mathematics

László Babai

László Babai is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand László Babai rather than just read about it. In short: László "Laci" Babai (born July 20, 1950, in Budapest) is a Hungarian-American professor of computer science and mathematics at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on computational complexity theory, algorithms, combinatorics, and finite groups, with an emphasis on the interactions between these fields.

Key takeaways

László Babai belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect László Babai to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of László Babai from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

László "Laci" Babai (born July 20, 1950, in Budapest) is a Hungarian-American professor of computer science and mathematics at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on computational complexity theory, algorithms, combinatorics, and finite groups, with an emphasis on the interactions between these fields.

Life In 1968, Babai won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Babai studied mathematics at Faculty of Science of the Eötvös Loránd University from 1968 to 1973, received a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1975, and received a DSc from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1984. He held a teaching position at Eötvös Loránd University since 1971; in 1987 he took joint positions as a professor in algebra at Eötvös Loránd and in computer science at the University of Chicago. In 1995, he began a joint appointment in the mathematics department at Chicago and gave up his position at Eötvös Loránd.

Work He is the author of over 180 academic papers. His notable accomplishments include the introduction of interactive proof systems, the introduction of the term Las Vegas algorithm, and the introduction of group theoretic methods in graph isomorphism testing. In November 2015, he announced a quasipolynomial time algorithm for the graph isomorphism problem. He is editor-in-chief of the refereed online journal Theory of Computing. Babai was also involved in the creation of the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program and coined the name.

Graph isomorphism in quasipolynomial time After announcing the result in 2015, Babai presented a paper proving that the graph isomorphism problem can be solved in quasi-polynomial time in 2016, at the ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing. In response to an error discovered by Harald Helfgott, he posted an update in 2017.

Honors In 1988, Babai won the Hungarian State Prize, in 1990 he was elected as a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and in 1994 he became a full member. In 1999 the Budapest University of Technology and Economics awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1993, Babai was awarded the Gödel Prize together with Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, Shlomo Moran, and Charles Rackoff, for their papers on interactive proof systems. In 2005, he received the Quantrell Award. In 2015, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and won the Knuth Prize. Babai was an invited speaker at the International Congresses of Mathematicians in Kyoto (1990), Zürich (1994, plenary talk), and Rio de Janeiro (2018).

Sources Professor László Babai's algorithm is next big step in conquering isomorphism in graphs // Published on Nov 20, 2015 Division of the Physical Sciences / The University of Chicago Mathematician claims breakthrough in complexity theory, by Adrian Cho 10 November 2015 17:45 // Posted in Math, Science AAAS News A Quasipolynomial Time Algorithm for Graph Isomorphism: The Details + Background on Graph Isomorphism + The Main Result // Math ∩ Programming. Posted on November 12, 2015, by j2kun A Little More on the Graph Isomorphism Algorithm // November 21, 2015, by RJLipton+KWRegan (Ken Regan and Dick Lipton) copy from Lenta.ru // texnomaniya.ru, 20 ноября 2015 Опубликован быстрый алгоритм для задачи изоморфизма графов // Анатолий Ализар, Хабрахабр, 16 декабря в 02:12 Опубліковано швидкий алгоритм для задачі ізоморфізму графів Archived 2017-07-03 at the Wayback Machine // Джерело: Хабрахабр, перекладено 16 грудня 2015, 06:30

References

External links

Personal website. DBLP: László Babai.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with László Babai

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what László Babai claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to László Babai before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about László Babai ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of László Babai

In research: László Babai appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses László Babai in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: László Babai is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950 births, 20th-century Hungarian mathematicians, 21st-century Hungarian mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for László Babai outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study László Babai in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what László Babai means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain László Babai out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is László Babai in simple terms?

Why does László Babai matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study László Babai?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on László Babai.