Workshop on
Discrete Metric Spaces and their Algorithmic Applications

3-7 March, 2002
Haifa, Israel

SPONSORED BY:
* US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF);
* Caesaria Rothschild Foundation Institute;
* Haifa University Research Counsel.

General Information

Finite metric spaces have emerged in recent years as a new and influential branch of discrete mathematics, with deep and surprising applications in Computer Science. The aim of this workshop is to summarize the achievements in this area to date, and clarify the core questions of the emerging field. We would like to help in shaping the area and to permit people with different research emphases to interact.

The workshop will include a number of talks with a mix of expository, tutorial- style presentations and recent research topics. Ample time will be left free for discussions and problem sessions. The participants will include several key invitees, but the workshop is open to all those who wish to attend and learn about the area.

The workshop will run from March 3-7, 2002, (Sunday afternoon through Thursday afternoon) in Haifa, Israel. Accommodation and some of the sessions will be at the beautiful Holiday Inn Hotel in Haifa. The remaining sessions will be held at the Haifa University .

There will be no registration fee for the workshop. Local expenses (accommodation, breakfast, banquet etc.) will be covered for invitees, and light refreshments between sessions will be provided to all participants.

For any additional information or questions related to the workshop, please contact Yuri Rabinovich yuri@cs.haifa.ac.il. Our local arrangements coordinator is Ms. Libi Oded libi@cs.haifa.ac.il, and she will be happy to help.

Updated List of Confirmed Participants:

• Yair Bartal (Hebrew Univ., Israel) yair@cs.huji.ac.il.
• Reuven Bar-Yehuda (Technion, Israel) reuven@cs.technion.ac.il.
• Chandra Chekuri (Bell Labs, NJ) chekuri@research.bell-labs.com.
• Victor Chepoi (Univ. of Marseille, France) chepoi@lim.univ-mrs.fr.
• Graham Cormode (Univ. of Warwick, United Kingdom) grahamc@dcs.warwick.ac.uk.
• Michel Deza (Ecole Normale Superieure, France) Michel.Deza@ens.fr.
• Michael Elkin (Weizmann Institute, Israel) elkin@wisdom.weizmann.ac.il.
• Guy Even (Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) guy@eng.tau.ac.il.
• Uriel Feige (Weizmann Institute, Israel) feige@wisdom.weizmann.ac.il.
• Jonathan Golan (Haifa University, Israel) golan@math.haifa.ac.il.
• Sudipto Guha (University of Pennsilvania, PENN) sudipto@central.cis.upenn.edu.
• Piotr Indyk (MIT, MA) indyk@theory.lcs.mit.edu.
• William Johnson (Texas A&M Univ., TE) johnson@math.tamu.edu.
• Gil Kalai (Hebrew Univ., Israel) kalai@math.huji.ac.il.
• Michael Katz (Bar Ilan Univ., Israel) katzmik@macs.biu.ac.il.
• Joram Lindenstrauss (Hebrew Univ., Israel) joram@math.huji.ac.il.
• Nathan Linial (Hebrew Univ., Israel) nati@cs.huji.ac.il.
• Eran London (Hadassa College, Israel) eran@math.huji.ac.il.
• Avner Magen (NEC, NJ) avner@research.nj.nec.com.
• Jiri Matousek (Karl University, Prague) matousek@kam-enterprise.ms.mff.cuni.cz.
• Assaf Naor (Hebrew Univ., Israel) naor@math.huji.ac.il.
• Seffi Naor (Technion, Israel) naor@cs.technion.ac.il.
• Ilan Newman (Haifa Univ., Israel) ilan@cs.haifa.ac.il.
• Yuval Rabani (Technion, Israel) rabani@cs.technion.ac.il.
• Yuri Rabinovich (Haifa Univ., Israel) yuri@cs.haifa.ac.il.
• Satish Rao (UC Berkeley, CA) satishr@cs.berkeley.edu.
• R. Ravi (Carnegie Mellon Univ., PA) ravi@cmu.edu.
• Liam Roditty (Tel Aviv University, Israel) liamr@post.tau.ac.il.
• Gideon Schechtman (Weizmann Institute, Israel) gideon@wisdom.weizmann.ac.il.
• Uri Zwick (Tel Aviv University, Israel) zwick@post.tau.ac.il.

Important dates

• March 3-7, 2002: the Workshop.

Further information

• (TENTATIVE) WORKSHOP PROGRAM:

• LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS:
  The file with relevant information will be ready very soon. Our local coordinator is Ms. Libi Oded, libi@cs.haifa.ac.il; please do not hesitate to address her directly with any general question or personal request.

• In the meanwhile:

  Getting from the Airport to Holiday Inn Hotel: is easy. You take either a regular taxi (about 65 NIS) or a special taxi (about 265 NIS). Both will take you directly to the hotel. The former, however, will depart only when full, which may take up to 30 min. 1$ = 4.7 NIS.

  See also Transportation.

  Accommodations: Please let us know ASAP the dates at which you are planning to stay at the hotel, and whether you should need a single or a double room. We shall do all the rest (reservations, payments, etc.) We shall cover your stay during the workshop, i.e., between Saturday (March 2) noon and Thursday (March 7) afternoon. Should you like to extend your stay at the hotel, please inform us as soon as possible. The hotel has parking, Internet connection and swimming pool.

  Travel / Visitor Information: There is plenty at the hotel Loby, see also Israel / Haifa Information.