Re: [theory students] Theory Lunch and TCS+ NOON TOMORROW (Avi Wigderson)

[Benjamin Miller <bmiller@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Just a reminder that TCS+ and theory lunch are happening tomorrow at noon in 4331. See you there!

Benjamin

On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 1:55 PM, Benjamin Miller <bmiller@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi all,

Welcome back! Wednesday, 1/31, at noon Avi Wigderson will be giving a TCS+ talk on "Optimization, Complexity and Math (through the lens of one problem and one algorithm)". (Abstract below.)

We'll meet in 4331 to listen. As usual, bring your lunch, and stick around after to chat. See you there!

Benjamin

Title: Optimization, Complexity and Math (through the lens of one problem and one algorithm) Abstract: In this lecture, we introduce and motivate the main characters in this plot: - Singularity of symbolic matrices: a basic problem in both computational complexity. - Alternating Minimization: a basic heuristic in non-convex optimization. I will explain how variants of this algorithm are applied to variants of this problem, how they are analyzed, and how the analysis gives rise to problems in and connections between a surprisingly diverse set of mathematical areas, including quantum information theory, non-commutative algebra and invariant theory, and analysis. Time permitting, we will discuss challenges this work raises in invariant theory and non-convex optimization.