CombinaTexas: Combinatorics in the South-Central U.S.
Annual Conference since 2000



Scope

  White Paper

In the past few years the number of combinatorialists has increased dramatically in the south-central U.S. The CombinaTexas conferences were established to provide a regular gathering place and to facilitate collaboration among individual researchers at schools in Texas and surrounding states. The conference series started in the year 2000, and since then has been held annually at higher-education institutions in Texas. Its aim is to increase communication between mathematicians in the region, promote the research of the regional combinatorics community, and provide a forum for presentation and discussion of the developments in the field of combinatorics.

The conference topics are both theoretical aspects and applications of Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing. Original research, as well as expository surveys, are all welcomed. We particularly encourage presentations on new developments of the subject. Typical areas include (but are not limited to):

  • Combinatorics: enumeration & asymptotics, partitions, combinatorial identities, bijective proofs.
  • Graph theory: graph structures, coloring and labeling, computational graph theory, topological graph theory, random graphs, and graph algorithms.
  • Designs and configurations: block designs, matrix analysis, finite geometry, matroid theory, packing and covering.
  • Algebraic combinatorics: symmetric functions, representation theory, orthogonal polynomials, algebraic geometry.
  • Extremal combinatorics: extremal set theory, Ramsey theory, and probabilistic methods.
  • Applications: networks and algorithms, combinatorial optimization, combinatorial game theory; applications to biology, homeland security and statistical physics.
To better organize the series, from the year 2002 each conference will have a special focus. The special focus is chosen from among topics representative of research groups in the area and should provide an insightful look at a topic from different aspects. All of the invited speakers will present work related to the conference focus, while the organizing committee is flexible and open with respect to the contributed talks. The special focus of CombinaTexas'03 was Graph Theory and its Applications, and the special focus of CombinaTexas'04 is Algebraic Methods in Combinatorics and Combinatorial Optimization.