Wednesday, 3 July 2024 New projects obtained in June
The Departments of Mathematics at UP IAM and UP Famnit have once again been successful in the Public Call for (co)financing scientific research cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the United States of America for the years 2024 – 2026 by the Slovenian Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation Activities (ARIS).
We have acquired the project "Impartial Chess on Young Diagrams," led by Dr. Peter Muršič in collaboration with Rhodes College.
Within the project framework the team will investigate an Impartial game connecting the game of Chess and Young diagrams. Impartial games can be precisely described by stating which joint moves are possible. Indeed, two players play, where all moves are shared between them, and thus, it does not matter who starts. They alternate in moving until no more moves are possible. According to convention, the last move brings victory.
A Young diagram is a graphical representation of an integer partition, which is a decreasing sequence of natural numbers. The diagram resembles a chessboard with several pieces removed from the bottom right corner. The main line of research is related to the continuation of existing research published in [Gottlieb2023] and [Gottlieb2024].
UP FAMNIT also acquired the project "Studying 2-Y-homogeneous bipartite graphs and their
connectionswith Terwilliger algebras and combinatorial designs," led by Dr. Blas Fernandez collaboration with College of Science and Engineering, Seattle University.
The characterization or systematic classification of bipartite graphs that are (almost) 2-Y-homogeneous presents an extremely challenging task. In general, this problem has proven to be highly difficult and complex, so most research focuses on specific families of graphs, particularly on bipartite distance-regular graphs and distance-biregular graphs.
The approach is based on existing literature and addresses challenges within the framework of distance-polynomial regular graphs. The purpose of the project is to investigate 2-Y-homogeneous properties of distance-polynomial regular graphs and classify all 2-Y-homogeneous distance-biregular graphs. In addition to the main objectives, our research has the potential to yield significant results extending beyond the realm of the discipline and impacting the broader community.
UP IAM, has acquired the project "Selected topics on graphs, hypergraphs, and Boolean functions," led by Prof. Dr. Martin Milanič in collaboration with Rutgers University.
The project focuses on two main lines of research connecting graphs and hypergraphs, and partly also Boolean functions. The first line of research is related to investigations of 3-uniform hypergraphs. The starting point is the well-known open problem regarding the existence of a ‘purely combinatorial’ polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing threshold hypergraphs (or, equivalently, threshold monotone Boolean functions given by their complete DNF).
The second line of research deals with a concept in graph theory called clique dually conformal graphs. This concept is closely related to dually conformal hypergraphs, a notion introduced in a previous bilateral project collaboration between the two project teams. Motivated by these initial observations of the class of CDC graphs, the project goal in this part is to investigate further structural and algorithmic properties of CDC graphs, and characterize them in special cases.
Two Horizon projects were also obtained:
HORIZON Research and innovation action - HORIZON RIA
EMPOWERING CLIMATE-SMART, CIRCULAR, AND ZERO-WASTE USE OF UNDERUTILIZED WOOD FROM THE FOREST AND BUILDING STOCK IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TO SUPPORT THE NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS, PARTNERS, UP IAM, UP LEAD: DR. ANDREJA KUTNAR
WoodStock is a multi-faceted project aimed at promoting climate-smart timber construction practices in line with the new New European Bauhaus (NEB). The primary focus is on quantifying and mapping timber resources, including underutilised flows, using a new methodology for Level 3 harvested timber products and dynamic modelling of material flow analysis to gain insights into timber utilisation potential, climate mitigation impacts and resource availability. This includes robust dynamic life. LCA methodology to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts associated with different resource flows and scenarios. WoodStock will leverage its collective expertise to develop zero-waste and circular buildings harnessing the power of digital twins, assessing human health and well-being aspects through co-creation activities with a multitude of actors following NEB principles and values, in 6 Living Labs (LL) in 6 different European regions. Through a systemic circle of solutions for zero-waste and community-based timber construction, the alignment of new business strategies with policy recommendations, dedicated demonstration and education activities, the project aims to promote climate-smart and increased sustainable use of wood in construction.
HORIZON MSCA Cofund
MOMENTUM PREMIUM POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME, ASSOCIATES, UP, UP LEAD: DR. ŠTEFKO MIKLAVIČ
The title of the proposal is “Momentum Premium Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme”, which takes its name from the lead partner (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary) flagship research programme, the Momentum (in Hungarian: “Lendület”) funding scheme, which has been running for 15 years. The Momentum Premium Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (MPPDF) has the ambitious goal to attract 35 high-quality postdoctoral fellows to the research performing host institutions of the prestigious Momentum programme managed by the Secretariat of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. These host institutions cover a very wide range of scientific fields and disciplines, in all three scientific domains. With the support of the MSCA COFUND programme the Momentum (Lendület) programme, which is a widely acknowledged scheme in Hungary to support research excellence, will be elevated by increasing its international visibility, enhancing its European and global outreach, and improving interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration imension. During the lifetime of the programme 2 calls will be published with the aim to select and support 15/20 outstanding postdoctoral fellows per call. The duration of the fellowships is maximum 36 months, including secondment periods. Momentum PPDF fellows will have complete research freedom. Applicants in their proposals may focus on one or several generic research topics covered by the Momentum host organizations. Network-wide activities and trainings will further facilitate inter-centre, inter-disciplinary and intersectoral exchange and collaborations. Fellows will also have the unrestricted flexibility to exercise their choice in selecting secondment opportunities available at prominent international research centers and industrial partners.
