Colóquio 

13/07/2000, 17:00 — 18:00 — Anfiteatro Pa2, Pavilhão de Matemática
Joseph Goguen, University of California at San Diego

The Role of Algebra in Computer Science

A strong a priori case can be made that so-called general (or universal) algebra should play a fundamental role in computer science. But in fact, it has yet to do so on any large scale, and moreover the best developed branches of modern algebra (e.g., group theory, algebraic geometry, homology) seem doomed to play at most tertiary roles. Set theory and logic of course are basic, but perhaps surprisingly, category theory has a significant, growing and diverse role. We will try to explain why this is, and will give some examples. We will also sketch some as yet little explored application areas for algebra and category theory, such as computability and complexity, modern component-based programming, automated theorem proving, semantics of programming, and user interface design.