There has been significant progress over the last few years in the theory and applications of Reinforcement Learning (RL). While RL theory and applications have had a rich history going back several decades, the major recent successes have occurred due to a successful marriage between deep learning approaches for function approximation embedded within a reinforcement learning framework for decision-making (Deep RL). On one hand, there has been a richer understanding of Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) for non-convex optimization, its impact in driving training error to zero in deep neural networks, and on the generalization ability of such networks for inference. On the other hand, there has been an explosion of research on iterative learning algorithms with strong statistical guarantees in the settings of reinforcement learning, stochastic approximation and multi-armed bandits.

This workshop aims to bring leading researchers from these two threads, with the goal of understanding... (more)

The Women in Algebraic Combinatorics Research Community will bring together researchers at all stages of their careers in algebraic combinatorics, from both research and teaching-focused institutions, to work in groups of 4-6, each directed by a leading mathematician. The goals of this program are: to advance the frontiers of cutting-edge algebraic combinatorics, including through explicit computations and experimentation, and to strengthen the community of women working in algebraic combinatorics.

Successful applicants will be assigned to a group based on their research interests. The groups will work on open problems in algebraic combinatorics and closely related areas, including representation theory, special functions, and discrete geometry. Several of the proposed projects will extensively involve experimentation and computation, which will increase the likelihood that concrete progress is made over the course of the initial workshop and following 6 months, and provide useful... (more)

The adoption of D-module techniques has transformed the interface between commutative algebra and algebraic geometry over the last two decades. The discovery of interactions and parallels with the Frobenius morphism has been an impetus for many new results, including new invariants attached to singularities but also D- and F-module based algorithms for computing quantities that used to be unattainable.

Our goal for this workshop is to discuss computational aspects and new challenges in singularity theory, focusing on special varieties that arise from group actions, canonical maps, or universal constructions. By bringing together geometers, algebraists, and invariant theorists, we will address problems from multiple perspectives. These will include comparisons of composition chains for D- and F-modules, the impact of group actions on singularity invariants, and the structure of differential operators on singularities in varying characteristics.

GirlsGetMath@ICERM is a five-day non-residential mathematics program that is open to high schoolers, regardless of gender, who live in or near greater Rhode Island and who will be entering the 10th or 11th grade in the fall of 2021. (Exceptions made for existing 2020 applicant pool.)

GirlsGetMath occurs in an encouraging environment that builds young students' confidence in math and science.

GirlsGetMath expands participants' understanding and knowledge of mathematics through computations and experimentations.

GirlsGetMath provides expert mathematical training and mentoring.

GirlsGetMath@ICERM encourages 20-25 high schoolers to explore topics such as cryptography, the mathematics of voting, matrix algebra, prime numbers and factoring, and fractals.

The goals of the program are:

• to show young... (more)

Spectra, the Association for LGBTQ+ Mathematicians, was conceived in the last ten years with its first official event in 2015 -- a panel discussion at the JMM in San Antonio. Since then, Spectra has organized events at various conferences to bring together people of the LGBTQ+ community.

Spectra is organizing this conference to provide opportunities for LGBTQ+ mathematicians both to celebrate achievements and to spark conversations of challenges in our community. This will be a space for attendees to share their research across all areas of mathematics (theoretical, applied, and math education) and to interact and create support networks within and across their research communities.

Spectra is proud to organize its first official conference and create an intentional space for LGBTQ+ mathematicians. This will be an event where LGBTQ+ mathematicians at all career stages can interact and network with their peers. Further, it will facilitate discussions for creating better environments... (more)

A challenge for mathematical modeling, from toy dynamical system models to full weather and climate models, is applying data assimilation and dynamical systems techniques to models that exhibit chaos and stochastic variability in the presence of coupled slow and fast modes of variability. Recent collaborations between universities and government agencies in India and the United States have resulted in detailed observations of oceanic and atmospheric processes in the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, collectively observing many coupled modes of variability. One key target identified by these groups was the improvement of forecasts of variability of the summer monsoon, which significantly affects agriculture and water management practices throughout South Asia. The Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillation is a northward propagating mode of precipitation variability and is one of the most conspicuous examples of coupled atmosphere-ocean processes during the summer... (more)

The 2020 Summer@ICERM program, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, involved 19 students from across the US in research projects investigating large-scale linear algebra, model reduction, randomized algorithms, and deep learning. Since the program, some students have begun successful technical careers in mathematics and computation, and some have matriculated in graduate school programs. This in-person reunion event, to be held from June 9-10, 2022 at ICERM, aims to rekindle professional relationships and possibly spark new directions for research.

A challenge for mathematical modeling, from toy dynamical system models to full weather and climate models, is applying data assimilation and dynamical systems techniques to models that exhibit chaos and stochastic variability in the presence of coupled slow and fast modes of variability. Recent collaborations between universities and government agencies in India and the United States have resulted in detailed observations of oceanic and atmospheric processes in the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, collectively observing many coupled modes of variability. One key target identified by these groups was the improvement of forecasts of variability of the summer monsoon, which significantly affects agriculture and water management practices throughout South Asia. The Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillation is a northward propagating mode of precipitation variability and is one of the most conspicuous examples of coupled atmosphere-ocean processes during the summer... (more)

The Social Justice and Data Science Summer Research Program at ICERM aims to increase interest, research training, and capacity for data science for social justice, and to develop both quantitative and qualitative approaches to those professional practices that call for community engagement, critical inquiry, and interdisciplinary cooperation. In order to advance the mathematics community's understanding of the complexity of computational social justice work, the program will have four emphasis areas (1) networks, (2) policy, (3) education and (4) community-driven research. While the program itself is broadly computational and applied mathematics, researchers with expertise and interests in network science and analysis, open science and data, and computer science are particularly encouraged to apply. As a new field emerges at the face of computational and applied mathematics and social justice, this requires new methods for working across community lines. The organizers are committed... (more)