Algebraic Structure in Network Information Theory (11w5074)
Organizers
Michael Gastpar (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale (EPFL))
Frank Kschischang (University of Toronto)
Description
The Banff International Research Station will host the "Algebraic Structure in Network Information Theory" workshop from August 14th to August 19th, 2011.
This workshop will bring together experts from pure and applied mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering, to tackle problems of central importance in digital communications and information theory. The problems that this workshop will focus on are not only of theoretical interest, but also of great practical significance, as they are directly motivated by the need to find increasingly efficient and robust coding schemes for error-free transmission and storage of data.
Mathematics has played a key role in the design and optimization of communication systems at least since Shannon's groundbreaking work in 1948. Concepts from Statistics have been of key importance in most of the communications problems studied to date. The current grand challenge is to devise strategies and architectures to optimally exploit communication networks. An emerging insight is that a key role in the development of the next generation of network protocols will go to Algebra. The aim of the workshop is to provide an environment within which mathematicians and computer scientists with expertise in algebraic structure can interact and exchange ideas with experts from digital communications and information theory.
The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).
