A mathematical journey to Suriname
From February 26th until March 1st, we had the unique opportunity to visit the Anton de Kom University in Suriname. The goal of our visit was to assess possibilities for cooperation between our mathematics institute and the math department in Paramaribo.
A peek into decision making in service systems
Often due to large waiting times customers abandon shops (online or physical), and owners don't realize that they have left. We call this a loss of opportunity. This is an important concept in queueing theory.
ICTS-NETWORKS workshop: A Confluence of Ideas
In the vibrant city of Bangalore, India, the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) played host to a discussion meeting titled "Challenges in Networks" from January 29 to February 2, 2024.
A sparkly new journal for graph theory
Academic publishing is booming, but at what cost? Ross Kang recaps the difficulties and announces a new diamond OA journal in graph theory.
Does no small structure mean larger homogeneous ones?
A conjecture of Erdős and Hajnal from 1989 says that forbidding any specific substructure results in existence of a very large homogeneous one! In this article you will have a look into one of the most fascinating problems in modern graph theory.
Why packing your car can be so frustrating.
Are you one of those people who always seems to pack just a bit too much for your car to handle when packing for a vacation? Then you should have a look at this article!
From building a family tree to discovering the suspect of a crime
Between 1973 and 1986 multiple rapes and murders were committed in the state of California. Years later the idea was raised that these crimes might be connected. But traditional DNA analysis from the samples found at the crime scenes, could not identify the culprit.
Trust and other wonderful mistakes humans make
Trust is required when we buy a used car from a personal connection or via-via. When we vote for a politician we trust that they will act in our favour. In this article we will explore how Game Theory is used in attempts to model trust and cooperation.
How social networks help job seekers and hirers alike
Lots of research has gone into the nexus of social networks in the labour market. Our question is: Do students benefit from the connectedness of their advisers in terms of first academic employment after graduate school?
How do I teach?
Last week I had the honour to receive an award from the Amsterdam Young Academy (AYA) for my contributions in teaching in the BSc in mathematics at the University of Amsterdam. I thought of many things during this time, and I wanted to write some thoughts down.