Page 47 - Ellingham, Mark, Mariusz Meszka, Primož Moravec, Enes Pasalic, 2014. 2014 PhD Summer School in Discrete Mathematics. Koper: University of Primorska Press. Famnit Lectures, 3.
P. 47
pter 2
Combinatorial Designs
Mariusz Meszka
AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
SUMMARY
The roots of combinatorial design theory, date from the 18th and 19th centuries, may be
found in statistical theory of experiments, geometry and recreational mathematics. De-
sign theory rapidly developed in the second half of the twentieth century to an indepen-
dent branch of combinatorics. It has deep interactions with graph theory, algebra, geom-
etry and number theory, together with a wide range of applications in many other disci-
plines. Most of the problems are simple enough to explain even to non-mathematicians,
yet the solutions usually involve innovative techniques as well as advanced tools and
methods of other areas of mathematics. The most fundamental problems still remain
unsolved.
35
Combinatorial Designs
Mariusz Meszka
AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
SUMMARY
The roots of combinatorial design theory, date from the 18th and 19th centuries, may be
found in statistical theory of experiments, geometry and recreational mathematics. De-
sign theory rapidly developed in the second half of the twentieth century to an indepen-
dent branch of combinatorics. It has deep interactions with graph theory, algebra, geom-
etry and number theory, together with a wide range of applications in many other disci-
plines. Most of the problems are simple enough to explain even to non-mathematicians,
yet the solutions usually involve innovative techniques as well as advanced tools and
methods of other areas of mathematics. The most fundamental problems still remain
unsolved.
35
