"Probabilities" Year 2023-24 of GDR IFM Estimating Pi Using Monte Carlo Simulation in R by Andrea Gustafsen The GDR IFM (Research Group in Theoretical Computer Science and its Mathematics) is launching a “Probabilities” year for 2023-2024. The objective is to illustrate the importance of probabilities in computer science and the wealth of contributions from the GDR in their development and potential applications. In early 2024, a series of actions are planned to commence. These actions will begin with a thematic focus on the various aspects of probability in computer science for the 2024 edition of the Young Researchers School in Mathematical Computer Science. Additionally, working groups within the GDR are encouraged to promote discussions related to the use of probabilities during their thematic days. A dedicated conference is also in the works, along with a prospective report aimed at identifying the means necessary to enhance the French community's expertise in utilizing probabilities within mathematical computer science. Lastly, popularization actions are encouraged, and they will be featured on this page. Different uses of probabilities Below is a tentative list of topics in TCS where probabilities are used, primarily as models or resources, but also as new aspects to be modeled in formal methods. Models for analysis, prediction and control. For instance Markov chains Probabilistic transition systems Information theory, algorithmic information theory Limit objects Statistical physics Probabilistic method Computing resources Algorithms Communication Cryptography Distributed computing Formal methods Formal verification of the implementation of probabilistic algorithms Probabilistic domain-specific programming languages Data and knowledge management, uncertainty Applications in biology and medicine Diagnosis, decision making, risk estimation Simulation, digital twin Data analysis Applications are obviously everywhere in computer science, including computer networks, privacy, social networks, simulation, and prediction, as well as other disciplines such as biology, medicine, and physics Directly impacted working groups Below are listed the directly impacted groups (with their name in french and a link to their webpage), categorized within the 3 main axis of the GDR. Nonetheless, all GTs can also contribute to this year if they wish to. Algorithmics and combinatorics ALEA Biologie systémique symbolique Complexité et algorithmes Graphes Systèmes dynamiques, Automates et Algorithmique Computer algebra, arithmetic, information protection, geometry Calcul formel Codage et cryptographie Modélisation géométrique Logic and complexity Automates, logique, jeux et algèbre Calculabilités Informatique quantique Logique, Homotopie, Catégories Structures formelles pour le cALcul et les preuves Vérification Committee and contact Below are listed the members of the committee in charge of proposing and programming the events, contacting the concerned GTs, collecting data, and writing the report. The labs and the GTs they are affiliated with are indicated for completeness. Nathalie Bertrand (IRISA): GTs Vérif, DAAL Louis Esperet (GSCOP): GTs Graphes, ALEA, CoA Wenjie Fang (LIGM): GT ALEA Vincent Grosso (LHC): GT C2 Bruno Grenet (LJK): GTs Calcul formel, CoA, C2 Frédéric Magniez (IRIF): GTs CoA, IQ Michele Pagani (LIP): GTs LHC, Scalp Ovidiu Radulescu (LPHI): GT Bioss Tatiana Starikovskaya (DIENS): GT CoA Contact the committee via email. The following will be updated along the year. Collecting Datas Popularization Please send to magniez@irif.fr any popularization events related to this “Probabilities” year. This can be for example any activities in the context of the Fête de la science. Master's programs and lectures Please send to magniez@irif.fr any Master's programs and lectures related to probabilities in TCS, or more generated in GDR IFM. From the GTs All (relevant) GTs are encouraged to prioritize talks related to this “Probabilities” year during their annual workshop, and to organize dedicated events if they wish to. Support from the GDR can eventually be provided depending on the action. They are also being contacted to map out research related to probabilities. This survey is conducted via a form that can be filled out with the “Probabilities” committee contact, possibly with assistance from certain group members. The collected information will be centralized on the thematic year's website, including scientific mediation actions and a list of master's programs, and will also be compiled into a prospective report aiming to identify means to enhance the French community's expertise in using probabilities in IFM. Actions (on going) Young Researchers School in Mathematical Computer Science The school École Jeune chercheu/r/se/s en Informatique Mathématique 2024 will be organized at Nantes in June 17-21, 2024. Registrations are opened since February 9th. The courses in this edition will focus on topics related to probabilities, within the context of the “Year of Probabilities.” The proposed courses will cover: Verification of probabilistic logics on Markovian decision processes Probabilistic programming languages and their semantics Decomposition of combinatorial objects and their application in probabilities Bioinformatics in a probabilistic framework Complexity and security in a probabilistic context Keynote talk at GDR days During the GDR IFM 2024 Days at Grenoble, March 2024, a keynote talk by Guillem Perarnau (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya) on Wandering on random digraphs was given. Walks on random graphs has been a subject of extensive research over the past two decades. While the theory is well-established for undirected graphs, the directed case is much less understood.Unfortunately, networks that arise in applications are often inherently directed (e.g. World Wide Web,citation network, …). In recent years, novel techniques have emerged to tackle the complexities in thedirected setting. In this talk we will survey some of the most prominent results in the area concerning randomand non-random walks. We will delve into the mixing properties of the random walks and their (random)stationary measures, providing algorithmic insights. Additionally, we will explore the use of randomdigraphs as a model for random Deterministic Finite Automata (DFA), obtaining a probabilistic version ofČerný's conjecture concerning automata synchronization. The results presented are based on joint work with Xing Shi Cai, Pietro Caputo and Matteo Quattropaniand with Guillaume Chapuy. Day on Probabilities in Computer Science A one-day conference is scheduled for September 2024 in the Paris area. The event will feature two extended talks and four shorter talks. Additionally, there will be poster presentations, providing an opportunity for PhD students and postdocs to showcase their latest research to the audience. More details Links to past or current related events Probabilistic Programming, Colloquium at Collège de France, Paris, June 2022 Randomness – a computational perspective, Outreach lecture by Avi Wigderson as part of the Foundation of Computational Mathematics 2023 conference, Paris, June 2023 International conference on Probabilistic, Combinatorial and Asymptotic Methods for the Analysis of Algorithms (AofA 2024), the University of Bath (UK), June 17–21, 2024 Online Stochastic Matching, Workshop part of a thematic semester called Stochastic control and learning for complex networks (SOLACE), September 24-27, 2024 Prospective report (TBD) To conclude the year, all collected information on the thematic year's website, including scientific mediation actions and a list of master's programs, will be compiled into a prospective report aiming to identify means to enhance the French community's expertise in using probabilities in IFM.