Today the European Research Council (ERC) has made public which Starting Grants proposals were selected this year, for a total amount of €780m. Congrats to all recipients!
These include 14 grants for the PE1 panel in which I sat earlier this year for the fourth and final time. (The PE1 panel stands within the Physical Sciences and Engineering domain and covers pure maths, applied maths, mathematical foundations of computer science, mathematical physics, and statistics.) I have found the whole experience highly interesting, from getting a snapshot of on-going directions in the broad field (for topics I could understand) to interacting constructively with colleagues from different fields and cultures, to appreciating the clear protocols and instructions provided by the ERC and its highly efficient officers, if representing a significant time investment over these years.
This round of selections saw the return of UK applications, following the long-delayed agreement between the EU and the UK, with Warwick Thomas Berrett’s proposal among the winners. (Whose evaluation I obviously took no part whatsoever, following ERC rules governing conflicts of interest. Ditto for applications from PSL.)
Archive for scientific computing
2024 ERC Starting Grants announced
Posted in Kids, pictures, Running, Travel, University life with tags applied mathematics, Belgium, Brussels, conflict of interest, data science, ERC, ERC Starting Grant, EU grants, EU Horizon Europe programme, Europe, European Commission, European Research Council, European Union, Horizon Europe, panel, Paris Sciences et Lettres, PE1, PSL, pure mathematics, scientific computing, Statistics, UK, University of Warwick on September 22, 2024 by xi'anMCqMC2020 key dates
Posted in pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags Britain, Eagle and Child, MCMC2020, Monte Carlo methods, Oxford, Oxford Mathematics, quasi-Monte Carlo methods, Saint Giles cemetery, scientific computing, University of Oxford on January 23, 2020 by xi'an
A reminder of the key dates for the incoming MCqMC2020 conference this summer in Oxford:
Feb 28, Special sessions/minisymposia submission
Mar 13, Contributed abstracts submission
Mar 27, Acceptance notification
Mar 27, Registration starts
May 8, End of early bird registration
June 12, Speaker registration deadline
Aug 9-14 Conference
and of the list of plenary speakers
Yves Atchadé (Boston University)
Jing Dong (Columbia University)
Pierre L’Ecuyer (Université de Montreal)
Mark Jerrum (Queen Mary University London)
Gerhard Larcher (JKU Linz)
Thomas Muller (NVIDIA)
David Pfau (Google DeepMind)
Claudia Schillings (University of Mannheim)
Mario Ullrich (JKU Linz)
Nature snapshot
Posted in Statistics with tags @ScientistTrump, algorithmic policing, D-wave, Elsevier, Nature, quantum computers, R, scientific computing on March 5, 2017 by xi'an
The recent issue of Nature, as of Jan 26, 2017!, contained a cartload of interesting review and coverage articles, from the latest version of the quantum computer D-Wave, with a paragraph on quantum annealing that reminded me of a recent arXiv paper I could not understand, seemingly turning the mathematical problem of multivariate optimisation into a truly physical process, to the continuing (Nature-wise) debate on how to oppose Trump, to the biases and shortcomings of policing software, with a mention of Lum and Isaac I discussed here a few months ago, to the unsuspected difficulty to publish a referee’s report when the publisher is Elsevier (unsuspected and unsurprising!)—although I know of colleagues and authors disapproving my publishing referee’s reports identified as such—, to an amazing picture of a bundle of neurons monitored simultaneously, to an entry in the career section on scientific computing and the importance of coding for young investigators, with R at the forefront!
winning entry at MCqMC’16
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags California, MCqMC 2016, qMC, quasi-random sequences, scientific computing, Stanford University, tee-shirt, uniformity on August 29, 2016 by xi'an
The nice logo of MCqMC 2016 was a collection of eight series of QMC dots on the unit (?) cube. The organisers set a competition to identify the principles behind those quasi-random sets and as I had no idea for most of them I entered very random sets unconnected with algorithmia, for which I got an honourable mention and a CD prize (if not the conference staff tee-shirt I was coveting!) Art Owen sent me back my entry, posted below and hopefully (or not!) readable.
can we trust computer simulations?
Posted in Books, pictures, Statistics, University life with tags atmospheric models, Bayesian epistemology, climate simulation, computer model, conference, confirmation, epistemology, Fortran, Hannover, Hempel, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Karl Popper, model uncertainty, Monash University, philosophy of sciences, scientific computing, Society for Imprecise Probability, truth, validation, verification on July 10, 2015 by xi'an
How can one validate the outcome of a validation model? Or can we even imagine validation of this outcome? This was the starting question for the conference I attended in Hannover. Which obviously engaged me to the utmost. Relating to some past experiences like advising a student working on accelerated tests for fighter electronics. And failing to agree with him on validating a model to turn those accelerated tests within a realistic setting. Or reviewing this book on climate simulation three years ago while visiting Monash University. Since I discuss in details below most talks of the day, here is an opportunity to opt away! Continue reading
