BANDUNG, fmipa.itb.ac.id, -One of the experts in discrete mathematics and optimization from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), Austria, Prof. Mihyun Kang, gave a guest lecture in the 8th series of the 2023 Combinatorial Today Series (2023 CTS) webinar on Friday, October 20, 2023 at 14.00-15.30 WIB. The title of the lecture was Topological Aspects of Random Graphs. In her presentation, Prof. Kang, who is also the head of the Combinatorics research group at TU Graz, extensively reviewed classical results on Erdos-Renyi random graphs and explained several topological aspects of random graphs. Specifically, she discussed two issues related to topological aspects of random graphs, namely how edge density influences changes in genus in random graphs and to what extent topological constraints (such as planarity) affect the global structure and local structure of random graphs (such as the order of the largest components and local weak limits).

Dr. Rinovia Simanjuntak, as moderator in this session, said that Prof. Kang is one of the leading figures in combinatorics. “She has made significant contributions in the fields of combinatorics, discrete probability, and algorithms. She has written around 100 scientific articles and has been cited more than 582 times. She has received research grants several times, including the DFG project “Phase transitions in random graphs” (2011-2014), FWF project “Phase transitions and critical phenomena in random graphs” (2014-2017), FWF project “Asymptotic properties of graphs on a surface” (2015-2019), Subproject 15 “Random graphs on a surface” within FWF Doctoral Program “Discrete Mathematics” (Phases II and III) (2015-2022), Austrian-German DACH-project “Random graphs: cores, colorings and contagion” (2018-2022), and the Austrian-German Joint project “Sparse random combinatorial structures” (2023-2025). For her contributions, she was awarded the Heisenberg Fellowship of the German Research Foundation (2008), Special Contribution Award, Korean Mathematical Society (2015), Member of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) Circle (2016), Visiting Research Fellowship of Merton College, University of Oxford (2019), and Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2019),” he said. “Besides actively writing, her dedication to developing the field of combinatorics was demonstrated when she was an Associate Editor of the SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics (2011-2016), Editor-in-Chief of the Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science journal (2012-2023), Editor in the Online Journal of Analytic Combinatorics (2013-present), Series Editor in the Mathematic Kompakt journal – Springer (2018-present), and Editorial Board in the Annals of Combinatorics journal (2019-present), Combinatorial Theory (2020-present), and Random Structures and Algorithms (2020-present),” he added.

The 2023 CTS activity was organized by Combinatorial Mathematics Research Group, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), in collaboration with Pusat Kolaborasi Riset Teori Graf dan Kombinatorika Indonesia (Center for Indonesian Graph Theory and Combinatorics Research Collaboration). Throughout 2023, this online activity will provide 11 editions and present leading speakers in the field of graph theory and combinatorics from various countries including Australia, Czech Republic, Italy, Philippines, Austria, Slovenia, Canada, and of course Indonesia.

Prof. Edy Tri Baskoro, as Chair of the 2023 CTS Committee and Chair of Combinatorial Mathematics Research Group, FMIPA ITB, said that holding this CTS was a commitment from Combinatorial Mathematics Research Group, FMIPA ITB, to continue to exist in the context of scientific development of graph theory and combinatorics, and to continue trying to expand research collaboration with various world centers of excellence. This webinar was attended by around 35 participants consisting of lecturers, researchers, and undergraduate and graduate students from various countries such as Indonesia, Japan, and several other countries. Further information regarding CTS can be accessed via https://fmipa.itb.ac.id/combinatorics-today-series-2023/. The 2023 CTS recordings can be accessed via https://www.youtube.com/@yukkuliahteorigraf3184.

Next Speaker Schedule on the 2023 CTS:

03Nov: Prof. Kiki Ariyanti Sugeng (UI, Indonesia), 17Nov:  Prof. Sandi Klavzar (Univ of Ljubljana, Slovenia), 08Des: Prof. Vida Dujmovic (Univ of Ottawa, Kanada).