The Fifty-sixth Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing (SEICCGTC) was held March 3-7, 2025, in the Student Union at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
Celebrating its 56th year, the Conference brings together mathematicians and others interested in combinatorics, graph theory and computing, and their interactions. The Conference lectures and contributed papers, as well as the opportunities for informal conversations, have proven to be of great interest to other scientists and analysts employing these mathematical sciences in their professional work in business, industry, and government.
The Conference continues to promote better understanding of the roles of modern applied mathematics, combinatorics, and computer science to acquaint the investigator in each of these areas with the various techniques and algorithms which are available to assist in his or her research. Each discipline has contributed greatly to the others, and the purpose of the Conference is to decrease even further the gaps between the fields.
Jack Edmonds, University of Waterloo
Jan Goedgebeur, KU Leuven, Belgium
Emily Heath, Iowa State University, USA
Donald Kreher, Michigan Technological University, USA
Joel Spencer, New York University, USA
The 56th SEICCGTC Conference hosted 148 participants; There were a total of five (5) plenary/invited talks and ninety-eight (98) contributed talks presented at the conference this year.
Graph decompositions are a fundamental field of graph theory, with a link to design theory. From the Oberwolfach problem to current hypergraph path decompositions, there is an abundance of exciting problems to study. In this session, participants presented some current results, historical results, access points for undergraduate study problems, and tributes to our favorite graph decomposers.
This special session focused on connections between graphs and matrices, including the Inverse Eigenvalue Problems for Graphs (IEPG) and zero forcing and related graph searching parameters. Many inverse problems are naturally described by inverse eigenvalue problems for matrices with a given structure. The IEPG has fostered an extremely productive interaction between linear algebra and graph theory that has produced results with substantial applications. One example is zero forcing on graphs, which is studied in connection with inverse eigenvalue and minimum rank problems, and also appeared as graph infection used to control quantum systems in mathematical physics, graph searching in computer science, and as part of power domination on graphs used to find optimal placement of monitoring units for electrical networks.
Much of the research presented was from work done through the Inverse Eigenvalue Problem of a Graph - Zero Forcing AIM Research Community (IEGG-ZF ARC) https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/iepgzfarc, but the session was not limited to members of the IEPG-ZF ARC.
For our second consecutive year, we hosted a Career Panel for Students. This event brought together a diverse group of professionals who have leveraged their math background in exciting and unexpected ways across business, industry and government, including cybersecurity, technology, data science, education, and research. Panelists shared insights into their career journeys, discussed essential skills for success, and provided practical advice on navigation the job market as a mathematician. Students initially considering traditional paths or exploring alternative careers gained valuable perspectives and networking opportunities to help them envision their future in mathematics.
Organizers: Beth Morrison (Air Force Research Lab), Maria Provost (Florida Atlantic university)
This year, we are proud to have hosted a “Lightning Talks/Open Problems Session.” All conference attendees were welcomed to attend, listen and/or present. Participants of the Lightning Talks gave a 5-minute presentation (with only three slides) on an open problem that they are currently working on. Further discussion on the problems presented took place after the session, promoting collaboration.
There were 58 people at the conference banquet that took place Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and we all had a lot of fun! Friends and colleagues gathered, and some new friendships were made, while long time friends were happy to see one another again. It was a fu and uplifting event held at Mario’s Oario’s Osteria located in Boca Raton.
On Thursday afternoon, March 6, 2025, 21 conference participants went to the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
We all took a wonderful trip through time at the beautiful and historic Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. We were magically transported to the beginning of the 20th Century, and the days of gracious living, charm and whimsy when Florida was one of the nation’s last frontier outposts. We immersed ourselves into the history of the Bonnet House and its creator, artist Frederic Clay Bartlett. This excursion included a delicious lunch, transportation and admission into the Bonnet House. Check out our picture on Facebook!
We all enjoyed a wonderful time with friends and colleagues at this year’s Banquet Dinner held at Mario’s Osteria located in the University Commons, Boca Raton!
The ICA medal was awarded this year to Dr. Jan Goedgebeur for his research on graphs.
Plans are well underway for next year! Dr. Hoffman, I and the SEICCGTC 57 board members look forward to seeing you March 2-6, 2026 for SEICCGTC 57!
Maria Provost
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