Structures at the Interface of Physics and Computer Science

This proposal aims to fund a network to support an emerging research community working at the interface of Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics. The common theme is the use of high-level mathematical structures such as Category Theory. These structures have already proved important in various specific areas within these disciplines. It has recently been becoming clear that they can be used in a unified and very powerful way, and that the same structures occur across these disciplines. This has led to a lot of exciting research, which has been bringing established researchers together, and attracting students and young researchers into the area.

The aim of the network is to foster and support these activities, and to nurture the development of an emerging research community, centred in the UK, which is at the forefront of these exciting developments.

We will do this by supporting regular meetings, providing travel money for young researchers to attend conferences and make research visits, and managing a strong web presence which can act as a hub for the community. This will help to make the UK attractive to the best researchers in the world on the topic of the network, and will enable it to take a leading role in future developments.

The network will provide crucial support for the career development of young researchers in this emerging interdisciplinary area.

It will improve the standing and visibility of the UK research community in the global knowledge economy, for work at the interface of physics and computer science.

There will also be a significant potential economic impact. By far the majority of activities supported by network funding will take place in the UK, and these events will attract participants from overseas who in many cases will bring their own funding with them. Also, as the reputation of the UK for work in this field increases, overseas academics with personal fellowships will be more likely to seek positions here. This will encourage inward investment, and help to keep the UK as a major centre of skilled scientific manpower at the forefront of current developments.