Event info

Hitomezashi mathematics

Date: Tuesday, 27 August 2024 12:00 - 13:00
Place: Online via Zoom
Speaker: Katherine Seaton (La Trobe University)

Abstract:
Mathematical questions that can be asked about fibre arts include: what mathematical concepts can be illustrated by this form; what mathematical objects can be created using it; what mathematics is intrinsic to this form; and what mathematics is used to solve practical questions arising when making an item using this technique. Knitting, crochet, weaving, temari and bobbin-lace have been examined through the mathematical lens. For example, knitting is like coding. That hyperbolic surfaces can be crocheted was a notable discovery. New patterns for weaving and bobbin lace have been designed by exploiting a mathematical notation once established. In this talk I will outline some of the mathematics of the traditional Japanese stitching form hitomezashi. Duality, probability, enumerative combinatorics, fractals, and even a connection to alternating sign matrices – this talk will touch on them all, and examine one or two of them in more depth. My book A Stich in Line: Mathematics and One-Stitch Sashiko will be published by Taylor and Francis in December 2024.While constructing practical quantum computers by big companies remains a challenge, the application of quantum communication and cryptography has made remarkable progress. As a result, it is crucial to verify quantum protocols before they can be trusted in safety and security-critical applications. Dynamic Quantum Logic (DQL), a quantum counterpart of Dynamic Logic, has been proposed to handle quantum effects, such as superposition, entanglement, and measurement, in order to verify quantum protocols with manual proofs. However, DQL lacks an automated approach to quantum protocol verification and a parallel operator to handle concurrency in quantum protocols. This talk presents recent developments in automated quantum protocol verification based on Concurrent Dynamic Quantum Logic (CDQL), an extension of DQL for handling the concurrent behaviors of participants in quantum protocols. Additionally, this talk shows how to effectively handle large interleavings from concurrency in CDQL with a support tool developed in Maude, a specification and programming language based on rewriting logic.

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The seminar will be held during lunch time, so please feel free to join us while eating your lunch. Especially for graduate students, there are not many opportunities to hear lectures in different fields of mathematics. This seminar is a valuable opportunity for faculty members to give lectures to non-specialists. We hope that you will feel free to participate regardless of your field, whether it is to broaden your mathematical horizons or to get some exposure to English. Motivated third and fourth year undergraduate students are also welcome to participate. Please feel free to drop by.
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