Synopsis
A small group of researchers discusses new directions and open problems in the area of probabilistic methods in combinatorics and graph theory. Topics this year include random trees, random networks, probability on trees, and random walks on trees.
Organizers
The meeting is organized by Luc Devroye (McGill University) and Nicolas Broutin (INRIA, France). They are part of CARP [CARP stands for Combinatorics, Algorithms, Randomization and Probability.]
Participants
- From Chalmers University, Goteborg, Sweden: Devdatt Dubhashi.
- From the University of Pennsylvania: J. Mike Steele.
- From the University of Frankfurt, Germany: Henning Sulzbach.
- From Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona: Gabor Lugosi.
- From Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris: Nicolas Curien.
- From Université Paris VI: Thomas Duquesne.
- From École Polytechnique, Paris: Amandine Veber.
- From the University of Leiden and CWI Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Markus Heydenreich.
- From the University of Toronto: Balász Szegedy.
- From Carleton University, Ottawa: Vida Dujmovic.
- From INRIA, Versailles: Nicolas Broutin, Cecilia Holmgren.
- From McGill University: Luc Devroye, Omar Fawzi, Nicolas Fraiman, Linda Farczadi.
Program
Please plan to arrive on Sunday March 6th and leave on Friday the 11th.
Each morning, there will be a talk. The idea of the talks is to get the other participants interested in an active area of research with lots of open questions. If you are interested in being one of the speakers, please let us know.
On Monday after the talk, there will be a problem session. All participants are encouraged to bring one, especially those who already have a doctorate. I remind that the backgrounds of the participants are diverse, and the problem should come with the relevant details/literature/background. If we are not finished by lunch time, then we will continue in the afternoon.
For the remainder of the week we will try to solve the open problems!
Food. Breakfasts and Dinners are provided, at a reasonable cost (at least compared to the nearby alternatives). Vegetarian and Pescetarian options are available, please let me know if you need one. Historically, the vegetarian options at Bellairs are often unspectacular, so those of us going for Veg. alternatives may decide to supplement our dinners with more interesting fare from the local supermarket. The meat and fish dinners are usually very good.
In past years we have bought lunches from a lunch van that comes around, or from one of a couple of local lunch shacks. There is also a kitchen and a nearby (15 minute walk) supermarket so in principle one can make one's own lunches.
We usually leave Wednesday afternoon free and a variety of excursions occur. Last year some people hiked around north point, and others went out to see turtles.
Location
The workshop takes place at McGill University's Bellairs Institute in Holetown, Barbados, on the west side of the island. Google maps. It can be reached from Grantley Adams airport in about 40 minutes by taxi (58 Barbados dollars, or 29 US dollars) and in about 100 minutes by city bus (1.50 Barbados dollars). Bus info: at the airport, go across the parking lot to the main road, and take a bus traveling to the east (left, with back to airport). Buses marked Speightstown pass by Bellairs. Buses marked Bridgetown are also fine, but then a change of bus is necessary in Bridgetown itself, at the bus terminal.
Barbadopedia
Barbados is safe.
US currency can be used at the rate of two Barbados dollars for one US dollar. There are plenty of ATM machines all over the island (including in the departure area of the airport) that have access to the major banks in North America. All major US and Canadian bank cards work fine.
Bring mosquito repellant. There are (infrequent) outbreaks of dengue fever, so check ahead of time. In the recent past, dengue has not been a problem.
There are computers on campus with access to the internet. Bellairs is fully covered by a wireless network called Bellairs or Bellair's. There is a 15USD (weekly) charge for the use of this network.
Accommodation
The accommodation is basic but very charming. The rates vary per room (basic rooms (32 USD/person), newer apartments (45 USD/person), and rooms in Seabourne House). The organizers will assign the rooms according to some secret optimization algorithm.
Food is not included in these rates.
Finally, this document (PDF) contains a description of the house rules of the Institute.