Departmental Seminar – “The Skolem Landscape” by Professor James Worrell, University of Oxford
| Dates: | 3 December 2025 |
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| Times: | 14:00 - 15:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Department of Computer Science |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Current University students |
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| Speaker: | Professor James Worrell |
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The Skolem Problem asks how to determine algorithmically whether a given linear recurrence sequence (such as the Fibonacci numbers) has a zero. It is a central question in dynamical systems and number theory, and has many connections to computer science, including in automata theory and program verification. Unfortunately, its decidability has been open for nearly a century. In this talk, I will present a survey of what is known on the Skolem Problem and related questions, including recent and ongoing developments.
Speaker
Professor James Worrell
Organisation: University of Oxford
Biography: James Worrell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Green Templeton College. His research focuses on computational aspects of dynamical systems, with applications to verification and program analysis, and he has made contributions to the Skolem problem for linear recurrence sequences and related questions in linear dynamical systems. He currently holds an UKRI Fellowship Beyond Linear Dynamical Systems and is a co-recipient of the EATCS Salomaa Prize in automata theory and formal languages
Travel and Contact Information
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Kilburn Building, Oxford Road
