters level. The applicant's motivation must centre on a desire for beautiful mathematics of lasting value. The candidate will be part of the Mathematically Structured Programming Group whose vision is to use mathematics to understand the nature of computation, and to then turn that understanding into the next generation of programming languages. This reflects the symbiotic relationship between mathematics, programming, and the design of programming languages --- any attempt to sever this connection will diminish each component. In order to achieve these research goals we mainly use ideas from category theory, type theory and functional programming. Besides Professor Neil Ghani, the group consists of a number of internationally leading researchers including Dr Patricia Johann, Dr Conor McBride, Dr Peter Hancock and Dr Robert Atkey as well as a number of PhD students. Anyone interested should in the first instance contact Professor Neil Ghani at ng(a)cis.strath.ac.uk and outline their academic background. Funding is expected to come from the SICSA PhD program. [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Second Call for Papers for the Brazilian Symposium on Formal Methods - SBMF 2010
by leila＠ufs.br 27 Jan '10

27 Jan '10

Our apologies if you have received multiple copies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBMF 2010 13th BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON FORMAL METHODS Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil November 8-12, 2010 SBMF 2010 is the thirteenth of a series of events devoted to the dissemination of the development and use of formal methods for the construction of high quality computational systems. It is now a well-established event, with a very good national and international reputation. SBMF is the main event on formal methods in Brazil, qualified as one of the high quality national events by Brazilian research agencies. Besides technical sessions, the symposium presents invited speakers from the international community. Publication of the proceedings in LNCS series of Springer are under definition. The symposium also includes two satellite events and a workshop on theses and dissertations (WTD) in formal methods. The WTD is a student forum for bringing together graduate students that research on topics related to formal methods. The aim of this meeting is to present and discuss the proposed contribution, preliminary results and possible directions for their research. In 2010, the SBMF will be held in the touristic town of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The event will be organized by the Informatics and Applied Mathematics Department of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Invited Speakers (confirmed) Bill Roscoe (UK) David Naumann (USA) Satellite events Workshop on B Dissemination Using Boogie 2 in the Verification of Spec# Programs Topics of interest The aim of this event is to provide an opportunity for researchers with a broad range of interests in formal methods to discuss recent developments in this field. The topics include, but are not limited to, the following: " Well-founded specification and design languages; " Formal aspects of popular languages and methodologies; " Logics and semantics of programming and specification languages; " Reusable domain theories; " Type systems and category theory in computer science; " Computational complexity of methods and models; " Computational models; " Rewriting systems; " Formal methods integration; " Formal methods for software/hardware development; " Formal methods applied to model-driven engineering; " Code generation; " Formal design methods; " Specification and modeling; " Abstraction, modularization and refinement techniques; " Program and test synthesis; " Techniques for correctness by construction; " Formal methods and models for objects, aspects and component systems; " Formal methods and models for real-time, hybrid and critical systems; " Formal methods and models for service-oriented systems; " Models of concurrency, security and mobility; " Model checking; " Theorem proving; " Static analysis; " Formal techniques for software testing; " Software certification; " Formal techniques for software inspection. " Teaching of, for and with formal methods; " Experience reports on the use of formal methods; " Industrial case studies; " Tools supporting the formal development of computational systems; " Development methodologies with formal foundations; " Software evolution based on formal methods. Papers with a strong emphasis on Formal Methods, whether practical or theoretical, are invited for submission. Relevant Dates 10/06/2010: Paper submission deadline 07/08/2010: Acceptance notification 21/08/2010: Camera-ready version due Instructions to prospective authors The following types of submissions are expected: Technical papers: Unpublished and original work that have clear contributions to the state of the art on the theory and practice of formal methods. Papers will be judged on the basis of originality, relevance, technical soundness and presentation quality. Papers must be written in English and not exceed 16 pages in the LNCS format (see http://www.springer.com/lncs) WTD papers: Master and PhD students are invited to submit papers that give a report on the research they are developing. The papers must correspond to individual work but may be co-authored by the advisor. Papers must be no longer than 8 pages, including all figures, tables and references. Every accepted paper MUST have at least one author registered to the symposium by the time the camera-ready paper is submitted; the author is also expected to attend the symposium and present the paper. Papers originally submitted in English MUST be presented in English. Papers can be submitted via the following link: http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=sbmf2010 Co-chairs and contact Leila Silva (Federal University of Sergipe) Jim Davies (University of Oxford) sbmf2010(a)gmail.com [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships (fwd)
by RJ Wood 27 Jan '10

27 Jan '10

This notice was forwarded by Graduate Studies at Dalhousie. As you will see, it is not specific to either Dalhousie or Mathematics and it is restricted to citizens of the countries listed below in 1. Probably a long shot but if one category theorist scores, it's worth a posting. Best, R_j ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:39:11 -0400 From: Graduate Studies <fgsinfo(a)DAL.CA> To: FGS(a)LISTS.DAL.CA Subject: Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships To Department Chairs and Graduate Coordinators: A competition has recently been announced for the Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships (PDRFs). The PDRFs provide opportunities for foreign researchers to study at Canadian universities for a one-year period. I would therefore be grateful if you would please forward this notice to any faculty member who may find it to be of interest. The PDRFs are based on reciprocal agreements between Canada and foreign governments, and are designed to provide research opportunities to promising, recent, non-Canadian doctoral graduates. Awards are tenable at recognized public Canadian universities and affiliated research institutes. PDRFs are offered in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Fellowships are not offered to professional artists, nor to those wishing to do clinical research and training involving patient care. The total value of the fellowship is CAN $32,000 and it is not taxable in Canada. It is valid for 12 months and is not renewable. Applicants must: 1. Be citizens of one of the following countries: Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia, or Switzerland. Applicants who have obtained Canadian citizenship or applied for permanent residency in Canada are not eligible for an award. 2. Have completed a Ph.D. degree within the last 4 years or have completed the Ph.D. degree requirements before the beginning of the award. 3. Be accepted into a post-doctoral position at a recognized public Canadian university or affiliated research institute of their choice. Full information about the PDRFs, and application procedures, are available via the following website: http://www.scholarships.gc.ca/PDRFNonCdn-BRPDEtr-Eng.aspx Note that the deadline for applications varies, depending on the nationality of the applicant. Any faculty member who is interested in bringing a foreign researcher to Dalhousie under this scheme is invited to contact me as soon as possible, for more information and support in preparing applications. For more information, you may also wish to contact Jennifer Morawiecki, International Research Facilitator, International Research & Development, Dalhousie Research Services at jennifer.morawiecki(a)dal.ca or 494-1734. -- Faculty of Graduate Studies, Dalhousie University Room 314, Henry Hicks Academic Administration Building Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4H6 Tel: 902.494.2485 Fax: 902.494.8797 graduate.studies(a)dal.ca http://dalgrad.dal.ca [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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6th Workshop on Categories, Logic and Foundations of Physics, Oxford, 9th March 2010
by Bob Coecke 26 Jan '10

26 Jan '10

Dear all, The sixth workshop on: "Categories, Logic and Foundations of Physics" (CLP 6), http://categorieslogicphysics.wikidot.com/ will take place at: Oxford University Computing Laboratory Tuesday, 9th March 2010, 12:00 - 18:20. REGISTRATION: For logistic reasons, it would be helpful if you send us a quick email if you would like to take part. Many thanks! Our workshop series is aimed at nourishing research in the fields named in the title and at bringing together scientists from the different fields involved. The videos and slides of previous workshops plus a number of talks from other events are available from: http://categorieslogicphysics.wikidot.com/events The site is constantly growing. SPEAKERS AND SCHEDULE: Room 478: 12.00-12.50 Martin Hyland (Cambridge) http://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~martin/ Lecture Theatre A: 14.00-14.50 Boris Zilber (Oxford) http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/zilber/ 14:50-15.40 Pawel Blasiak (Krakow) http://www.ifj.edu.pl/~blasiak/ 15:40-16:10 Why n-categories? Panel discussion with Tom Leinster, Urs Schreiber and any other n-category cafe server who shows up: http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/ 16:40-17:30 Urs Schreiber (Hamburg) http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/home/schreiber/ 17:30-18:20 Bertfried Fauser (Birmingham) http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~fauserb/ Please bring the workshop to the attention of others who might be interested. We are maintaining a mailing list so please let us know if you either wish to be removed from it or adjoined to it. Best regards, Andreas Doering and Bob Coecke. P.S.: Since both Andreas Doering, Jamie Vicary and newly recruited CLP'er Chris Heunen have all joined the Oxford University Computing Laboratory: http://web.comlab.ox.ac.uk/activities/quantum/ the entire CLP team is now located in one place. We hereby invite people at other (relatively easy to reach) institutions to host future CLP events. [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Category Theory 2010
by Giuseppe Rosolini 25 Jan '10

25 Jan '10

As many of you already know from several preliminary announcements, the next International Category Theory Meeting will take place in Genoa (Italy), from Sunday, 20 June, through Saturday, 26 June, 2010. Contributions in all aspects of Category Theory are welcome and we especially encourage experts to submit work on its applications as well as on its foundations. All talks will be held at DIMA-DISI, via Dodecaneso 35, Genova. The website http://ct2010.disi.unige.it/ contains basic information at the moment, and will be updated as soon as details become available. We expect to open registration after Easter while a list of hotels will be available soon. The invited speakers are: Olivia Caramello, Cambridge-Pisa Denis-Charles Cisinski, Paris George Janelidze, Cape Town Andre Joyal, Montreal Matias Menni, La Plata Mark Weber, Paris The Scientific Committee consists of Clemens Berger Marta Bunge Maria M. Clementino Robin Cockett Martin Hyland Bill Lawvere Bob Rosebrugh (chair) Ross Street Enrico Vitale Bob Walters We look forward to seeing you in Genoa in the summer. Eugenio Moggi, Marco Grandis, Sandra Mantovani, Pino Rosolini, Bob Walters [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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call for participation: midlands graduate school in the foundations of computing science
by Georg Struth 21 Jan '10

21 Jan '10

[Apologies for multiple copies] Call for Participation MIDLANDS GRADUATE SCHOOL IN THE FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTING SCIENCE (MGS 2010) 28.03.-01.04.2010, Sheffield, UK http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~georg/mgs.html The MGS is the leading annual research training event in Theoretical Computer Science in the UK. We are widely known for our courses on the mathematical foundations of computing. Our main mission is advanced research training for PhD students, but our school is open for anyone. We have consistently been evaluated as excellent: All recent participants would recommend the school to others. The MGS addresses primarily PhD students in their first and second year. But we warmly welcome postdoctoral researchers, academics or industrial practitioners as well. Further information can be found at the MGS 2010 web site. PROGRAMME: The MGS is an intensive one-week training event. We offer nine courses with five hours of lectures plus exercise sessions. Invited Speaker: Lectures on Separation Logic Peter O'Hearn (Queen Mary, London) Introductory Courses: Category Theory Graham Hutton (Nottingham) Functional Programming Henrik Nilsson (Nottingham) Typed Lambda Calculi Eike Ritter (Birmingham) Advanced Courses: Domain Theory and Denotational Semantics Martín Escardó (Birmingham) Game Semantics and Applications Dan Ghica (Birmingham) Formal Languages and Group Theory Rick Thomas (Leicester) Protocol Verification Emilio Tuosto (Leicester) Quantum Topos Theory Steve Vickers (Birmingham) VENUE: The MGS 2010 will be hosted at the University of Sheffield. B&B accommodation is provided at the newly built Ranmoor Student Village. Sheffield is centrally located in the UK and easy to reach by train, air or car. Travel advice and general information for visitors can be found at the MGS 2010 web site. REGISTRATION: Registration fee: £350 (incl accommodation) Registration deadline: 01.03.2010. Instructions on how to register can be found at the MGS 2010 web site. FURTHER INFORMATION: [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Re: A challenge to all
by Steve Vickers 20 Jan '10

20 Jan '10

Dear Andre, How would you deal with composition? The standard account of composability - defined by equality between a domain and a codomain - does seem to presuppose a notion of object equality. Normally for categories internal in C one therefore takes C to have pullbacks. Are there obvious ways to generalize that to monoidal C? Or are you thinking you might want to relax that standard account, perhaps even losing the well defined domain and codomain? I'm getting a picture of things like "categories" of smooth curves, where two curves are composable only if the end of one has an open overlap with the start of the other. But then "objects" are more nebulous. Regards, Steve Vickers. Joyal wrote: > ... > I cannot imagine a category without an equality relation between the objects. > ... > > I would like to propose a test for verifying if the > notion of category can be freed from the equality relation > on its set of objects. The equality relation on a set S is > defined by the diagonal map S-->S times S. > The diagonal gives a set the structure of a cocommutative coalgebra, > where the tensor product is the cartesian product. > The objects of a general symmetric monoidal category have no > coalgebra structure in general. > > The test: Is it possible to define a notion of category internal to > a symmetric monoidal category without using a coalgebra structure > on the object of objects? [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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