VT Math Faculty Lead ICERM Graduate Workshop

Professors Jason LeGrow, Hiram Lopez, and Gretchen Matthews joined colleagues from Zurich and Rio de Janeiro, as well as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to host an ICERM Graduate Workshop on Linear Algebra over Finite Fields & Applications, Aug 18 - 29, 2025.

Founded at Brown University and funded by th National Science Foundation, ICERM is the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics. Its mission is to "support and broaden the relationship between mathematics and computation."

Professor Guiseppe Cotardo and Sarah Arpin contributed to the workshop by delivering courses. Postdocs Eduardo Camps Moreno and Rodrigo San José gave software tutorials, and recent PhD graduate Adian Murphy served on the career panel. 

The two-week program exposed junior researchers to applications of linear algebra over finite fields, to cryptography, algebraic and algorithmic coding theory, and to their intersections. Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of these fields, as well as new methods and open questions for future exploration.

The program consisted of nine mini-courses exploring network coding, code families and their algebraic structures, various cryptosystems and common attacks, and algorithmic coding theory; career panels to expose participants to different paths in academia and industry; and computer labs to introduce students to SageMath, Macaulay2, and other useful tools for their future research.

More details can be found at the website linked below.