Please refer to organizer website here: http://www.math.ryerson.ca/~abonato/GRASCan/GRASCan19/index.html . 

Graph searching focuses on the analysis of games and graph processes that model some form of intrusion in a network, and efforts to eliminate or contain that intrusion. For example, in the game of Cops and Robbers, a robber is loose on the network, and a set of cops attempts to capture the robber. How the players move and the rules of capture depend on which variant is studied. There are many variants of graph searching studied in the literature, which are either motivated by problems in practice or are inspired by foundational issues in computer science, discrete mathematics, and artificial intelligence, such as robotics and network security. 

In the past few years, many problems have emerged from applications related to the structure of real-world networks that are expected to be large-scale and dynamic, and where agents can be probabilistic, decentralized, and even selfish or antagonistic. This is one of the reasons why the field of graph searching is nowadays rapidly expanding. Several new models, problems, and approaches have appeared, relating it to diverse fields such as random walks, game theory, logic, probabilistic analysis, complex networks, mobile robotics, and distributed computing.

Graph Searching in Canada (or GRASCan) is an annual conference that has been held at various sites, beginning with an inaugural meeting at Ryerson University in 2012. GRASCan provides an opportunity for mathematicians and researchers in graph searching, Cops and Robbers games, pursuit-evasion games, and related fields to meet, disseminate their work, and collaborate. Although GRASCan is a national conference, it attracts a number of international participants. GRASCan enjoys an excellent reputation for its welcoming atmosphere and its high-quality scientific program. Junior mathematicians (graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, early career faculty members) are particularly encouraged to participate. Moreover, we expect that hosting this event at the Fields Institute, given its outstanding reputation and central location within Canada, will attract numerous researchers and graduate students with interests in these topics.