Speaker: Dor Minzer (MIT)Title: On Approximability of Satisfiable CSPs and FriendsAbstract: Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs in short) are among the most important computational problems studied in Theoretical Computer Science. This talk will focus on a recent line of study addressing the complexity of approximating satisfiable instances of CSPs, and connections of this study to multi-player parallel repetition theorems, property testing and combinatorics.Based mostly on joint works with Amey Bhangale, Subhash Khot and Yang P. Liu.

Asia in Dialogue Seminar Series presents"Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral: Zheng He and the Chinese Overseas"Presented by Tansen Sen, NYU Shanghai and Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton)This presentation examines the processes of landscape- and heritage-making associated with Zheng He in Java, Malacca, and Singapore. By exploring the veneration of Zheng He among both Chinese Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Java, the curation of his legacy in Malacca, and the broader issue of heritage-making in Singapore, this study seeks to address two key questions: Why did Zheng He matter to the Chinese overseas? And how did the Chinese overseas transform his legacy? It draws on the concepts of “superscription” and “Zheng He after Zheng He” to argue that Southeast Asia played a pivotal role in shaping Zheng He’s legacy.

Thursday, February 27, 5-7 p.m., Room 32-124 (dinner provided)Are you prepared to "hit the ground running" at your next internship or in a new role after graduating? Learning how to “take charge” and actively engage with your new responsibilities is an important skill to master.This workshop will help you understand and build this skillset as it relates to your future goals. Hear from a panel of MIT Grad Students as they share their experiences and advice on successfully kickstarting their careers.Who shouldattend:· MIT grad students from all majors· Seeking internships or full time positions· Have internship/employment offers andwant to begin with a strong startWhat you'll learn:· Why "taking charge" is an important skill· Common mistakes and how to avoid them· Strategies for actively engaging with your new responsibilities· Real advice from MIT Grad Students

Speaker: Xinyu Zhou (Boston University)Title: Families of varieties with good reductionAbstract:We review some constructions on crystalline representations and cohomology. Then we present a result in Lawrence-Venkatesh that shows the points in a residue disk that define semisimple representations are contained in a proper analytic subset. The proof illustrates the basic strategy in Lawrence-Venkatesh: to show the finiteness of a set of points, one only need to show its image in the period domain is contained in a Zariski-closed subset with dimension smaller than that of the orbit of a point under the complex monodromy group.Reference:$\bullet$ Lawrence and Venkatesh, Diophantine problems and ppp-adic period mappings, Section 3.$\bullet$ Faltings, Crystalline cohomology and p-adic Galois-representations. Algebraic analysis, geometry, and number theory (Baltimore, MD, 1988), 25–80.$\bullet$ Illusie, Crystalline cohomology. Section 3.Motives (Seattle, WA, 1991), 43–70.

The MIT wrestling club holds practices in the du Pont Wrestling Room on weeknights 5:30-7pm. All levels of experience welcome! Whether you're looking to learn how to grapple or just want to get in a good workout, wrestling practice is a good time to learn technique, get in some live goes, and have fun with a great group of people.Current schedule is: structured practice MTRF, open mats W, and technique sessions 9-10:30am on Saturday. For more information, contact wrestling-officers@mit.edu.