Tue 14 May 14:00: Perfect Zero-Knowledge PCPs for #P
A probabilistically checkable proof (PCP) is a proof which can be verified by inspecting a small (usually constant) number of symbols from the proof. Informally, we say a PCP is zero-knowledge if no polynomial time algorithm with oracle access to the proof can learn anything more than the validity of the proof.
We construct a perfect zero-knowledge PCP for the language #P. Our construction is the first construction of a perfect zero-knowledge PCP for a language (believed to be) outside BPP . We achieve this result unconditionally, and don’t require any cryptographic assumptions.
Our construction relies on both algebraic and combinatorial techniques, including Reed-Muller codes and the combinatorial nullstellensatz. No background in zero knowledge will be assumed for the talk. (Joint work with Tom Gur and Nicholas Spooner: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.11941)
- Speaker: Jack O'Connor (University of Cambridge)
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building, Room SS03.
- Series: Algorithms and Complexity Seminar; organiser: Tom Gur.
Fri 08 Nov 13:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Speaker to be confirmed
- Friday 08 November 2024, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: SS03, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Fri 07 Jun 12:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Speaker to be confirmed
- Friday 07 June 2024, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: SS03, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: NLIP Seminar Series; organiser: Richard Diehl Martinez.
Fri 31 May 13:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Andres Arcia-Moret, AMD - former researcher at UCAM
- Friday 31 May 2024, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: GN06, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Fri 24 May 14:00: EQUALITY-BASED FORMULATION FOR NON-SMOOTH VIBRATING SYSTEMS
A new approach is presented for the vibration of non-smooth structural systems with dry friction and unilateral contact. These nonlinearities are ubiquitous in engineering, and turbomachinery rotors are a prime example of industrial systems subject to a variety of intermittent contact and frictional occurrences. While non-smooth nonlinearities are commonly expressed as a complementarity system of equalities and inequalities, the key idea here is to formulate them as non-smooth equality-only conditions, which together with the equations of motion are then satisfied in a weak integral sense through a weighted residual formulation. The resulting algebraic nonlinear equations are solved numerically using an adapted trust region nonlinear solver and basic integral quadrature schemes. The approach is developed for one-dimensional friction, extended to two-dimensional friction and contact, and applied to the fir-tree blade attachment of a helicopter engine bladed disk. The method is shown to be compact, effective, and computationally efficient. Periodic solutions with intricate sticking, sliding and separation phases are found with a high degree of accuracy for large numbers of Fourier harmonics. Importantly, the equality-based formulation does not suffer from the typical limitations or hypotheses of existing frequency-time domain methods for non-smooth systems, such as regularization, penalization, or massless frictional interfaces.
- Speaker: Prof. Christopher Pierre, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Friday 24 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Department of Engineering - LT6.
- Series: Engineering - Mechanics Colloquia Research Seminars; organiser: div-c.
Thu 06 Jun 14:00: TBA
TBA
- Speaker: Chaker Larabi, Université de Poitiers
- Thursday 06 June 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: SS03 - William Gates Building.
- Series: Rainbow Group Seminars; organiser: Rafal Mantiuk.
Wed 22 May 15:00: RNA Collaborative Seminar Series special event
Dr. Ana Tufegdžić Vidaković Ubiquitin-mediated control of RNA polymerase II at the onset of the transcription cycle
Dr. Kostas Tzelepis Therapeutic targeting of RNA and its modifications
- Speaker: Dr. Ana Tufegdžić Vidaković (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge), Dr. Kostas Tzelepis (Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, University of Cambridge)
- Wednesday 22 May 2024, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Online (ZOOM) - registration required https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eaqHg_fsRg2TKgTXLT2Akw.
- Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: .
Thu 20 Jun 17:00: Cambridge RNA Club - June session IN PERSON
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Dr. Damiano Mangoni (Italian Institute of Technology). Second speaker to be confirmed.
- Thursday 20 June 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: Gurdon Institute Tea Room - RNA Club.
- Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: .
Thu 23 May 17:00: Cambridge RNA Club - May session IN PERSON
Dr. Joanna Krupka (Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge) title to be confirmed
Dr. Jeremy Sanford (UC Santa Cruz, USA ) CURE-ing aberrant pre-mRNA splicing
- Speaker: Dr. Joanna Krupka (Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge) and Dr. Jeremy Sanford (UC Santa Cruz, USA)
- Thursday 23 May 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: Gurdon Institute Tea Room - RNA Club.
- Series: Cambridge RNA Club; organiser: .
Wed 15 May 14:00: Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes
Antarctic sea ice extent has been anomalously low since 2016, and reached extreme circumpolar minima in 2022/23. The causes of this change are the subject of lively scientific debate, including the relative roles of atmospheric and ocean processes in modulating sea ice evolution. The role of the ocean is particularly challenging to address due to the lack of sustained oceanographic data under the ice. Here, we examine the ocean’s response and potential role in the extreme sea ice minima using data collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program and BAS along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region has undergone dramatic change during many decades, including atmospheric and deep ocean warming, glacier retreat, and sea ice loss even prior to the most recent minima. Our observations show the extreme sea ice minimum followed after sustained wind anomalies that modulate ice advection, and occurred as the upper ocean stratification that typically prevents the ventilation of warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the surface broke down. We also show that this event reverted decades of upper-ocean change along the WAP .
- Speaker: Carlos Moffat, University of Delaware
- Wednesday 15 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: BAS Seminar Room 1; https://bas-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/91447634407.
- Series: British Antarctic Survey - Polar Oceans seminar series; organiser: Dr Birgit Rogalla.
Tue 14 May 10:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Phil Engel, University of Bonn
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 10:00-11:00
- Venue: CMS MR4.
- Series: Algebraic Geometry Seminar; organiser: Dhruv Ranganathan.
Wed 15 May 14:00: Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes
Antarctic sea ice extent has been anomalously low since 2016, and reached extreme circumpolar minima in 2022/23. The causes of this change are the subject of lively scientific debate, including the relative roles of atmospheric and ocean processes in modulating sea ice evolution. The role of the ocean is particularly challenging to address due to the lack of sustained oceanographic data under the ice. Here, we examine the ocean’s response and potential role in the extreme sea ice minima using data collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program and BAS along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region has undergone dramatic change during many decades, including atmospheric and deep ocean warming, glacier retreat, and sea ice loss even prior to the most recent minima. Our observations show the extreme sea ice minimum followed after sustained wind anomalies that modulate ice advection, and occurred as the upper ocean stratification that typically prevents the ventilation of warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the surface broke down. We also show that this event reverted decades of upper-ocean change along the WAP .
- Speaker: Carlos Moffat, University of Delaware
- Wednesday 15 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: BAS Seminar Room 1; zoom.
- Series: British Antarctic Survey - Polar Oceans seminar series; organiser: Dr Birgit Rogalla.
Wed 05 Jun 16:30: Statistics Clinic Easter 2024 IV
This free event is open only to members of the University of Cambridge (and affiliated institutes). Please be aware that we are unable to offer consultations outside clinic hours.
If you would like to participate, please sign up as we will not be able to offer a consultation otherwise. Please sign up through the following link: https://forms.gle/1vhZCfGJH9QTcjPE8. Sign-up is possible from May 30th midday until June 3rd midday or until we reach full capacity, whichever is earlier. If you successfully signed up, we will confirm your appointment by June 5th midday.
- Speaker: MR12 at the CMS
- Wednesday 05 June 2024, 16:30-18:00
- Venue: MR12.
- Series: Cambridge Statistics Clinic; organiser: Manuel Müller.
Fri 10 May 13:00: Automated Fact-Checking of Climate Change Claims with Large Language Models
This talk introduces Climinator, a novel AI-based tool designed to automate the fact-checking of climate change claims. Utilizing an array of Large Language Models (LLMs) informed by authoritative sources like the IPCC reports and peer-reviewed scientific literature, Climinator employs an innovative Mediator-Advocate framework. This design allows Climinator to effectively synthesize varying scientific perspectives, leading to robust, evidence-based evaluations. Our model demonstrates remarkable accuracy when testing claims collected from Climate Feedback and Skeptical Science.
Notably, when integrating an advocate with a climate science denial perspective in our framework, Climinator’s iterative debate process reliably converges towards scientific consensus, underscoring its adeptness at reconciling diverse viewpoints into science-based, factual conclusions. While our research is subject to certain limitations and necessitates careful interpretation, our approach holds significant potential. We hope to stimulate further research and encourage exploring its applicability in other contexts, including political fact-checking and legal domains.
Bio:
Dominik Stammbach just recently finished his PhD in Natural Language Processing at ETH Zurich and is an incoming postdoc at Princeton University in Fall 2024. Dominik’s research interests include developing NLP methods which can be applied in the context of misinformation, online safety and developing methods at the intersection NLP and climate change. Among others, he wants to detect company greenwashing, the practice of companies making generic, misleading or false claims to boost their environmental credentials.
- Speaker: Dominik Stammbach, ETH Zurich
- Friday 10 May 2024, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Room FW11 at CL or William Gates Building or on Zoom: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: NLIP Seminar Series; organiser: lyr24.
Fri 10 May 13:00: Automated Fact-Checking of Climate Change Claims with Large Language Models
This talk introduces Climinator, a novel AI-based tool designed to automate the fact-checking of climate change claims. Utilizing an array of Large Language Models (LLMs) informed by authoritative sources like the IPCC reports and peer-reviewed scientific literature, Climinator employs an innovative Mediator-Advocate framework. This design allows Climinator to effectively synthesize varying scientific perspectives, leading to robust, evidence-based evaluations. Our model demonstrates remarkable accuracy when testing claims collected from Climate Feedback and Skeptical Science.
Notably, when integrating an advocate with a climate science denial perspective in our framework, Climinator’s iterative debate process reliably converges towards scientific consensus, underscoring its adeptness at reconciling diverse viewpoints into science-based, factual conclusions. While our research is subject to certain limitations and necessitates careful interpretation, our approach holds significant potential. We hope to stimulate further research and encourage exploring its applicability in other contexts, including political fact-checking and legal domains.
Bio:
Dominik Stammbach just recently finished his PhD in Natural Language Processing at ETH Zurich and is an incoming postdoc at Princeton University in Fall 2024. Dominik’s research interests include developing NLP methods which can be applied in the context of misinformation, online safety and developing methods at the intersection NLP and climate change. Among others, he wants to detect company greenwashing, the practice of companies making generic, misleading or false claims to boost their environmental credentials.
- Speaker: Dominik Stammbach, ETH Zürich
- Friday 10 May 2024, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: FW11, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Fri 24 May 13:00: SOPEVS: Sizing and Operation of PV-EV-Integrated Modern Homes
We address a problem that arises at the confluence of three recent trends: the popularity of storage-coupled photovoltaic (PV) systems amongst homeowners, the rapid proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) with potential for bidirectional energy storage within PV-enabled single-family homes, and third, the surge in remote working accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, we explore the joint optimal sizing and operation of domestic homes while accounting for different degrees of remote working and the impact of home energy management system (HEMS) operation preferences. This task is complex due to the coupling between sizing and operation and the stochastic and non-stationary nature of solar generation, load, and EV drive cycles. We introduce SOPEVS (Sizing & Operation of PV and EV integrated Single-family homes), a novel framework formulated to tackle this multifaceted challenge. We use SOPEVS to investigate how commuting habits and choices in HEMS operation affect the sizing of domestic PV energy systems.
Our findings reveal that homeowners who predominantly work from home and possess bidirectional EVs can potentially eliminate the need for separate home storage systems, thereby substantially reducing overall system costs. We also find that configuring a HEMS to maximise charging through solar energy can achieve savings of up to 80% on total system expenditure (excluding the cost of EV), depending on the desired level of grid independence and the preferred State of Charge (SOC) of EV at the time of departure.Bio:
Anaïs Berkes is a first-year PhD Student and Gates Scholar in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge.
- Speaker: Anaïs Berkes - Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge
- Friday 24 May 2024, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: FW11, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Tue 14 May 14:30: Elliptic units for complex cubic fields
The elliptic Gamma function—an elliptic version of the ordinary Gamma function—is a meromorphic special function in three variables that mathematical physicists have shown to satisfy modular functional equations under SL(3, Z). In this talk I will present evidence (numerical and theoretical) that products of values of this function are often algebraic numbers that satisfy explicit reciprocity laws and are related to derivatives of Hecke L-functions of cubic fields at s = 0. We will discuss the relation to Stark’s conjectures and will see that this function conjecturally allows to extend the theory of complex multiplication to complex cubic fields as envisioned by Hilbert’s 12th problem. The talk will be based on arxiv:2311.04110 and is joint work with Nicolas Bergeron and Pierre Charollois.
- Speaker: Luis García (UCL)
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 14:30-15:30
- Venue: MR13.
- Series: Number Theory Seminar; organiser: Jef Laga.
Tue 21 May 11:30: ALPHA Experiment (Institute of Astronomy)
This seminar is organised by the Institute of Astronomy, and will take place at the Madingley road site.
- Speaker: Speaker to be confirmed
- Tuesday 21 May 2024, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Ryle Seminar Room.
- Series: Cavendish HEP Seminars; organiser: Dr Steve Dennis.
Mon 13 May 14:00: Quasinormal modes on asymptotically flat spacetimes
Quasinormal modes (QNMs) are damped oscillations that play an important role in the dynamics of perturbations of stationary black hole spacetimes. They are governed by frequencies that are characteristic to the black hole under consideration, much like how the overtones of a vibrating drumhead depend on its particular shape. Although extensively featured in the physics literature for over fifty years, a clear and broadly applicable mathematical definition of QNMs on asymptotically flat spacetimes has remained elusive. In this talk, I will briefly introduce initial attempts at defining QNMs and then I will present upcoming work (with C. Warnick) on the characterisation of QNMs on general stationary and asymptotically flat spacetimes.
- Speaker: Dejan Gajic (Leipzig)
- Monday 13 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR13.
- Series: Partial Differential Equations seminar; organiser: Dr Greg Taujanskas.
Fri 10 May 15:00: Battersea Power Station: Restoring an Icon
Abstract TBC
Speaker Bio:
Sam Youdan was an undergraduate in engineering at Cambridge from 2001-2005, and joined Buro Happold as a graduate engineer in January 2006. He is now a Director in the London Structures Team, and is a Fellow of the ICE .
Since 2012, Sam has been working on the Battersea Power Station project, where he led all the heritage and heavy refurbishment design and site works, including the successful dismantling and re-construction of the award-winning chimneys.
- Speaker: Sam Youdan, Buro Happold, UK
- Friday 10 May 2024, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: CivEng Seminar Room (1-33) (Civil Engineering Building).
- Series: Engineering Department Structures Research Seminars; organiser: Sam Cocking.