Here’s a question: what do Google and cell phones have in common? The answer: both are information technologies that are rapidly changing the way we live our lives and are only made possible by algorithms, or computing recipes, with close connections to problems in physics. Researchers at the cutting edge of computer science, information theory, and physics will meet at The Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa in Santa Fe, on May 1-4, to attempt to harness the power of these physics connections for a new generation of information technologies.
“Statistical physics explains how a large number of very simple components can collectively produce something very complex, such as the display screen on your laptop," said Michael Chertkov, chair of the meeting's organizing committee. “Scientists are increasingly turning to statistical physics methods to solve the computing challenges of the next decade. One of the biggest challenges, for example, is how to transmit information efficiently and reliably.”
To develop the fundamental techniques that could make new information technologies possible, the workshop will bring together leading scientists from around the world, including experts in theoretical physics, coding theory, computational complexity, and artificial intelligence.
According to Los Alamos scientist Anders Hansson, one of the meeting's organizers, “Traditional information theory describes the best possible solution to these problems, but does not give us algorithms to find the solution efficiently. Physics helps us with that, allowing us to attack much harder problems than ever before.”
“These fields have very similar optimization problems but vastly different techniques for solving them," said Allon Percus, a Los Alamos scientist and former associate director of the National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA. Percus is another of the meeting's organizers. “The breakthrough idea is that we are finally discovering the right way to combine the techniques and the impact could be enormous, from universal wireless communication to preventive medicine.”
The "Algorithms, Inference, and Statistical Physics" workshop is sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory's Center for Nonlinear Studies and the Department of Energy's Advanced Scientific Computing Research program. More information about the conference is available online at http://cnls.lanl.gov/AISP
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.