China Theory Week 2018 took place from September 17 to September 20, 2018 at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS), Tsinghua University. An international group of young scholars from Harvard University, Princeton University, MIT, UC Berkeley, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiaotong University had the chance to discuss their current research on theory computer science at the workshop. The workshop was opened by IIIS Assistant Professor Ran Duan, co-chair of CTW 2018, and Prof. Andrew Yao, IIIS Dean and CTW General Chair also attended the workshop.

The four-day program included four keynote talks by Director of Baidu Quantum Computation Institute Runyao Duan, Michigan Professor Seth Pettie, Aarhus Associate Professor Kasper Green Larsen and UB Assistant Professor Shi Li, as well as twenty-four talks by graduate students from renowned universities, covering a wide range of topics from algorithm, complexity theory, cryptography to machine learning theory, quantum computation and mechanism design.

Now in its 12th year, the workshop is an annual event that brings together and connects pioneering academics across the world. Vatsal Sharan from Stanford University said he was recommended to attend the workshop by his advisor Gregory Valiant who came to CTW for three times (CTW2009 student speaker, CTW2014 keynote speaker, and CTW2016 keynote speaker) and this was something that made this workshop special. Prof. Seth Pettie, one of the keynote speakers, commented on the workshop: “It is a great idea. It does a good job at advertising China to the world, and it’s a big success.” This year also sees two alumni of Yao Class attending the workshop as the speakers, who are Shi Li, Yao Class 2008 graduate and now UB Assistant Professor, and Tianren Liu, Yao Class 2014 graduate and now MIT PhD candidate.

China Theory Week was initiated by Prof. Andrew Yao in 2007, and aims to promote the academic exchange in the field of computer science worldwide. It now enjoys a high reputation among the graduates and witnesses the process of growth and transformation into a researcher by the student participants. This annual event rotates locations chosen by the host organization (IIIS) from Beijing to Aarhus, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and this year, it was held in Beijing.

(By Yuying Chang, Photo by Xiang Li)