November 2024 - Categories - categories.org.au

Lecture notes by Bill Lawvere
by Michael Barr, Prof. 22 Apr '26

22 Apr '26

I got a request from someone named C. Muster who is searching for a set of lecture notes by Bill that he gave at U. Laval in 1974. Does anyone have a copy that they would be willing to send to him. Michael You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Collection honouring Robert Paré for his 80th birthday
by Bryce James Clarke 13 Jun '25

13 Jun '25

We are pleased to announce a special collection in Applied Categorical Structures honouring our friend and colleague, Bob Paré, on the occasion of this 80th birthday. Throughout his career Bob (Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University) has made several lasting contributions to category theory, including notable research in a broad range of subjects, such as double categories, higher categories, indexed categories, toposes and accessible categories. This collection will bring together contributions which honour the lasting impact Bob has made, and is making, in the category theory community. Submissions will be open from 1 October 2024 until 30 June 2025 at this link: https://link.springer.com/collections/dijeibfdbh All submissions on topics which celebrate Bob's work are welcome, including double categories, higher categories, indexed categories, toposes and accessible categories. The collection will be edited by four guest editors: - Bryce Clarke (Tallinn University of Technology) - Marco Grandis (University of Genoa) - Dorette Pronk (Dalhousie University) - Christina Vasilakopoulou (National Technical University of Athens) The publication process for this collection in Applied Categorical Structures differs from the traditional model for a special volume. Articles are published within whichever issue is open at the time, and concurrently published in the collection available at the above link. This helps papers to be published quickly, without having to wait for a whole issue to be ready, while still allowing all papers in the collection to be available in a single place. The editors are happy to answer any questions, and we look forward to receiving your submissions. Best wishes, Bryce, Marco, Dorette, and Christina. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Special Volume of MSCS in honor of Marek Zawadowski
by Chris Kapulkin 17 Mar '25

17 Mar '25

Dear Colleagues, We are honored to announce a special volume of the journal Mathematical Structures in Computer Science celebrating the work of Marek Zawadowski. Marek Zawadowski (1960-2024) was a mathematician at the University of Warsaw. He received his Ph.D. from the Université de Montréal in 1989 under the supervision of Gonzalo Reyes with the dissertation “Théorie de la descente pour les prétopos.” He made fundamental contributions to category theory, logic, and linguistics. He passed away unexpectedly in February 2024. This special volume is a celebration of Marek Zawadowski’s work and welcomes submissions on a broad range of topics, including: categorical logic, higher category theory, and linguistics. The volume will be edited by four guest editors: Pierre-Louis Curien (Université Paris Cité and Inria) Justyna Grudzińska (University of Warsaw) Chris Kapulkin (University of Western Ontario) Karol Szumiło (University of Warsaw) To submit your paper to the special volume, please go to https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mscs After starting a new submission, you will be asked (as part of Step 1) whether your manuscript is a candidate for a Special Issue; you should select “Tribute to Marek Zawadowski.” The editors will be happy to answer any questions at marek.zawadowski.memorial(a)gmail.com The submission deadline is March 31, 2025. If you are planning to submit a paper but are worried about making the deadline, please contact the editors at your earliest convenience. Best wishes, Chris Kapulkin For the Guest Editors You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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(Senior) Lecturer Position @ Strathclyde (assist/assoc professor) in Mathematically Structured Programming (logic/category theory/type theory/formal and mechanised maths)
by Clemens Kupke 29 Nov '24

29 Nov '24

The University of Strathclyde is hiring a Chancellor’s Fellow in Mathematically Structured Programming. This is a permanent academic position with reduced teaching load and limited administrative duties over the initial years for you to build a research portfolio. Please feel free to contact me or any other member of the Mathematically Structured Programming research group if you have any questions. ================================================================= Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK Salary: £41,421 to £56,921 (Grade 8); £58,596 to £65,814 (Grade 9) Hours: Full Time Contract Type: Permanent Closes: 5th January 2025 More details, and to apply: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DKR108/strathclyde-chancellors-fellow-in-mathema… ================================================================= The Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde seeks to appoint a Chancellors Fellow in Mathematically Structured Programming. We welcome applications from candidates with expertise in a range of topics in the mathematical foundations of computer sciences and applications, such as: * Logic, including modal and temporal logic, model checking, and proof theory; * Category theory, including categorical semantics, and applied category theory; * Type theory and functional programming, including semantics, metatheory, and implementation; * Formal and mechanised mathematics, including certified programming and the use and implementation of proof assistants. You will join the vibrant Mathematically Structured Programming group (https://msp.cis.strath.ac.uk/ ), which is internationally renowned for its research in the mathematical foundations of programming languages. We see the mathematical foundations of computation and programming as inextricably linked, and study one so as to develop the other. This reflects the symbiotic relationship between mathematics, logic, and programming — any attempt to sever this connection will diminish each component We have a strong partnership with the Scottish Programming Languages Institute (https://spli.scot/ ), and our work finds impact through our productive links with industry. As a highly motivated scholar, you will contribute to the research, teaching, and administrative activities of the group and the wider department. We expect you to have ambitious academic goals, and an understanding of how to bring in the grant income required to fund those goals. Your Fellowship will normally be at lecturer level (Grade 8) for 5 years, with the expectation that you'll meet our promotion criteria within that period and be transferred to senior lecturer. Exceptionally, where you have a strong track record in research leadership, you can be appointed at senior lecturer level (Grade 9), with expected promotion to Reader within 5 years. The University of Strathclyde is socially progressive and offers a supportive and flexible working culture. As a Department we have had exceptional recent successes across all of our activities, so you will be joining a energetic, happy, friendly and forward looking department keen to do more. We are committed to equality and diversity and work hard to ensure equal participation and equality of opportunities for all. The CIS department was recently awarded the Athena Swan Bronze level award. We strongly encourage applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnicity, women, LGBTQIA+, disabled candidates, candidates from lower socio-economic groups, and care-experienced backgrounds. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Recommend "a category of causal-nets" and call for comments and suggestions
by xuexing lu 26 Nov '24

26 Nov '24

Hello category theorists, I am a new man in the field of category theory and I just finished a paper, titled "a category of causal-nets". The paper can be found at (PDF) A category of causal-nets, or at (1) A category of causal-nets | xuexing lu - Academia.edu. An earlier version can be found at [2201.08963] Causal-net category which contains more results. My purpose in writing this letter is to recommend my work to everyone and to call for comments and suggestions. In this paper, I study the Kleisli category of the "free category on a causal-net" monad. The objects are finite causal-nets (acyclic directed graphs) and the morphisms are functors between free categories generated by causal-nets. The main result of this paper is a fundamental theorem, which shows an one-to-one correspondence between the six types of fundamental (indecomposable) morphisms and the six basic conventions of graphical calculi. This main result is originally designed as a lemma for proving the existence of causal-net condensation (Theorem 8.0.11, in page 37). Gradually, I find that it is of independent interest and due to its length, it is necessary to write an independent paper. I recommend this work and hope experts in different fields can find connections with their work. Your comments and suggestions will be helpful for me to write my next paper. The paper is not very long, but the road to this work is very long. The problem here is that there are many interesting problems, but solving them is far beyond my ability. Even more importantly, this work has revealed many connections among many different fields. So I hope experts from different fields can provide help and guidance. Especially, I hope more people pay attention to these new connections and do more solid work. The following is my thoughts about causal-net condensation, some of which may be too physical for mathematicians. (1) It is a purely categorical framework, totally parallel to that of the factorized homology. The coefficients of factorization homology are $E_n$ algebras, while the coefficients of causal-net condensation are permutation categories. According to the work of Segal and May, the nerve of a permutation category is an $E_\infty$ space whose group completeness is an infinite loop space. From this perspective, causal-net condensation can be seen as a generalized homology theory. (2) The core basis of causal-net condensation is the discovery that “tensor categories = algebras of coarse-grained monad”. This discovery is not only a natural conclusion of graph calculi theory, but also closely related to topological order theory, tensor network renormalization, and loop quantum gravity. (3) In the early exploration of causal-net condensation, I was inspired by some ideas in string theory and that of functor of points(Yoneda lemma). I think it's an algebraic version of string theory. (4) Causal-net condensation can also be regarded as the natural combination of the ideas of string-net condensation and the theory of causal set, which has clearly the property of background independence and provides a new idea for solving the problem of time. (5) Causal-net condensation is an upgraded version of Baez construction. It reinterprets Baez's graph embedding technique as Kan expansion and introduces the construction of coarse-grainings, which provides a background-independent and non-perturbative framework for quantum field theory. (6) I find that causal-net condensation has many similarities with some theories in the field of artificial intelligence, such as factor space theory, attribute theory, and granular computing theory. The idea of causal-net condensation is very similar to the ideas of partition logic and quantum logic. I think that it can be understood as a kind of quantum predicate logic, in which the ideas of path integral and resolution principle in computer science, spin networks and Skolem functions are very similar. However, these new findings have not been elaborated in this paper. Best wishes! Yours sincerely Xuexing Lu Department of math Zaozhuang University You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Postdoctoral positions (1-3 yrs) at Chapman U
by Jonathan Weinberger 25 Nov '24

25 Nov '24

Chapman University's Grand Challenges Initative (GCI) is offering postdoctoral fellow positions. As a part of this, I am looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work with me in one or more of the following (or adjacent) areas: (homotopy) type theory, (higher) category theory, proof assistants / formalization of mathematics, (abstract) homotopy theory, mathematical logic, or other areas of theoretical computer science The position is offered through Chapman University's Grand Challenges Initative (GCI): https://www.chapman.edu/about/our-home/keck-center/gci/index.aspx Fellows in the program gain valuable experience by: * Teaching critical thinking, foundational problem solving, and communication skills to our first- and second-year STEM students * Conducting research with a faculty mentor * Being involved in a community of fellows and a world-class postdoctoral mentorship program and that is leading to great results -- openings in the program this year are anticipated as a result of current fellows moving on to faculty positions. Conditions of the job: * Fellows split their time about 70:30 research and teaching; they have no teaching obligations during interterm or summer. * The position is initially for 1 year and renewable by up to 2 years in addition, depending on performance. * It includes a generous salary ($68,460 per year), full benefits, and research stipend ($5000 per year). Please read the full description and apply at: https://apply.interfolio.com/159294 File review will commence on January 22, 2025 Please reach out to me if you are interested. Further information: * GCI Team: https://www.chapman.edu/about/our-home/keck-center/gci/fellows.aspx * Article on GCI mentorship: https://blogs.chapman.edu/gci/2022/07/21/grand-challenges-initiative-progra… -- Dr. Jonathan Weinberger (he/him/his) Assistant professor Fowler School of Engineering @ Chapman University https://sites.google.com/view/jonathanweinberger You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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PhD opportunities at the University of Birmingham
by Paul Levy 24 Nov '24

24 Nov '24

* Imminent funding deadline (1 December) - please contact us immediately if you are interested. * Dear all, We invite applications for PhD study at the University of Birmingham. We are a group of (mostly) theoretical computer scientists who explore fundamental concepts in computation. Our work includes category theory, computational complexity, programming language semantics, proof theory, type theory, verification and much else besides. See our webpage, with links to individual researchers, here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/computer-science/theory-of-c… Information about PhD applications may be found here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/computer-science/postgraduate-research… If you are considering applying, please contact any of us. We will be very happy to discuss the opportunities available. Best regards, The Birmingham CS theory group, including:- Benedikt Ahrens Rajesh Chitnis Anupam Das Martín Escardó Eric Finster Dan Ghica Mirco Giacobbe Paul Levy Sonia Marin Sean Moss Jakub Opršal Vincent Rahli Uday Reddy Eike Ritter You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Doctoral positions in math/philosophy/physics at Chapman U
by Jonathan Weinberger 22 Nov '24

22 Nov '24

Chapman University in Orange, California, USA, has launched a call for applications for the graduate program in mathematics, philosophy, and physics (MPP): https://www.chapman.edu/scst/graduate/mpp-call-for-applications-fall-2025.a… The title awarded is Doctor of Science (DSc) and is equivalent to PhD. A Master‘s degree is required but current Master‘s students are encouraged to apply. Reach out to me if you’re interested in a thesis topic related to any of the following or related topics, including connections to philosophy and physics: mathematical logic, category theory, type theory, and theoretical computer science. Application deadline for full fellowship consideration is Jan 15, 2025; see the link above for further info and dates for prior virtual info sessions. The MPP program is also in partnership with the Topos Institute in Berkeley, CA, which works at the intersection of foundational theories such as category theory, new technologies, and their societal applications and impact: https://topos.institute/ -- Dr. Jonathan Weinberger (he/him/his) Assistant professor Fowler School of Engineering @ Chapman University https://sites.google.com/view/jonathanweinberger You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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Adjoint School 2025 - Second Announcement and Updated Project List
by ACT School 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

**The Adjoint School 2025 *** December 1st, 2024. Application Due. The Adjoint School is a 6-month-long research school in applied category theory, comprising four teams of 4-5 students each led by a professional researcher in the field. This email is to update the community that the projects for the upcoming session of the school have changed, and to remind those interested in the school to please apply by December 1 at this link! Updated Projects and Mentors: * Structuring Quantum Effects with Monads and Arrows - Mentor: Juliana Kaizer Vizzotto * Homotopy of Graphs- Mentor: Laura Scull * Compositional Generalization in Reinforcement Learning - Mentor: Georgios Bakirtzis * Categorical Metric Structures for Numerical Analysis - Mentor: Justin Hsu See more information about the research projects at https://adjointschool.com/2025.html Kind regards, Ari Rosenfield, also on behalf of Elena Dimitriadis Bermejo, Innocent Obi, and Drew Allen McNeely, the organisers. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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ItaCa Fest, November 20th.
by Fosco Loregian 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Dear category theorists, this is to remind you that ItaCa Fest will be back once again on November 20th. Below you find the list of the talks, as always we start at 3 pm (Italian Time). * Nicola Carissimi Enriched bicategories for enrichies bi(co)ends * Giuseppe Leoncini Enriched Homotopy Cocompletions * Ivan Di Liberti Taking ItaCa seriously You can also find all the abstracts at: https://progetto-itaca.github.io/fests/fest24.html#nov The zoom link is: https://cs-ox-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97878376376?pwd=QithMyt5NzdOeE1EWGJRcjBxamxnU… Hope to see you there! The scientific committee You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.as…> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>

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