Computer Science Distinguished Lecture

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Date/Time:Thursday, 04 Sep 2014 at 3:40 pm
Location:Alliant Energy Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall
Cost:Free
Phone:515-294-4377
Channel:College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Categories:Lectures
Actions:Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder
"Why the Life Sciences Are Different," Bernard Chazelle, Princeton University.

Bio
Bernard Chazelle is Eugene Higgins Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, where he has been on the faculty since 1986. He is currently a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He has held research and faculty positions at Carnegie-Mellon University, Brown University, Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Normale Superieure, University of Paris, INRIA, Xerox Parc, DEC SRC, and NEC Research, where he was a Fellow for many years. He received his Ph.D in computer science from Yale University in 1980. The author of the book, "The Discrepancy Method," he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipients of several awards from the SIAM organization.


Abstract
Just as physics speaks the language of mathematics, the life sciences speak the language of algorithms. The difference lies in the high descriptive complexity of the systems commonly found in social and biological organisms. While history plays a minor role in physics, it is the distinguishing feature of the living world. Algorithms provide not only the expressivity needed to model complex living systems but also the analytical tools for their analyses. This (self-contained) talk will discuss the power of "natural algorithms" through the lens of "influence systems," a broad family of high-dimensional dynamical systems for which algorithmic tools can do what differential equations cannot.