For the 25th time, the Advanced Course on the Foundations of Computer Science brought researchers from around the world to Saarbrücken.
Participants of ADFOCS 2025. Photo: MPI-INF/Bertram Somieski
The summer school, held from August 18 to 22 at the MPI for Informatics in Saarbrücken, focused on theoretical concepts in computer science, particularly in the area of algorithms and complexity. The program is primarily aimed at doctoral students in computer science and mathematics, but also at early-career postdocs.
In a combination of lectures and practical exercises, participants gained in-depth insights into current research questions. This year’s special focus was on methods that allow for better structuring of complex inputs. These methods form an important foundation for solving a wide range of problems efficiently, for example in network analysis.
This year’s lecturers were Maria Chudnovsky, Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University, Michał Pilipczuk, Associate Professor at the Institute of Informatics of the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics at the University of Warsaw, and Thatchaphol Saranurak, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.
The course participants, mostly PhD students in computer science and mathematics, but also early postdocs, learned effective approaches to problem solving and gained deeper understanding of the theoretical interconnections from the lecturers. “Our participants can later apply the computational procedures they learned and developed in their own research to design efficient methods for solving a wide variety of problems,” says Daniel Neuen, one of the organizers of this year’s edition of ADFOCS.
Around 130 researchers from Germany and several other European countries, as well as from the USA, Canada, Chile, India, and China took part in this year’s installment. The summer course was held for the 25th consecutive year. Danupon Nanongkai, Director of the Algorithms and Complexity Department, says: “We were very pleased to once again welcome so many excellent young researchers to the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. In addition to many interesting discussions, there were also many opportunities for personal exchange and networking within the community.”
Further information:
https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/departments/algorithms-complexity/adfocs/2025/welcome
Editorial:
Bertram Somieski
Tel: +49 681 9302-5710
E-Mail: somieski(at)mpi-klsb.mpg.de