MG-65: Symposium on Constructive Mathematics in Computer Science

Organized by

Marcello Balduccini (Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY) and

Son Tran (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM)

The goal of the Symposium on Constructive Mathematics in Computer Science is to explore the use of constructive mathematics in the field of computer science, and in particular in the areas of knowledge representation and reasoning (KR&R), logic programming (LP), and answer set programming (ASP). Differently from other branches of mathematics and of mathematical logics, constructive mathematics lends itself to use in computer science because of its algorithmic nature. However, for its use in KR&R and LP, constructive mathematics needs to be adapted and extended in order (1) to allow for expressive and clear representation of knowledge of various kinds, (2) to deal with the challenges posed by commonsense knowledge and the task of reasoning about it, and (3) to allow actual execution on computer systems.

This adaptation of constructive mathematics started in the 1980s, when Michael Gelfond – a constructive mathematician by training – noticed a connection between logic programs and autoepistemic reasoning. This led him and Vladimir Lifschitz to define the notion of stable model of a logic program, in an attempt to provide a formal semantics for the default negation of logic programming. Extensions of their seminal work led to the development of the area of ASP, and to the definition of clear methodologies for the representation of knowledge, including commonsense knowledge, and for the formalization of reasoning about them.

Nowadays the techniques that originated in the 1980s have evolved into a powerful programming paradigm with strong theoretical foundations and several practical applications.

The goal of the Symposium on Constructive Mathematics in Computer Science is to provide a forum for scientists from all around the world to compare, analyze, and demonstrate the use of constructive mathematics for computer science.

The Symposium on Constructive Mathematics in Computer Science held in Lexington, KY on Monday October 25^th and Tuesday October 26^th,  co-located with NonMon@30. For details see  http://marcy.cjb.net/MG65/.