Applied Combinatorics

Our Research

Discrete models and their properties underlie many physical phenomena and hence combinatorics has long been applied to study problems in physics and chemistry. Meanwhile, the field of combinatorics is an independent subject which has evolved considerably over the past 20 years. Not coincidentally, so have computational technologies and the field of theoretical computer science. The application of combinatorics to problems in physics, biology and chemistry are under-used despite their wide applicability. In fact, given a proper understanding of the underlying combinatorial structure, and modern computing power, one can now predict large scale behaviour, and understand whether a given property is rare, or expected. Enumeration, random generation, parameter analysis — each are steadily becoming within reach for increasingly complex models.

A central aim of this proposed collaborative research group is to transport known results about combinatorial structures to other domains of science.