Combinatorics and Statistical Mechanics: Travel by U.S.-Based Researchers to the Newton Institute Special Program

近年来，在数学、计算机科学和统计物理之间出现了一个令人兴奋的新的交叉学科领域，它广泛地涉及到“图的概率论”或“图的统计力学”(或其他组合结构)的研究。这一新领域正吸引着国际上极大的兴趣，如组合学、概率和计算随机结构与算法等跨学科期刊的蓬勃发展就是例证。在组合学和统计力学中，相同的问题经常独立出现，尽管是以不同的形式出现，而且许多最近的进展来自于利用方法的交叉培养。艾萨克·牛顿数学科学研究所(剑桥大学，英国)将在2008年1月至6月举办一个为期6个月的组合学和统计力学项目。PI是这个跨学科项目的联合组织者之一。该项目的目的是汇集图论和组合学、统计力学、概率和计算机科学领域的专业知识，解决似乎已经成熟的未解决问题。另一个目标是通过在每个领域提供简短的辅导讲座并让他们与领先的研究人员保持密切联系来吸引研究型学生和博士后研究员。这是一种团体旅行补助金，旨在支持美国的研究人员参与，特别强调那些可能无法获得旅行和生存所需的替代资金来源的人：特别是年轻研究人员、妇女、少数群体和在小型学院工作的研究人员。

Recent years have seen the emergence of an exciting new interdisciplinary field situated in the area between mathematics, computer science and statistical physics, concerned broadly with the study of "probability theory on graphs"or "statistical mechanics on graphs" (or on other combinatorial structures). This new field is attracting a great deal of international interest, as exemplified by the flourishing of interdisciplinary journals such as _Combinatorics, Probability and Computing_ and _Random Structures and Algorithms_.Very frequently, identical problems arise independently in combinatorics and statistical mechanics, albeit in different guises, and much recent progress has come from exploiting the cross-fertilization of methods.The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge University, UK) will be holding a 6-month program on Combinatorics and Statistical Mechanics from January-June 2008.The PI is one of the co-organizers of this interdisciplinary program.The aims of this program are to bring together expertise in the areas of graph theory and combinatorics, statistical mechanics, probability and computer science to attack unsolved problems that seem ripe for solution.A further aim is attract research students and postdoctoral fellows by providing brief tutorial lectures in each field and by offering them close contact with leading researchers.This is a group travel grant aimed at supporting the participation of U.S.-based researchers, with special emphasis on those who may not have access to alternative funding sources for their travel andsubsistence: particularly young researchers, women, minorities, and researchers based at small colleges.