Parallel Computing and Political Redistricting

Welcome to the DC/NoVA Papers We Love meetup!

Papers We Love is an international organization centered around the appreciation of computer science research papers. There's so much we can learn from the landmark research that shaped the field and the current studies that are shaping our future. Our goal is to create a community of tech professionals passionate about learning and sharing knowledge. Come join us!

New to research papers? Watch The Refreshingly Rewarding Realm of Research Papers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eRx5Wo3xYA) by Sean Cribbs.

Ideas and suggestions are welcome–fill our our interest survey here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJwLQhnmzWcuyodPrSmqHgqrvNxRbnNSbiWAuwzHwshhy_Sg/viewform) and let us know what motivates you!

// Tentative Schedule

• 7:00-7:30–Informal paper discussion

• 7:30-7:35–Introduction and announcements

• 7:35-8:40–PEAR: a massively parallel evolutionary computation approach for political redistricting optimization and analysis (http://cho.pol.illinois.edu/wendy/papers/swevo.pdf), presented by Lee

• 8:40-9:00–Informal paper discussion

// Directions

CustomInk Cafe (3rd Floor)
Mosaic District, 2910 District Ave #300
Fairfax, VA 22031

When you get here you can come in via the patio. Don't be scared by the metal gate and sign. It's accessible via the outside stairs near True Food. There is a parking garage next door for those coming by vehicle. And, there is a walkway to the patio on the 3rd floor of the garage nearest moms organic market.

Metro: The Dunn Loring metro station is about 0.7 miles from our meetup location. It’s very walkable, but if you’d prefer a bus, the 402 Southbound and 1A/1B/1C Westbound leave from Dunn Loring Station about every 5-10 minutes (see a schedule for more detailed timetable).

If you're late, we totally understand–please still come! (via the patio is best) Just be sure to slip in quietly if a speaker is presenting.

// Papers

PRIMARY:

1. PEAR: a massively parallel evolutionary computation approach for political redistricting optimization and analysis
   by Yan Y. Liu, Wendy K. Tam Cho, and Shaowen Wang

website: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/pear-a-massively-parallel-evolutionary-computation-approach-for-p
pdf: http://cho.pol.illinois.edu/wendy/papers/swevo.pdf
doi: 10.1016/j.swevo.2016.04.004

SUPPORTING:

2. Evaluating partisan gains from Congressional gerrymandering: Using computer simulations to estimate the effect of gerrymandering in the U.S. House
   by Jowei Chen and David Cottrell

pdf: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jowei/gerrymandering.pdf
doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2016.06.014

3. Toward a Talismanic Redistricting Tool: A Computational Method for Identifying Extreme Redistricting Plans
   by Wendy K. Tam Cho and Yan Y. Liu

pdf: http://cho.pol.illinois.edu/wendy/papers/talismanic.pdf
doi: 10.1089/elj.2016.0384