IPA Herfstdagen

Conference center Willibrordhaeghe, Deurne,
November 26-30, 2007

For the period 2007-2012, IPA has chosen five focus areas where it expects important developments in the field in the near future. Each year the Herfstdagen will be dedicated to one of these areas, starting with the focus area

"Beyond Turing"

The future challenges of computing require new concepts that are no longer adequately modeled by the classical Turing machine paradigm. Systems become increasingly interactive with their environment and learn and adapt, consist increasingly of autonomous and even mobile components that self-configure and operate by own mechanisms, control rather than compute and are always on, and they must deal with ever more complex contexts and masses of data. Moreover, the notion of computing is no longer exclusively used for artificial gadgets only. Biologists frequently speak of living cells as complex information processing systems and even ‘swarms’ of living organisms are sometimes said to have a collective intelligence akin to computational systems. Also in other sciences, processes are increasingly understood in novel computational terms.

The new forms of ‘non-classical’ computing that manifest themselves lead us to explore the limits of what the Turing machine models allows us to do and often lead us beyond it. Even in traditional applications, the existing theory is often not sufficient. The reason is that modern computing systems, if they aren’t already following the new paradigms, do not just have an unbounded uniform memory but in fact a whole memory hierarchy with non-uniform access costs. To obtain the best performance, the hierarchical nature of the memory should be taken into account in both the design and the analysis of algorithms, which is normally not done in traditional theory. New computational principles as in quantum computation may revolutionize computers in the future and require entirely new approaches to efficient computation and complexity theory as well.

The paradigm shift away from classical Turing machine-based computational to newer paradigms corresponds to a shift in thinking about computation. The future models are non-uniform, learn and adapt, and are operating on the basis of algorithmic mechanisms rather than deterministic control. The behavior is emergent from their many parts instead of from a central machine. The underlying network structures fluctuate by ‘link-free’ connections based on proximity or negotiation. The principles of these adaptive structures and algorithms are much less understood than those of (dynamic) discrete algorithms and use new ideas from many sources, ranging from the theory of evolving systems to notions from economic games and market-oriented programming. The many developments in novel processing structures and principles and new complexity measures like energy, transcend the current theories of computation.

Program

This year's Herfstdagen aim to bring researchers from in and around IPA together, for an overview of current research in the focus area. The contributions to the program are clustered in three main themes, each presenting a different shift away from the classical paradigm: alternative computational models, interacting algorithmic systems, and evolving algorithmic systems. The program is composed by Emile Aarts (Philips Research, TU/e), Mark de Berg (IPA, TU/e), Harry Buhrman (CWI, UvA), Walter Kosters (UL), Jan van Leeuwen (UU), and Han La Poutré (CWI,TU/e).

Monday November 26

11.00-12.30 Arrival

12.30-14.00 Lunch

Introduction

14.00-14.30 Mark de Berg (IPA): Introduction to the Herfstdagen Slides

Alternative computational models I

14.30-15.15 Ronald de Wolf (CWI): Introduction to quantum computing Abstract Paper

15.15-16.00 Stephanie Wehner (CWI): Uncertainty relations and quantum cryptography Abstract

16.00-16.30 Coffee Break

16.30-17.15 Falk Unger (CWI): Noisy classical and quantum computation Abstract

17.15-18.00 Wim Hesselink (RuG): Computing with Kekulé cells - molecular switches Abstract Slides Paper

17.30-18.30 Snacks

19.00 Dinner


Tuesday November 27

Interacting algorithmic systems I

09.00-09.45 Natasa Jovanovic (Philips Research): Geometric algorithms for interactive game tables Abstract

09.45-10.30 Mauro Barbieri (Philips Research): Extracting the essence of video: generating automatic video previews and summaries Abstract Slides

10.30-11.00 Coffee Break

11.00-11.45 Bettina Speckmann (TU/e): Algorithms for mobile data Abstract

11.45-12.30 Mohammad Abam (TU/e): Kinetic collision detection for balls moving on a plane / Out-of-order event processing in kinetic data structures Abstract

12.30-14.00 Lunch

Invited talk

14.00-15.00 Jiri Wiedermann (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic): The universality of amorphous computing Abstract Slides Paper

15.00-15.30 Coffee Break

Interacting algorithmic systems II

15.30-16.15 Gijs Geleijnse (Philips Research): Web information extraction using a search engine Abstract Slides

16.15-17.00 Dragan Sekulovski (Philips Research): Algorithms for ambient lighting Abstract

17.30-18.30 Snacks

19.00 Dinner


Wednesday November 28

Evolving algorithmic systems I

09.00-09.45 Michael Emmerich (UL): Multi-criterion parameter tuning Abstract

09.45-10.30 Rui Li (UL): Application of parameter tuning in medical image analysis Abstract

10.30-11.00 Coffee Break

11.00-12.30 Jeroen Eggermont (LUMC): Genetic programming Abstract Handout

12.30-14.00 Lunch

14.00-15.00 Michael Emmerich & Rui Li: Lab session on automatic programming of sorting networks Abstract

During this lab session, participants are invited to work out a number of excercises using software tools developed by the lecturers. Bring your laptop!

15.00-15.30 Coffee Break

Open session

15.00-17.00 Open session (organized by the IPA PhD-council)

PhD-students who want to give a short presentation about their work, can contact Arie Middelkoop of the IPA PhD-council.

17.30-18.30 Snacks

19.00 Dinner


Thursday November 29

Interacting algorithmic systems III

09.00-09.45 Valentin Robu (CWI): Using graphical utility models for multi-issue bargaining, tagging and preference elicitation Abstract

09.45-10.30 Ivan Vermeulen (CWI): Distributed and dynamic patient scheduling in hospitals Abstract

10.30-11.00 Coffee Break

11.00-11.45 Peter Bosman (CWI): Evolutionary algorithms for online optimization Slides

11.00-12.30 Johan Kwisthout (UU): Beyond NP - The complexity of uncertainty Abstract Paper

12.30-14.00 Lunch

Invited talk

14.00-15.00 Jan Vahrenhold (Dortmund): (Some) Techniques for handling massive data Sets Abstract Slides

15.00-15.30 Coffee Break

Alternative computational Models II

15.30-16.15 Herman Haverkort (TU/e): I/O-efficient graph algorithms Abstract Slides

16.15-17.00 Mark de Berg (TU/e): Cache-oblivious algorithms Abstract Slides

17.30-18.30 Snacks

19.00 Dinner

20.30 Social event


Friday November 30

Evolving algorithmic systems II

09.45-10.30 Han La Poutré (CWI): Robust simulation of markets using evolutionary algorithms

10.30-11.00 Coffee Break

Interacting algorithmic systems IV

11.00-11.45 Erik Jan van Leeuwen (CWI): Approximating geometric coverage problems in wireless sensor networks Abstract

11.45-12.30 Hans Bodlaender (UU): Max flow in wireless sensor networks with energy constraints Abstract Slides

12.30-14.00 Lunch and departure


Costs

(Costs are based on single room)

IPA Ph.D. students free (shared room only!)
Speakers free
IPA members5 days euro 535,-
1 day euro 107,-
Associated members5 days euro 670,-
1 day euro 134,-
Other participants5 days euro 856,-
1 day euro 171,-

Please note that Ph.D. students who are not in IPA will be charged as associated members if they belong to a research school that is associated with IPA (such as ASCI, SIKS, OZSL, and DISC) and as an other participant otherwise.

To make maximal use of the available capacity, we process applications on the following basis: Registrations are treated "first come, first serve". All Ph.D. students (IPA and non-IPA) have to share a room. Others may also be asked to share if we run out of rooms. Registration closes on Monday November 12!

Please remit the amount due, to our bank account with the ABN/AMRO. Account number: 60.27.60.690, in the name of V.A.J. Borghuis, Den Dolech 2, 5600 AM Eindhoven. Please mention participation "IPA Herfstdagen 2007".


Registration

Please register using the Registration Form under the link (registration deadline extended to November 16).

How to get to Conference Hotel Willibrordhaeghe

By car

See the website of Willibrordhaeghe, click on "Contact/Route".

By train

You can travel to Deurne railway station by taking a train in the direction Eindhoven-Venlo.

How to reach the hotel after arrival in Deurne
In Deurne, you have to go to the bus stop next to the railway station . There you take line 467 in the direction Someren. You have to get out pretty soon, after approx. 10 minutes, at Vlierdenseweg 109, which is opposite the Conference hotel Willibrordhaeghe (ask the driver). Another option is to take a taxi from Deurne railway station to Willibrordhaeghe (approx. 5 minutes, 8 euros), in case you have to wait too long for the bus.

Bus details
Costs for an one way ticket: 1,60 euro
Bus time schedule for Mondays till Fridays, leaving from the Deurne station at:
07.56 am
09.26 am
10.56 am
12.26 pm
13.56 pm
15.26 pm
16.56 pm
18.26 pm

Taxi details
If there are no taxis around you can call ALPTAX-DEURNE: 0493-313131 to order one. Tip: share a taxi with other participants.

Train ticket special
Conference hotel Willibrordhaeghe is offering a special service for traveling by train. You can order a two way ticket (valid during more days) directly at the hotel for only 19,60 euro, which can be worthwhile when you come from an “IPA-city” further away from Deurne than Eindhoven. Please note: you can only take advantage of this offer at least 2 weeks before arrival! You order and pay your train ticket directly to the hotel and they will send you your ticket. To order a ticket, send an email with your name, date of arrival, and date of departure, mentioning your participation in the IPA Herfstdagen, to info@willibrordhaeghe.nl.