NEWS
2001/2002
Issue No 11
2001 SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
Workshop on Algebraic Graph Theory
9–13
July 2001
Scientific Organising Committee: Dragos Cvetkovic (Belgrade)
Willem Haemers (Tilburg)
Peter Rowlinson (Stirling)
Supported by:
The European Commission (Framework 5)
The London Mathematical Society
The British Combinatorial Committee
The lectures by the nine invited speakers reflected the advances in algebraic graph theory since the first ICMS workshop on this topic in 1993. The 2001 workshop attracted 68 participants from 21 countries, and on this occasion, the chosen area of application was mathematical chemistry. Accordingly there were a few chemists among the mathematicians and computer scientists who attended, and the meeting provided a good opportunity for interdisciplinary discussion. In particular, there was substantial interest in the extent to which properties of the new fullerenes can be determined from algebraic properties of the underlying graph. For example, the disposition of pentagons in the molecular structure of fullerene is largely determined by the eigenvalues of the corresponding graph and its vertex-deleted subgraphs.
Algebraic graph theorists work in small and widely scattered groups, and so a forum for the face-to-face exchange of ideas was especially welcome. Delegates were able to learn at first hand of new algebraic techniques such as the matrix transfer method of calculating certain chromatic polynomials, and the star complement technique for constructing and characterising graphs. The latter technique has recently been used to complete the description of all graphs with least eigenvalue -2. Other topics included generalisations of distance-regularity, and the interplay between algebraic and topological invariants of a graph. The continuing role of computer investigations was also reviewed. An encouraging feature of the workshop was the presence of 15 younger EU researchers, most of whom contributed short talks. At the time of writing, papers presented at the conference are being refereed; those that are accepted will appear in a special issue of Linear Algebra and its Applications scheduled for publication late in 2002.
The invited talks were as follows:
| N L Biggs | Algebraic methods for chromatic polynomials |
| P J Cameron | Strongly regular graphs: from scarcity to plenty |
| D Cvetkovic | Graphs with least eigenvalue -2 |
| P W Fowler | Eigenvalues at work in chemistry: fullerenes as graphs and molecules |
| M A Fiol | Spectral bounds and distance- regularity |
| W Haemers | Which graphs are determined by their spectra? |
| P Hansen | Computers and discovery in graph theory |
| B Mohar | Minor monotone spectral invariants of graphs |
| B Shader | Spectra of Tournaments |
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Participants:
Abreu, Nair – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Andren, Daniel – Umea University
Arad, Zvi – Bar Ilan University
Asciak, Kevin – University of Malta
Bartolone, Claudio – University of Palermo
Bell, Francis – University of Stirling
Bielak, Halina – Institute of Mathematics, UMCS
Biggs, Norman – London School of Economics
Biyikoglu, Tuerker – University of Vienna
Bokal, Drago – University of Ljubljana
Brouwer, Andries – Eindhoven University of Technology
Cameron, Peter – Queen Mary, University of London
Cara, Phillipe – Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Caughman, John – Portland State University
Ceccherini, Pier Vittorio – Universita di Roma ‘La Sapienza’
Cerf, Corinne – Université Libre de Bruxelles
Chebotarev, Pavel – Russian Academy of Sciences
Creagh, Nicholas – University of Edinburgh
Cvetkovic, Dragos – University of Belgrade
Doob, Michael – University of Manitoba
Fiol, Miquel Angel – Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Fowler, Patrick – University of Exeter
Gacs, Andras – ELTE Budapest
Gauci, Cettina – University of Malta
Gorgol, Izolda – Techincal University of Lublin
Haemers, Willem – Tilburg University
Hansen, Pierre – Ecole de Haute Etudes Commerciales
Hellstrom, Lars – Umea University
Hobart, Sylvia – University of Wyoming
Johnston, Des – Heriot-Watt University
Jorgensen, Lief – Aalborg University
Katriel, Jacob – Rutgers University
King, R. Bruce – University of Georgia
Kirby, Edward – Resource Use Institute
Klin, Mikhail – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Korczynski, Waldemar – Akademia Swietokrzyska
Kovacs, Istvan – University of Pecs (PTE)
Kuijken, Elisabeth – Ghent University
Lang, Michael – University of Wisconsin
Lepovic, Mirko – Institute of Mathematics
Lijnen, Erwin – KU Leuven
Lundow, Per Haken – Umea University
Maldonado, Ana Carolina – National University of Cordoba
Markstrom, Klas – Umea University
Mitchell, Jane – Open University
Mitjana, Margarida – Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Mohar, Bojan – University of Ljubljana
Mojdeh, Doostali – University of Mazandaran
Muzychuk, Mikhail – Netanya Academic College
Noy, Marc – Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Olesky, Dale – University of Victoria
Oliveira, Carla – Escola Nacional de Ciencias Estatisticas
Pejic, Snezana – London School of Economics
Prince, Alan – Heriot-Watt University
Reinfeld, Philipp – London School of Economics
Richmond, Nicola – Unilever Research Port Sunlight
Rowlinson, Peter – University of Stirling
Sciriha, Irene – University of Malta
Shader, Bryan – University of Wyoming
Stevanovic, Dragan – University of Nis
Sziklai, Peter – Eovtos University
Taylor, Keith – University of Saskatchewan
Terwilliger, Paul – University of Wisconsin
Vaccaro, Maria Alessandra – University of Palermo
van Dam, Edwin – Tilburg University
van den Driessche, Pauline – University of Victoria
Whitty, Robin – South Bank University
Wolff, Nadine – Portland State University
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