Whenever information is transmitted across a channel, errors are bound to occur. It is the goal of coding theory to find efficient ways of adding redundancy to the information so that the errors can be detected and even corrected. The first few lectures of this workshop will be devoted to a general introduction to the theory of error-correcting codes. The remaining lectures will be devoted to a survey of some current topics in coding theory research, including a discussion of several recent papers on the subject.

Because of its immediate real-world applications, coding theory is a topic with great appeal to undergraduates. It can be worked into undergraduate linear algebra, abstract algebra, and number theory courses.

Prerequisites: Participants should have a solid background in abstract algebra. Familiarity with finite fields would be beneficial but is not necessary.

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