September 2019 - Categories - categories.org.au

Re: "First" use of 'Category theory' to describe our field
by David Roberts 24 Feb '24

24 Feb '24

Dear Ross, no, that's pretty good! It's mildly surprising that it took ~20 years for the name to 'stick', but maybe less so given that the field grew slowly to start. Thanks, David David Roberts Webpage: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/David+Roberts Blog: https://thehighergeometer.wordpress.com On Thu, 11 Jul 2019 at 08:21, Ross Street <ross.street(a)mq.edu.au> wrote: > > Dear David > > From memory, the Pure Mathematics Honours (USyd) course that Max Kelly taught in 1965 > was called ``Category Theory''. It concentrated on different kinds of morphisms > and factorizations in a category, and finished with adjoint functors. > Also John Gray's (UIllinois) 1968-69 graduate course had that name. > > From Eilenberg I heard that each person using categories should have their own category of expertise. > I told this to John Gray who said that was fine; the time had come for that category to be Cat. > > I would suggest that the first category theorists to think of themselves as such were Eilenberg's students at Columbia. > However, Mac Lane was definitely a category theorist. > > This is probably not the verifiable stuff you were seeking. > > Ross > > > On 10 Jul 2019, at 10:01 PM, David Roberts <droberts.65537(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi all, > > the (idle) question is: when did the phrase 'category theory' catch on > for the field? Clearly it didn't leap from either of the heads of > Eilenberg or Mac Lane full-grown, since they used the phrase 'General > theory of natural equivalences'. There are the old 'Reports of the > Midwest Category Seminar' lecture notes (the first in 1967), which > hints that 'category theory' wasn't quite the name in use. > > Even more interesting: who was the first "category theorist", by that name? > > Answers referring to verifiable sources would be best. > > Thoughts? > > David > > > > David Roberts > Webpage: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/David+Roberts > Blog: https://thehighergeometer.wordpress.com > [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Reminder: Category Theory Octoberfest 2019: Call for Submissions
by tslil clingman 19 Sep '19

19 Sep '19

Dear all, As a reminder, CT Octoberfest 2019 will be held at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore on the 26th and 27th of October. The meeting is free and open to all. All details, including instructions on contributing a talk or ``registering'', and accommodation and travel recommendations, are available on the website: https://ct-octoberfest.github.io . In conjunction with Octoberfest we are pleased to announce a plenary talk, joint with the Johns Hopkins Category Theory seminar, at 17h00 on Friday the 26th of October: Mike Shulman will be talking on the theme of internal languages. Those wishing to speak should send an email to ctoctoberfest19(a)math.jhu.edu with the subject ``Submission'' including the submission title and any notes or special requests. The talk submission deadline is the 25th of September, anywhere on earth. For any queries related to the meeting please do not hesitate to contact tslil clingman at tslil(a)jhu.edu or the meeting email address ctoctoberfest19(a)math.jhu.edu. We hope to see you there! [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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A book on Higher Dimensional Categories
by Marco Grandis 19 Sep '19

19 Sep '19

This book is being published: M. Grandis Higher Dimensional Categories, From Double to Multiple Categories World Scientific Publishing Co., 2019 - Info at WS: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/11406 - Downloadable Introduction https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/9789811205118_0001 ________ PREFACE The study of higher dimensional categories has mostly been developed in the globular form of 2-categories, n-categories, omega-categories and their weak versions. Here we study a different form: double categories, n-tuple categories and multiple categories, with their weak and lax versions. We want to show the advantages of this form for the theory of adjunctions and limits. Furthermore, this form is much simpler in higher dimension, starting with dimension three where weak 3-categories (also called tricategories) are already quite complicated, much more than weak or lax triple categories. This book can be used as a textbook for graduate and postgraduate studies, and as a basis for self-study and research. Notions are presented in a concrete way, with examples and exercises; the latter are endowed with a solution or suitable hints. Part I, devoted to double categories, starts at basic category theory and is kept at a relatively simple level. Part II can be used independently by a reader with some knowledge of 2-dimensional category theory. ________ The following exposition of my talk at CT2019, in Edinburgh, can also be viewed as a partial introduction to this book: "Adjunctions and limits for double and multiple categories" http://www.dima.unige.it/~grandis/CT%202019%20Edi.pdf ________ Regards, MG [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Midwest HoTT Seminar, Oct 19-20, 2019, University of Michigan
by Simon Cho 17 Sep '19

17 Sep '19

Dear all, We are pleased to announce the third Midwest Homotopy Type Theory Seminar, to take place on October 19-20, 2019 at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). The meeting will feature talks by: Kuen-Bang Hou (Favonia) University of Minnesota Nullable Compositions Chris Kapulkin University of Western Ontario Homotopy Canonicity of Homotopy Type Theory Paige North Ohio State University Two-sided Weak Factorization Systems with pre-talks given by: Deshin Finlay (University of Michigan) Scott Newton (Ohio State University) Robert Rose (Indiana University) with topical question/discussion ("ask-me-anything") sessions led by: Andreas Blass University of Michigan on topos theory Dan Christensen University of Western Ontario on homotopy theory Amr Sabry Indiana University on programming languages Please visit http://math.lsa.umich.edu/~simoncho/mwhottseminar.html for further details including the schedule and travel information. In particular, please note that the preferred rate we have negotiated with the nearby hotel is valid until September 27. There is no registration fee, but we request that those planning to attend fill out the very short registration form on the website for our planning purposes (e.g. getting enough coffee for everyone). Best, Simon Cho for the organizers [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Third CFP - RAMiCS 2020
by Michael Winter 14 Sep '19

14 Sep '19

THIRD CALL FOR PAPERS 18th International Conference on Relational and Algebraic Methods in Computer Science RAMiCS 2020 08. April to 11. April 2020, Palaiseau, France URL: http://ramics18.gforge.inria.fr/ IMPORTANT DATES: Abstract Submission: 06. October 2019 Paper Submission: 13. October 2019 Author Notification: 15. December 2019 Final Version: 16. January 2020 RAMiCS 2020: 08. April to 11. April 2020 INVITED TALKS: Christel Baier, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany Manfred Droste, Universitaet Leipzig, Germany Daniela Petrisan, Universite Paris Diderot, France GENERAL INFORMATION: Since 1994, the RAMiCS conference series has been the main venue for research on relation algebras, Kleene algebras and similar algebraic formalisms, and their applications as conceptual and methodological tools in computer science and beyond. TOPICS: We invite submissions in the general fields of algebras relevant to computer science and applications of such algebras. Topics include but are not limited to: * Theory - algebras such as semigroups, residuated lattices, semirings, Kleene algebras, relation algebras and quantales - their connections with program logics and other logics - their use in the theories of automata, concurrency, formal languages, games, networks and programming languages - the development of algebraic, algorithmic, category-theoretic, coalgebraic and proof-theoretic methods for these theories - their formalisation with theorem provers * Applications - tools and techniques for program correctness, specification and verification - quantitative and qualitative models and semantics of computing systems and processes - algorithm design, automated reasoning, network protocol analysis, social choice, optimisation and control - industrial applications WATA 2020 WATA 2020, the 10th International Workshop on Weighted Automata: Theory and Applications, will take place just after RAMICS, from 14 to 17 April, in Marseille. We encourage participants to combine the two events. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Submission is via EasyChair at https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ramics2020 All papers will be peer-reviewed by at least three referees. The proceedings will be published in an LNCS volume by Springer, ready at the conference. Submissions must not be published or under review for publication elsewhere. Submissions must be in English using a PDF not exceeding 16 pages in LNCS style. Submissions must provide sufficient information to judge their merits. Additional material may be provided in a clearly marked appendix or by a reference to a manuscript on a web site. Experimental data, software or mathematical components for theorem provers must be available in sufficient detail for referees. Deviation from these requirements may lead to rejection. One author of each accepted paper is expected to present the paper at the conference. Accepted papers must be produced with LaTeX. Formatting instructions and LNCS style files are available at http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html As for earlier RAMiCS conferences, we intend to publish a journal special issue with revised and extended versions of a selection of the best papers. COMMITTEES: Organising Committee -------------------- Conf. & PC Co-Chair: Peter Jipsen, Chapman University, USA Conf. & PC Co-Chair: Uli Fahrenberg, École polytechnique, France Conf. & PC Co-Chair: Michael Winter, Brock University, Canada Programme Committee ------------------- Roland Backhouse University of Nottingham, UK Rudolf Berghammer Kiel University, Germany Manuel Bodirsky TU Dresden, Germany Jules Desharnais Laval University, Canada Amina Doumane PPS, France Uli Fahrenberg École polytechnique, France Hitoshi Furusawa Kagoshima University, Japan Mai Gehrke LIAFA, France Walter Guttmann University of Canterbury, New Zealand Robin Hirsch University College London, UK Peter Höfner CSIRO, Australia Marcel Jackson La Trobe University, Australia Jean-Baptiste Jeannin University of Michigan, USA Peter Jipsen Chapman University, USA Stef Joosten Open Universiteit, Netherlands Wolfram Kahl McMaster University, Canada Dexter Kozen Cornell University, USA Tadeusz Litak FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany Wendy MacCaull St. Francis Xavier University, Canada Roger Maddux Iowa State University, USA Annabelle McIver Macquarie University, Australia Szabolcs Mikulas University of London, UK Ali Mili NJIT, USA Jose Oliveira University of Minho, Portugal Alessandra Palmigiano Technical University of Delft, Netherlands Damien Pous CNRS - ENS Lyon, France Mehrnoosh Sadrzadeh University College London, UK Luigi Santocanale LIS, Aix-Marseille Université, France John Stell University of Leeds, UK Georg Struth University of Sheffield, UK Michael Winter Brock University, Canada [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Call for participation - History of Formal Methods workshop at FM'19 - early reg deadline 10th Sep
by Jeremy Gibbons 10 Sep '19

10 Sep '19

Dear all, Registration is now open for the workshop History of Formal Methods 2019. You can see information and accepted talks on the website: https://sites.google.com/view/hfm2019/home The area of formal methods is a central part of the theory of computing. It grew out of work started in the 1960s to address errors in programming, as well as to bring mathematical foundations into computing. It has since become an important research area in its own right. Some formal methods have pedigrees of more than fifty years; others are very recent and will make their professional debuts elsewhere at FM’19. Looking back over the history of formal methods shows an intriguing research area with a complex intertwining of theory and practice; a struggle between academic rigour and practical utility. One key motif is a frustrating lack of uptake in industry and an ever-increasing arsenal of tools to ease this. Now is a good time to explore the history of formal methods, to utilise the first-hand retrospectives and experiences of ageing researchers who participated, and to engage professional historians with the material. The topic provides the opportunity to explore questions like the utility of science, time versus money versus quality in software engineering, relations between industry and academic, and many more. The papers submitted to the workshop span a range of topics, including insider stories and consideration from the outside. The workshop should have a mixed audience of both historians and technical researchers: a key aim is to get formalists interested in their history. In particular, I expect it will be of interest to the Applied Category Theory community. The workshop is part of the FM’19 World Congress and registration is via that website: http://formalmethods2019.inesctec.pt/?page_id=2363 It is vitally important that all registrants wanting to come to the workshop state their intention to attend while registering for FM. This should be done by selecting the workshop from the dropdown list if registering for just one workshop; or for larger registrations, the free text field should be used. If you have already registered for FM’19 but did not include this information, please email contactfm2019(a)inesctec.pt. THE EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS TOMORROW (Tuesday 10th)! Cheers, Jeremy [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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Positions at Stellenbosch University
by Zurab Janelidze 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

Dear Colleagues, We have two open positions at Stellenbosch (in South Africa): one at senior lecturer level and another at professor level. In both cases we are looking for candidates who have strong passion for both research and teaching, in any area of abstract mathematics, including Category Theory. You can find more information by following the links below. Senior Lecturer: https://sun-e-hr.sun.ac.za/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?page=/oracle/apps/irc/candidateSe….. Professor: https://sun-e-hr.sun.ac.za/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?page=/oracle/apps/irc/candidateSe….. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about any of these positions. With best regards,Zurab [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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HoTT Electronic Seminar Talks in Fall 2019
by Chris Kapulkin 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

Dear all, We are pleased to announce that the Homotopy Type Theory Electronic Seminar Talks (HoTTEST) will be returning in Fall 2019. The speakers are: Oct 9: Andrej Bauer Oct 23: Anders Mörtberg Nov 6: Andrew Swan Nov 20: Benno van den Berg Dec 4: Christian Sattler (TBC) Dec 11: Richard Garner This semester, the seminar will be meeting on alternating Wednesdays (not Thursdays!) at 11:30 Eastern. For updates and instructions how to attend, please see https://www.uwo.ca/math/faculty/kapulkin/seminars/hottest.html The seminar is open to everyone, but some prior familiarity with HoTT will be assumed. Best wishes, Chris Kapulkin for the organizers [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University
by Emily Riehl 04 Sep '19

04 Sep '19

Dear colleagues, I am writing in hopes that one of you will join me in our department next fall. We are advertising one faculty position — either at the tenure track or tenured level — for an appointment to begin next July and expect to advertise more positions in the near future. (In particular, do not let a two body problem prevent you from applying.) Algebraic geometry and algebraic topology, broadly defined, are areas of priority for this search, though we will consider exceptional candidates in all areas of pure mathematics. http://mathjobs.org/jobs/jhu http://mathematics.jhu.edu We are also are searching for an experienced teaching faculty member to join the department as a Senior Lecturer or Associate Teaching Professor. This is viewed by the department as a leadership position, with latitude to re-imagine our existing course offerings, and intended as a long-term hire. More details can be found here: http://mathjobs.org/jobs/jobs/14278 In addition, we are looking to fill two three-year postdoctoral positions for J.J. Sylvester Assistant Professors. Johns Hopkins (note the unexpected “s”) is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland. We teach a high proportion of the undergraduate population because a large number of Johns Hopkins undergraduates (double or triple) major in the sciences, and we have around 34 PhD students in our department as well as 6-8 postdoctoral fellows. Research interests of departmental faculty include algebraic geometry, algebraic number theory, algebraic topology, category theory, data science, differential geometry, fluid dynamics, general relativity, geometric analysis, harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, several complex variables, statistical learning theory, and stochastic processes. I’d be happy to answer any questions about the department or about living in Baltimore. I’ve also copied my colleague, David Savitt, on this message, who is currently the department chair. Regards, Emily Riehl -- Associate Professor, Dept. of Mathematics Johns Hopkins University www.math.jhu.edu/~eriehl [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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CfP: HoTT 2019 proceedings, MSCS special issue
by Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Dear all, Submissions are now open for a special issue of Mathematical Structures in Computer Science on the proceedings of the HoTT 2019 conference, edited by Dan Licata and Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine. Submission deadline: 15 November, 2019 Papers on work presented at the HoTT19 conference are particularly encouraged, but the special issue is open to any work on homotopy type theory and related research areas. Specific topics include but are not limited to: homotopical and higher-categorical semantics of type theory; synthetic homotopy theory; applications of univalence and higher inductive types; cubical type theories and cubical models; formalization of mathematics and computer science in homotopy type theory / univalent foundations; and new type theories based on higher-dimensional ideas. To submit a paper, please follow the general MSCS submission procedure at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mathematical-structures-in-computer… . When giving the submission details, select “Homotopy Type Theory 2019” for the field “Special Issue”. More information at: - https://www.cambridge.org/core/news/homotopy-type-theory - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mathematical-structures-in-computer… - https://hott.github.io/HoTT-2019/ Best, Dan and Peter. Dan Licata, Wesleyan University, USA, dlicata(a)wesleyan.edu Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine Stockholm University, Sweden, p.l.lumsdaine(a)math.su.se [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]

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