Call for Papers

The 44th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC 2012), sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT), will be held in New York, New York, from Saturday May 19 to Tuesday May 22, 2012. Papers presenting new and original research on the theory of computation are sought. Typical but not exclusive topics of interest include: algorithms and data structures, computational complexity, cryptography, computational learning theory, computational game theory, parallel and distributed algorithms, quantum computing, computational geometry, computational applications of logic, algorithmic graph theory and combinatorics, optimization, randomness in computing, approximation algorithms, algorithmic coding theory, algebraic computation, and theoretical aspects of areas such as networks, privacy, information retrieval, computational biology, and databases. Papers that broaden the reach of the theory of computing, or raise important problems that can benefit from theoretical investigation and analysis, are encouraged.

Submission format: Submissions should start with a title page consisting of the title of the paper; each author's name, affiliation, and email address; and an abstract of 1-2 paragraphs summarizing the paper's contributions. This should be followed by an extended abstract of up to 10 pages, which consists of a scholarly exposition of the paper's main ideas, results, and techniques, including motivation and a clear comparison with related work.

The extended abstract should be addressed insofar as possible to a broad spectrum of CS Theory researchers. Authors should also substantiate the main mathematical claims of the paper with proofs, some of which may be placed in a clearly marked appendix that will be read at the discretion of the program committee. (Authors may simply attach a copy of the full paper as the appendix.)

The body of the extended abstract (excluding title page, bibliography, appendix, and figures) should not exceed 10 single-spaced pages on letter-size (8 1/2 x 11 inch) paper, and should be in single-column format, using at least 1 inch margins, 11-point font, and ample spacing all around.

Submissions deviating from these guidelines risk rejection without consideration of their merits.

Submission Instructions: Authors are required to submit their extended abstracts electronically, in PDF (without security restrictions on copying or printing). The submission server will be available by October 4 through the following link: https://secure.iacr.org/websubrev/stoc2012/submit/.

On-line Posting: Authors are encouraged to post full versions of their submissions in a freely accessible on-line repository such as the arXiv, ECCC, or the Cryptology ePrint archive. (Papers that are not written well enough for public dissemination are probably also not ready for submission to STOC.) We expect that authors of accepted papers will make full versions of their papers, with proofs, available by the camera-ready deadline. (This should be done in a manner consistent with the ACM Copyright Policy.)

Prior and Simultaneous Submissions: The conference will follow SIGACT's policy on prior publication and simultaneous submissions. Abstract material which has been previously published in another conference proceedings or journal, or which is scheduled for publication prior to July 2012, will not be considered for acceptance at STOC 2012. SIGACT policy does not allow simultaneous submissions of the same (or essentially the same) abstract material to another conference with published proceedings. The program committee may interact with program chairs of other (past or future) conferences to find out about closely related submissions.

Dates:

Extended Abstract Submission: Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 5:59pm EDT.
Notification: by email on or before Sunday February 5, 2012.
Deadline for accepted papers: A camera-ready copy of each accepted paper is required by March 23, 2012.
Workshops and Welcome Reception: Saturday May 19, 2012.
Conference: Sunday May 20 - Tuesday May 22, 2012.

Best Paper Award: The program committee may designate up to three papers accepted to the conference as STOC Best Papers. Every submission is automatically eligible for this award. Rules for the award can be found at http://www.sigact.org/Prizes/BestPaper.

Danny Lewin Best Student Paper Award: A prize of $500 will be given to the author(s) of the best student-authored paper (or split between more than one paper if there is a tie). A paper is eligible if all of its authors are full-time students at the time of submission. To inform the program committee about a paper's eligibility, check the appropriate box in the web form on the submission server. The list of past winners can be found at http://www.sigact.org/Prizes/Student/.

Program Committee:

General Chair: Howard Karloff (AT&T Labs-Research)
Local Arrangement Chair: Yevgeniy Dodis (NYU)
Conference website: stoc2012.org

SIGACT has limited funds to support travel for students and researchers from developing countries who don't have other means of support.

Registered conference attendees will be provided with internet access to the Proceedings on a password-protected site that will be available from about two weeks before the conference until the end of the conference. Authors can opt out of this online distribution by contacting the program committee chair by the camera-ready deadline (March 23).