For this session we will look at Modality and Structuralism, section 15 of: Charles Parsons, Mathematical Thought and Its Objects, 1st ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2007). As the title suggests, Parson explores an account of structuralism trough modal notions; the role of necessity and possibility in mathematical discourse, and the ontology of mathematical objects.
Our next film night, which will take place in the ILLC Common Room, on April 23 at 19:30. Snacks and drinks will be provided! As per usual, all Master of Logic, Logic Year, and ILLC PhD students are invited.
We are collecting ideas for the film night. After hearing your film ideas, we’ll open a poll to all students so that we can make a decision.
After the success of our first workshop Polar Question Meaning[s] Across Languages, we are launching a second POQAL meeting, this time focusing on form. How are polar questions expressed in syntax, morphology, intonation? How do components of the grammar of each language constrain and determine these ways, e.g. in the inventory of functional categories, the expression of negation, focus, polarity, intonational characteristics, pragmatic division of labor among forms? How do fine grammatical components correlate with fine components of meaning? What crosslinguistic generalizations can be made in this new level of granularity?
The ILLC Colloquium happens three times per year (as the Autumn Colloquium, the Midwinter Colloquium, or the Midsummer Colloquium), usually directly after the Current Affairs meeting. The Colloquium brings together the six research units at the ILLC and each event consists of at least two talks by representatives from different units. The colloquium is concluded by a get together of the entire ILLC community.
All staff members, PhD candidates, MoL students and any guests of the ILLC are welcome to attend the colloquium.
Please note that this event was announced before to occur on the 20th of June.
The Dutch Formal Methods Day is a full-day event dedicated to formal methods in the Netherlands. This event is an opportunity for people in academia, industry, and education who are interested in formal methods, in the broadest sense, to come together, learn, and network. There will be numerous talks, giving a broad overview formal methods in the Netherlands. Upon registering, you will have the opportunity to offer a talk.
Coffee and lunch will be provided; there will be ample opportunity for networking with your colleagues and meeting new people. Experts and newcomers to the field are equally welcome.
All the talks will be given in English.
We are currently collecting talks. If you would like to offer a talk, register before May 9th. As part of the registration process, you can indicate that you would like to give a talk. The organizers will be in touch and put together a program.
We invite applications for six fully-funded PhD positions (4 years) in the project "Cyclic Structures in Programs and Proofs – New Harmonies in Software Correctness by Construction", funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
This €3 million project aims to advance software verification through fundamental research in the following areas:
- Modal logic, proof theory, and coalgebras
- Programming languages, concurrency, and type systems
- Proof assistants (Agda, Rocq)
We seek strong, highly motivated applicants who:
- Have (or are close to completing) an MSc in Computer Science, Logic, Mathematics, or a related field.
- Have background or research experience in any of the areas above (preferred but not required).
- Have strong communication skills (oral and written) in English.
We are happy to share that the dean of the Faculty of Science has reappointed Robert van Rooij as director of the ILLC for a second term of four years. We wish Robert lots of success in fulfilling the tasks of research director.
On 7 April 2025, the entire editorial board of the journal MLQ: Mathematical Logic Quarterly, published by the commercial publisher Wiley, has announced its resignation since they believe in open science, diamond open access, and the control of journals by the academic community free from profit-oriented interests. Simultaneously, the DVMLG (German logic association) announced that the journal will no longer be published under the auspices of the DVMLG. In the past, the MLQ editorial office was based at the ILLC; ILLC staff member Nick Bezhanishvili is one of the editors who resigned.
Those editors free from contractual obligations with Wiley have launched a new English-language diamond open access journal ZML: Zeitschrift für Mathematische Logik und Grundlagen der Mathematik.