Talk with Prof. Avi Wigderson

Permanent & Determinant: non-identical twins

Bio:

Prof. Avi Wigderson is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Prof. Wigderson is a world-renowned mathematician and computer scientist with works spanning complexity theory, derandomization, cryptography, distributed computing, spectral graph theory, and combinatorics. He is a recipient of the Nevanlinna Prize (now known as the Abacus Medal), Gödel Prize, Abel Prize, and the Turing Award.

Abstract:

The Determinant is undoubtedly the most important polynomial function in mathematics. Its lesser-known sibling, the Permanent, plays very important roles in enumerative combinatorics, statistical and quantum physics, and the theory of computation. In this lecture I plan to survey some of the many remarkable properties of the permanent, its applications and impact on fundamental computational problems, its similarities to and apparent differences from the determinant, and how these relate to the P vs. NP problem.

This lecture is intended to a general Math & CS audience.

Date and Time:

09:00 AM on 02 June 2026

Location:

Auditorium 4A.0.69, Njalsgade 76, 2300 Copenhagen

Registration:

Prof. Wigderson’s talk is open for all. If you wish to attend other talks, please register for the workshop (there is no registration fees). The workshop website is https://sites.google.com/view/wact2026/home.