Outstanding Challenges in Combinatorics on Words

TUCS GP Student Aleksi Saarela's Travel Report from Outstanding Challenges in Combinatorics on Words

Full name of the event: Outstanding Challenges in Combinatorics on Words
Place and date: Banff, 19.–24.2.2012
Type of event: Workshop
The scientific profile of the event: The workshop focused on combinatorics on words. Inside this topic, there were a wide range of subtopics. In addition to the usual talks on published work, there were also presentations on works in progress and open problems and informal discussions.
Opinion on the best paper and its topic: It’s difficult to name a best presentation. I state one close to my own area, “Arithmetization of words and related problems” by Matiyasevich.
Number of participants: 42
Social events: Curling excursion at Banff Curling Club.
Touristic impressions: The conference and accommodation were at the Banff Centre, a short distance from the rather small town of Banff. The schedule was quite full and there weren’t many distractions, but the mountainous views all around us were breathtaking. Before the return flight, there was time to see more of the nature around Banff.