NSMC '03 is the fourth in a series of international conferences devoted to all aspects of the numerical solution of Markov chains. The first two meetings were held in 1990 and 1995 at NC State University. The last was held in 1999 in Zaragoza, Spain and was joined by two other meetings having substantial interests in Markov chains and since this format proved effective, we shall do the same for the upcoming September '03 meeting. The meetings will be held simultaneously and participants may move freely from one to another.

NSMC '03 is one of four conferences participating in the 2003 Illinois International Multiconference on Measurement, Modelling, and Evaluation of Computer-Communication Systems.

Please follow this link to visit the main page of the Multiconference, with links to all of the other participating conferences:

Due Dates

Objectives and Themes

The goals of NSMC '03 are:

• To foster collaboration among diverse researchers, to minimize unnecessary duplication and to encourage interdisciplinary, international exchange.
• To present unique and novel applications of Markov chains that need tailored algorithms and solutions that we numerical analysts, computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians can provide.
• To present recent and advanced techniques for solving Markov chains.
• To provide the opportunity for researchers who work in this area to present their latest research results. The collection of presentations is intended to be an authoritative overview of the field, including its history, developments, and current status.
• To predict future directions and the field's most pressing needs, thereby motivating stimulating work in such areas.
• To produce a comprehensive set of proceedings, which is expected to become a significant reference work.

Topics of Interest

Include, but are not limited to:

• Matrix generation techniques and storage
  • Stochastic Automata Networks
  • Application-oriented interfaces
  • Sparse matrix technologies
  • Very large state spaces
• Computation of stationary probability vectors
  • Direct solution methods
  • Iterative solution methods
  • Matrix geometric solutions
  • Domain decomposition methods
  • Hierarchical and aggregation/disaggregation methods
  • Preconditioning and Incomplete factorizations
• Computation of transient solutions
  • Randomization/Uniformization
  • O.D.E. & P.D.E. Solvers
• Computation of other measures: first passage times, etc.
• Approximations
  • Aggregation/disaggregation
  • Truncations
  • Bounds
  • Kronecker approximations
• Markov Reward Models
• Sensitivity Analysis
• Optimization
• Simulations
• Parallel Implementations
• Markov Chain Applications to:
  • Information Retrieval
  • Computer Performance Modelling
  • Telecommunication Modelling
  • Biological systems
  • Financial and Economic applications
  • Others ... not necessarily from the CS area
  • P.C. Demonstrations

Publication in LAA

All papers accepted and presented at the meeting will appear in a special issue of the journal Linear Algebra and its Applications (LAA). This special issue will be published after the conference to provide authors with the opportunity to incorporate comments, suggestions or improvements learned during the meeting itself. Preprints of all accepted papers will be available to attendees. If authors have a preference for a particular Special Editor to handle their manuscript, this should be made clear in an email message accompanying their submission. The Special Editors for this issue of LAA are:

Dr. Winfried Grassmann,
Department of Computer Science,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada.
Email: grassman at cs.usask.ca

Dr. Carl Meyer,
Department of Mathematics,
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695-8205.
Email: meyer at ncsu.edu

Dr. William Stewart,
Department of Computer Science,
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695-8206
Email: billy at csc.ncsu.edu

Dr. Daniel Szyld,
Department of Mathematics,
Temple University,
Philadelphia, PA 19122-2585,
Email: szyld at math.temple.edu

One of the conference sessions will be devoted to "Work in Progress". Authors will be allocated 15 minutes to describe ongoing research that is not yet ready for publication in a journal. Interested persons wishing to participate in this session should send an extended abstract of not more than 4 pages to either of the co-chairs.

Submission Requirements

Postscript files should be submitted to either billy at csc.ncsu.edu or anlangvi at unity.ncsu.edu.

• page restriction: no more than 20 single-spaced pages
• include title, abstract, figures, tables, references
• must not be previously published work

Important Dates

• March 31, 2003: Deadline for paper submission. Authors should submit postscript file to either billy at csc.ncsu.edu or anlangvi at unity.ncsu.edu by this date. Please include the name and email address of the correspondence author with the title and authors of the submitted paper.
• May 26, 2003: Notification of acceptance, subject to possible revisions.
• July 7, 2003: Deadline for receipt of postscript version of paper for inclusion in conference preprints.
• September 3-5, 2003: NSMC '03 Conference
• October 20, 2003: Deadline for receipt of final revised version of paper.

Venue

NSMC will be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Details on transportation and accommodations are now available.

Program Committee

Workshop Organizers