Workshop on Algebraic Design Theory and Hadamard Matrices (ADTHM) 2014
In honor of the 70-th birthday of Hadi Kharaghani

Place and Date | Sponsors | Invited Speakers | Description | Dedication | Organizers | Proceedings Volume | Program | Conference package: abstracts and schedule| Followup BIRS Workshop | Student Participation and Posters | Financial Support | Travel | Accommodation | Restaurant list | Tourist Info | Registration | Contacts | Participants and Group Photos| Graphics

 
Place and Date
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Tuesday July 8 - noon Friday July 11, 2014.
 
Sponsors
Funding is provided by the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University of Lethbridge, and the Faculty of Arts & Science at the U. of Lethbridge
Pacific Institute for the
 Mathematical Sciences   National Science Foundation
University of Lethbridge   Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Lethbridge
 
Invited speakers
Confirmed plenary and/or invited speakers include the following:
 
Description
This is the fourth in a series of conferences, the previous three being held at the University of Seville, Seville, Spain (2007); National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland (2009); and RMIT, Melbourne, Australia (2011).

The 2014 (ADTHM) will be held at the University of Lethbridge in room C640 on Tuesday July 8 - noon Friday July 11, 2014. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers and students interested in algebraic design theory, especially as it relates to Hadamard matrices and their applications, as well as in related areas in coding theory, association schemes, quantum information theory, theoretical physics and computer security. The audiences would learn about the latest developments in these areas, discuss the latest findings, take stock of what remains to be done on classical problems and explore different visions for setting the direction for future work.

We aim to ensure many of the talks are graduate student friendly, since it is very important to foster the growth of young mathematicians. This conference will allow experienced combinatorists to pass on their knowledge and skills in their craft to a younger generation. There will be some expository talks, in addition to research talks related to the latest developments.

In addition to the invited talks, participants are encouraged to contribute a talk (length of the presentation to be determined). Please submit the title and abstract for your talk by June 15, 2014. Alternately or additionally, we would be very pleased if participants would contribute posters. The meeting fee will be $50 in cash to be collected at the meeting. This fee is waived for the invited speakers, students and postdoctoral fellows. All participants are strongly encouraged to complete the registration form below once it becomes available.

 
Dedication
The conference will also celebrate the upcoming 70-th birthday of Hadi Kharaghani whose contributions to the field have been significant.

In 1985, he published a very useful method for constructing some orthogonal matrices, subsequently named Kharaghani matrices. In 1991, he gave the first infinite sequence of Hadamard matrices with maximum excess. In 2000, he constructed one of the largest classes of designs using Kharaghani matrices, introduced twin designs for the first time and developed a new method to generate arrays for orthogonal designs.

Hadi and colleague Behruz Tayfeh-Rezaie discovered a Hadamard matrix of order 428 in 2004 (see image below); the order had been for a long while the smallest order for which no Hadamard matrix was known.

Hadi is the author or co-author of more than 85 papers published in refereed journals and four book chapters or sections. He is a Foundation Fellow of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications and has been named to the editorial board of the Journal of Combinatorial Designs. Hadi has also organized workshops, conferences and seminars (although this time he has had fade into the background a bit) that have promoted research in combinatorics and increased the University of Lethbridge's profile and reputation.

He has won the top research award and the top teaching award at the University. Lastly at an age when many consider retirement, he has taken on the ultimate challenge - administration - by serving as Chair of the largest department at the university! His six year sentence ends in a few years. ;-)

See also the graphic (his decomposition of a complete graph) at the bottom of this page.

 
Hadimard matrix of order 428

Click to enlarge
!
Entries as text here!
  hadi Kharaghani  
 
Organizers
The organizers are: The local organizers are:
 
Proceedings Volume
Select papers from the conference will be considered for publication in a peer reviewed Springer proceedings volume edited by Prof. Charlie Colbourn. Details here.
 
Program
The talks will be in room C640, a room on the sixth (main concourse) level of University Hall, the long main signature building on the east side of campus. The room is one floor up from the department office (C526), faculty offices, lounge and computer labs on the fifth level.
For the information of speakers, the room has three LCD projectors and two slide projectors. Having your talk on a memory stick or emailing the talk in advance to one of the local organizers would be best.
Refreshments will be available in an adjacent room, C674, during the two breaks. Breakfast and lunch will be provided in a side room by the Urban Market, at the far SE end of the main hallway.

Due to the number of talks and the compressed time frame because of the immediately following Banff meeting the length of time for talks has been shortened somewhat: Plenary talks will be 50 minutes, invited 40 and contributed 20 including time for questions.

 
Conference package: including schedule and abstracts
The schedule and abstracts for the conference are here! This is just part of the handout we will be distributing for the meeting consisting of the title page, schedule and abstracts. These documents are close to their final form, with the last revisions to occur no later than Sunday July 6.
 
Posters
There will be space available for posters, and we invite anyone including graduate and undergraduate students interested in contributing a poster to do so. Please indicate your interest when you register, or contact Wolf Holzmann or Hadi Kharaghani (see below).
 
Followup BIRS Workshop
The BIRS Workshop 14w2199, Algebraic design theory with Hadamard matrices: applications, current trends and future directions, will be held immediately afterward in Banff, Alberta, July 11-13, 2014. Approximately 30 of the attendees for the Lethbridge workshop are expected to be attending the BIRS Workshop in Banff. Accordingly we provide some information here for those people. The current workshop will be ending before noon, so that participants can make their way to Banff and arrive some time Friday afternoon there. It is about a 3 and a half hour drive to Banff, a scenic mountain town in the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary. Talks for the BIRS Workshop will be held all day Saturday and Sunday morning. There are shuttles from Banff back to Calgary for those leaving via the Calgary airport. Participants who wish to have more information may contact Hadi Kharaghani (see below) who is one of the organizers of the BIRS Workshop.
 
Financial Support for Students
Some financial support is available for a limited number of postdoctoral fellows (who have no other source of travel assistance), graduate students and senior undergraduate students. Please contact Wolf Holzmann or Hadi Kharaghani (see below).
 
Travel
All events will be held on the campus of the University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. To reach the University: Once in Lethbridge proceed to the west side of town (via Whoop-Up Drive [6th Street] or Highway 3) since the University is located on the western coulee banks of the Old Man River. If coming from the west on Highway 3 look for the Highway 25 exit south, which is just before the river valley.

The closest parking for participants is available in Lot K just uphill from the north entrance of University Hall. To get there turn onto campus at the major intersection (4 ways with traffic lights NOT the tee intersection) and follow the road eastward until it veers right - lot K is an immediate left turn. On weekends parking is free. If you wish to park on campus weekdays before or after the workshop for longer than an hour we recommend Lot N where the rate is $6/day. See campus map.

The sessions are in the long main building (University Hall - pale yellow on the campus map) which is nestled in the coulees to the east near the river, down from the level of the prairies.

 
Accommodation

The University of Lethbridge Conference Services offers very good rates on excellent apartment and town house suites situated on the campus and only minutes from the meeting facilities. The apartment suites have full kitchens as well as ensuite washroom facilities configured in a two or four bedroom configuration. For details including photos of the suites and pricing see Conference Services Summer Hotel. To reach the suites, head south on University Drive past the main entrance and intersection to campus, instead turning left at the next light. About a block and a half in look for a sign to your right for the University Hotel/Residence and check in at the Mount Blakiston building.

For off-campus accommodation, University visitors frequently stay at Lethbridge Lodge. This hotel is located downtown, a five minute drive from the University, or about a 30 minute walk from the University through parkland along the river. There are no hotels in West Lethbridge or closer to the University, however, there are many other hotels and motels available, such as in the Days Inn or the Holiday Inn Express downtown. To check out alternatives visit alternate accommodation. Hotels along Mayor Magrath Drive are relatively far away and you would require vehicle transportation to get to the University. Public transit is available to and from the University, but service is limited on weekends especially on Sunday.

 
Tourist Information
Note that scenic Waterton National Park in the Rocky Mountains, about an hour and twenty minutes drive south-west of Lethbridge, is a highly recommended outing for those wishing to extend their stay with some pre or post workshop sightseeing.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just outside of Fort Macleod 30 minutes west of Lethbridge is also highly recommended.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park about an hour and a half south-east of Lethbridge has petroglyphs and pictographs, and some impressive the sandstone hoodoos.

Glacier National Park is just an hour and a half south-west of Lethbridge, for those willing to brave the surly American border officials. Going-to-the-Sun Road in the park is one of the most scenic roads in the U.S. North-West but it is only open from late May to early September (consider the free park shuttle available from the visitor center at the east park entrance).

In Lethbridge, the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens are a top attraction, as well as, Indian Battle Park and Fort Whoop-Up Interpretive Centre in the river valley down from the University.

At the time of the conference, Calgary holds its world famous rodeo Calgary Stampede from July 4 to 13, 2014. Although accommodation in Calgary may be more limited at that time, workshop participants should consider spending a day before or after the conference to take in the activities. Those attending the BIRS workshop would have to schedule it before July 8 instead of after July 11.

 
Registration

To register, or update or cancel your registration we used this form:

      REGISTER  

Note that registration is closed and the form is here just for the record.

Speakers may use the same form to provide title and abstract for their talks. The registration fee for the meeting will be $50.00 in cash collected at the meeting. The fee is waived for invited speakers, post-docs, and graduate students. Refreshments, breakfast and lunch will be provided by the workshop.

Note for those giving a talk: Due to the number of talks and the compressed time frame because of the immediately following Banff meeting the length of time for talks has been shortened somewhat: Plenary talks will be 50 minutes, invited 40 and contributed 20 including time for questions.

 
Contacts
If you have questions or comments please send e-mail to Hadi Kharaghani at kharaghani(at)uleth(dot)ca or Wolf Holzmann at holzmann(at)uleth(dot)ca or write to:
  ADTHM (Workshop on Algebraic Design Theory and Hadamard Matrices) 2014,
  Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science,
  University of Lethbridge,
  Lethbridge, Alberta   T1K 3M4
  CANADA

  FAX:            (403) 317-2882
Bookmark for this website:
http://www.cs.uleth.ca/ADTHM
 
Participants and Group Photos
See here for list of participants. Many thanks to all participants!

PhotosReasonable sizeWho's whoLarge file size (4MB)
group photo
with University Hall: (cropped)
official group phototext key,
or key photo (675kB)
please crop the one below
group photo with University Hall:group photosame as abovehigh resolution version
group photo with H:H photokey: apply suitable permutation of above with a few Waldo's missinghigh resolution version
BIRS hike
to top of Tunnel Mtn:
BIRS phototext keyhigh resolution version
 
Graphics
The Iwan is located in Neyshabour, Iran which is also the birthplace of Hadi Kharaghani.
Page top image: Iwan of an Imamzadeh at the tomb of Omar Khayyam - image used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

 

    Kharaghani's decomposition of K40 into 4 Siamese SRG    

Last update:
2014 July 18