Machines, Computations and Universality

September 9-11, 2013
University of Zürich, Switzerland






MCU 2013, the 6th conference in the MCU series, will be hosted at the University of Zürich in September 2013.

MCU explores computation in the setting of various discrete models (Turing machines, register machines, cellular automata, tile assembly systems, rewriting systems, molecular computing models, neural models etc.) and analog and hybrid models (BSS machines, infinite time cellular automata, real machines, quantum computing etc.). There is particular (but not exclusive) emphasis given towards the following:

• the search for frontiers between decidability and undecidability in the various models. (For example, what is the smallest number of pairs of words for which the Post correspondence problem is undecidable, or what is the largest state-symbol product for which the halting problem is decidable for Turing machines?)


• the search for the simplest universal models (such as small universal Turing machines, universal rewriting systems with few rules, universal cellular automata with small neighborhoods and a small number of states, etc.)


• the computational complexity of predicting the evolution of computations in the various models. (For example, is it possible to predict an arbitrary number of time steps for a model more efficiently than explicit step by step simulation of the model?)


• universality and undecidability in continuous models of computation.