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March 30, 2015
Monday, March 30
Geometry and Topology
Time: 15:30
Speaker: Dan Grayson (UIUC)
Title: "Homotopy Type Theory and Univalent Foundations"
Room: MC 107

Abstract: Homotopy type theory with the univalence axiom of Voevodsky provides both a new logical foundation for mathematics (Univalent Foundations) and a formal language usable with computers for checking the proofs mathematicians make daily. As a foundation, it replaces set theory with a framework where sets are defined in terms of a more primitive notion called "type". As a formal language, it encodes the axioms of mathematics and the rules of logic simultaneously, and promises to make the extraction of algorithms and values from constructive proofs easy. With a semantic interpretation in homotopy theory, it offers an alternative world where the proofs of basic theorems of mathematics can be formalized with minimal verbosity and verified by computer.

As a relative newcomer to the field, I will survey these recent developments and sketch the basic concepts for a general mathematical audience.