On July 21, 2026, Zichao Dong from the IBS Extremal Combinatorics and Probability Group gave a talk on the maximum size of a set family in which, for each i ≤ k, every intersection of i members has a prescribed parity at the Discrete Math Seminar. The title of his talk was “k-wise odd-even towns“.
Sang-il Oum (엄상일) gave a talk at the Discrete Math Seminar on a recent proof of the cycle double cover conjecture by OpenAI
On July 16, 2026, Sang-il Oum from the IBS Discrete Mathematics Group gave a talk on a recent proof the cycle double cover conjecture by OpenAI at the Discrete Math Seminar. The title of his talk was “A proof of the cycle double cover conjecture by OpenAI“.
Yaobin Chen gave a talk on the maximum size of a subset in general position of a random subset of a finite-dimensional vector space over a finite field
On July 14, 2026, Yaobin Chen from the IBS Extremal Combinatorics and Probability Group gave a talk at the Discrete Math Seminar on the maximum size of a subset in general position of a random subset of a finite-dimensional vector space over a finite field. The title of his talk was “Maximum in-general-position set in a random subset of $\mathbb{F}_q^d$“.
2026 Workshop on Topological Combinatorics Successfully Held at GIST
The 2026 Workshop on Topological Combinatorics was successfully held at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) from June 28 to July 11, 2026. The workshop was organized by Andreas Holmsen (KAIST & IBS DIMAG), Jinha Kim (Chonnam National University & IBS DIMAG), and Minki Kim (GIST), with support from GIST, IBS Discrete Mathematics Group (DIMAG), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).
This workshop is the fifth in the international series on topological combinatorics initiated by Ron Aharoni. It brought together researchers working in topological combinatorics, discrete geometry, algebraic topology, geometric transversal theory, topological methods in combinatorics, and related areas. The first week consisted of invited lectures and research presentations, while the second week was devoted to collaborative research and open problem discussions.
More than 60 researchers from Korea and overseas participated during the two-week program. Participants represented a wide range of institutions, including IBS DIMAG, KAIST, GIST, Chonnam National University, Ajou University, DGIST, KIAS, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Waterloo, Charles University, Université Paris Cité, École nationale des ponts et chaussées, Arizona State University, Iowa State University, Binghamton University, UNAM, MPI-CBG Dresden, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and several other universities and research institutes.
The scientific program featured invited lectures by leading researchers together with short research presentations covering recent developments in topological combinatorics and its interactions with geometry, topology, algebra, and combinatorics. The collaboration week provided participants with ample opportunities to initiate new research projects and strengthen existing international collaborations.

Welcome Yaobin Chen and Simón Piga, new members of IBS ECOPRO
The IBS Discrete Mathematics Group welcomes Dr. Yaobin Chen and Dr. Simón Piga, new research fellows at the IBS Extremal Combinatorics and Probability Group, starting July 1, 2026.
Yaobin Chen received his Ph.D. from Fudan University under the supervision of Prof. Hehui Wu. He is interested in extremal graph theory and combinatorics.
Simón Piga received his Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg under the supervision of Prof. Mathias Schacht. Until recently, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is interested in extremal and probabilistic combinatorics.
Ting-Wei Chao gave a talk on a variation of the odd town problem at the Discrete Math Seminar
On July 10, 2026, Ting-Wei Chao from MIT gave a talk at the Discrete Math Seminar on a variation of the odd town problem. The title of his talk was “The Oddtown Problem Modulo a Composite Number“.
Welcome Donghun Kim (김동훈), a new graduate student of the IBS Discrete Mathematics Group
The IBS Discrete Mathematics Group welcomes Donghoon Kim (김동훈), a new graduate student of the Discrete Mathematics Group from July 1, 2026. He received his B.S. degree from KAIST and entered the Department of Mathematical Sciences at KAIST as a graduate student on March 2026. His advisor is Andreas Holmsen.








