Computational Complexity Conference

The Computational Complexity Conference (CCC) is an important meeting for scientists who study how computers solve problems. It started in 1986 and happens every year between mid-May and mid-July, usually in North America or Europe. This conference brings together experts in theoretical computer science to share new ideas and discoveries.

One main focus of the CCC is computational complexity theory, which looks at how much time, space, or other resources a computer needs to solve different kinds of problems. Since 2015, the conference has been run by the Computational Complexity Foundation (CCF), making it an independent event for researchers around the world.

History

The Computational Complexity Conference, called CCC, started in 1986 as the "Structure in Complexity Theory Conference." It was supported by the US National Science Foundation and sponsored by the [IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Mathematical Foundations of Computing]. In 1996, the conference changed its name to the "Annual IEEE Conference on Computational Complexity," which is where the name CCC comes from.

In 2014, the group behind the conference, called the CCF, was created to make the conference independent and to share its materials freely online. Since 2015, the CCF has been in charge of organizing CCC and sharing all the conference papers openly for everyone to read. Old conference websites, programs, and calls for papers are saved online for people to look at.

Scope

The Computational Complexity Conference focuses on research about how hard different computing tasks can be. This includes studying many types of computing methods, from simple steps to very advanced ones, and looking at things that limit how these tasks can be done, like how much time or information is needed.

Logistics

The Computational Complexity Conference happens every year between mid-May and mid-July. It lasts about three days and includes talks and discussions about important ideas in computer science. There are also fun activities like an opening party, a special session for quick talks, and a meeting to talk about what’s next for the conference.

Awards

Every year, the Computational Complexity Conference gives out up to two special prizes. One prize is for the best paper written only by students, called the "Best Student Paper Award." Since 2001, there is also a "Best Paper Award" for the best paper presented at the conference that year.