Participant Testimonials
The meeting was very revealing, and gave me quite a number of new directions to think about. Also, I found all talks interesting, and almost all very well presented -- which is to say that the organisers made a very good selection ! The visit was thus extremely fruitful
First, the workshop gave me a chance to catch up with some of the latest interesting developments in the field. And second, it gave me a chance to talk closely with a couple of colleagues I have been wanting to bounce some ideas off of. I am optimistic that at least one of those discussions (one with Rafe Jones, another with Par Kurlberg) may lead to further developments. Third, I was newly inspired by some of the questions about expected cycle lengths and orbit structures in generic rational functions over finite fields. I have thought about some of these questions before, but the workshop gave me new ideas and insights, not to mention renewed enthusiasm for some of these questions.
Thank you for a great scientific experience and a very well organized and pleasant stay.
This conference was quite unique in my experience so far: The topic is perhaps a relatively new (emerging?) topic, and not yet crystallized: most people felt as if they approached the topic "from the side" i.e. that they were approaching the topic from "their" field. This meant that at this conference you found quite a diversity of backgrounds, but all of them interested in the topic at hand. I found this to be very stimulating: the diversity of type of questions, approaches, and knowledge was as refreshing as freshly pressed cool orange juice!
It was wonderful. I have never come back from a conference feeling so excited about opportunities for new research directions. I am very grateful to the organizers. The environment at BIRS also made it a very pleasant experience.
The week I stayed at Birs for this workshop was excellent. The organizers did a very good job, inviting researchers who are active in the wide area of dynamical systems on finite fields (and beyond). The talks were very stimulating and "inspiring creativity", as Banff Centre aims to be. Nevertheless, the accommodation, the weather and the landscape were wonderful and all these elements made the workshop even more successful.
This area of research is new, interdisciplinary, and rapidly evolving, and this timely workshop provided a unique overview of it, thanks to the skills and complementary interests of the organizers. It was BIRS at its best: plenty of interactions, high standard of presentations, and miraculous weather.
I met with coauthors and finished a paper. I learned a few new things but it is too early to tell their impact on my research. I met some people who might be interesting job candidates in the future. I really enjoyed the meeting. Nice talks, nice people, nice weather.
As a senior researcher, I know most scientists (except for newcomers) at most conferences that I attend. This workshop was different. The organizers have put together an interesting group of people working on related problems but from very different directions, many of whom I had not met before. I saw many interesting problems and perspectives. In fact, I will study some of the problems that were posed at the workshop. Several colleagues commented to me along the same lines. Great applause to the organizers for putting together an unusual and highly successful list of participants.
Computer Security, B-IT, University of Bonn, Germany
The workshop brought together researchers from two different areas, finite fields and dynamical systems. I expect many fruitful scientific cooperations between people coming from these areas. Personally, I got several new ideas for future research and met new people who may become co-authors soon. An invitation to esteemed research institutes as Banff, Oberwolfach, ... is always an honor and a plus in any CV. Moreover, I had the opportunity to meet co-authors to discuss running projects and organizing workshops.
RICAM, Austrian Academy of Sciences
