Participant Testimonials
It was a very successful half-workshop. We got everything out of it we hoped for. The mixing of the two groups - combinatorial matrix theory/ other matrix theory AND Communication Complexity couldn't have gone better. The mixing was great, and we had a very congenial/open bunch of people. We had time to collaborate and work on some problems of interest to all. There were 6 young researchers at the workshop and the workshop should have a substantial impact on their research and development. Thanks so much for your support!
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Let me echo Richard's words on the workshop last week. Both the format of the workshop and the group assembled worked very well together. It truly was an effective event. Many thanks to you and to the BIRS staff... First rate in my mind.
The workshop was highly successful in bringing together researchers in combinatorial matrix theory and communication complexity to extend results on minimum rank of matrices described by a +- pattern. Two groups of collaborators have begun work and made some progress.
It was a great workshop. I learned a great deal of new material related to my current research, and I had an opportunity to meet and work with active researchers in communication complexity and matrix theory. The most exciting (at the same time, most challenging) part of the workshop was a group project. Each participant was put into a group and worked together with other group members. Our group had wonderful chemistry among members, and the group made some interesting progress on sign ranks of a particular kind of matrices, which can give some impact on the study of communication complexity. The group project will be further investigated, and it could result in a joint research paper. I am a junior faculty member at a teaching institution. The workshop participation and related activities will be put into a tenure application package. The new material that I learned from the workshop also will be used to develop research projects for undergraduate students at my institution. I would like to thank BIRS and the organizers for this awesome workshop. I am looking forward to participating some other workshops at BIRS.
Mathematics and Statistics, Minnesota State University
My participation in the workshop on the Theory and Applications of Matrices described by Patterns has broadened my research interests and created new research collaborations. One of the goals of the workshop was to bring together researchers from the somewhat related but distinct areas of minimum rank and communication complexity. This was highly successful, and during the workshop, research groups were formed consisting of people from each of these areas. Problems were posed for each of these groups to consider, research was initiated, and I expect that these collaborations will continue and hopefully result in published papers. The BIRS staff, especially Brenda, was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. The facilities (meeting rooms, bedrooms, computer facilities) were excellent. The food was absolutely first class.
... I would like to thank BIRS for hosting our half workshop this past week. It was most successful and we believe that it fostered many new collaborations, particularly between researchers in matrix theory and those interested in communication complexity. At first it was hard for us to prune the list of participants to 22, but as we ran it in a true workshop style (with about 2 days set aside for research in groups), we came to believe that this number was ideal. As usual the facilities at BIRS were excellent, with Brenda and the other folk going out of their way to help us.
Mathematics & Statistics, University of Victoria
