Learning and Optimization in High Dimensions (StatPhys29 Satellite Workshop)

Room AS02
Via G. Roentgen 1, Milan, Italy
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Many foundational challenges in AI, machine learning, inference, and optimization stem from navigating complex, high-dimensional landscapes. Over recent decades, the statistical physics of disordered systems has contributed numerous analytical and numerical frameworks to address these high-dimensional problems, where data enters as a quenched disorder. The relevance of these research directions is underscored by two recent Nobel prizes awarded to Giorgio Parisi and John Hopfield.

 

Our StatPhys29 Satellite workshop, taking place at Bocconi University on July 9th-11th 2025, will gather leading physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, and computational neuroscientists to discuss recent advancements and exchange insights on pressing shared open problems. 


The talks will be by invitation only, but applicants will have the opportunity to present their own research during a poster session. Attendance will be free for students and researchers, while the Department of Computing Sciences at Bocconi University will provide financial support for the event.

How to reach the Workshop 

 

The workshop will be held in the Grafton Building at Bocconi University, in Via Roentgen 1, Milan. The building is located near Porta Lodovica (Trams 9 & 15) and Porta Romana or Crocetta (Metro 2, yellow line). Buses 59, 61, 79 stop in front of the Building. Circular trams 90, 91 stop 10 minutes walk from campus.

Talks will take place in Room AS-01, which can be reached by going down the stairs directly in front of the GUD Bar, situated below the Grafton Building near the campus entrance. Check the position of the room on Google Maps (remember to go down the stairs).

Poster sessions and coffee breaks will also be held in the same area.

Presenting a Poster at the Workshop

 

If you are presenting a poster:

The recommended poster size is A1 format (59.4 × 84.1 cm).

You can get your poster printed here in Milan, before your arrival! For this purpose you need to contact MASTERCOPY copy shop at the latest 1 week before the workshop. Please send an email to print@mastercopymilano.it with a clear subject line such as "Poster printing for StatPhys29 workshop at Bocconi - [Name] [Surname]". The shop will provide a price estimate based on the size and type of paper you choose.

Invited Speakers

 

Maria Chiara Angelini - La Sapienza 

Stefan Boettcher - Emory University

Silvio Franz - Università del Salento

Federica Gerace - Università di Bologna

Sebastian Goldt - SISSA 

Haiping Huang - Sun Yat-Sen University

Alessandro Ingrosso - Radboud University

Florent Krzakala - EPFL

Clarissa Lauditi - Harvard 

Bruno Loureiro - École Normale Supérieure

Marc Mézard - Bocconi 

Francesca Mignacco - Princeton 

Rémi Monasson - École Normale Supérieure

Mauro Pastore - ICTP

Cengiz Pehlevan - Harvard 

Federico Ricci-Tersenghi - La Sapienza 

Pietro Rotondo - Università di Parma

Beatriz Seoane - Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Pierfrancesco Urbani - Paris Saclay 

Alexander van Meegen - EPFL

Matthieu Wyart - Johns Hopkins 

Hajime Yoshino - Osaka University

Schedule

Download the Book of Abstracts of the workshop here !

 

Wednesday 9th

09:00 - 09:30 REGISTRATION

 

09:30–10:15 Mézard

Understanding Generative Diffusion: A Statistical-Physics Approach

10:15–11:00 Seoane

Theoretical Insights into Overfitting and Regularization in Energy-Based Models

 

11:00–11:30 COFFEE BREAK

 

11:30–12:15 Ricci-Tersenghi

Computing algorithmic thresholds for hard combinatorial problems

12:15–13:00 Urbani

Dynamical decoupling between generalization and overfitting in overparametrized two-layer neural networks

 

13:00–14:30 LUNCH

 

14:30–15:00 Huang

Physics of in-context learning in transformers

15:00–15:30 Lauditi

Adaptive kernel predictors from feature-learning infinite limits of neural networks
 

15:30–16:00 Rotondo

Kernel Renormalization in Bayesian Deep Neural Networks

 

16:00–17:15 COFFEE BREAK

17:15–18:30 POSTER SESSION 1

18:30–20:00 HAPPY HOUR

 

Thursday 10th

09:30–10:15 Wyart

Creativity in generative AI

10:15–11:00 Monasson

Energy and computation(s): two examples from natural neural networks

 

11:00–11:30 COFFEE BREAK

 

11:30–12:00 Franz

Random features and polynomial rules: a Random Matrix Approach

12:00–12:30 Boettcher

Vectorized implementation of the extremal optimization heuristic

12:30–13:00 Yoshino

Statistical mechanics of supervised learning by multi-layer perceptrons

 

13:00–14:30 LUNCH

 

14:30–15:00 Ingrosso

Statistical mechanics of transfer learning in the proportional limit

15:00–15:30 Goldt

Feature learning from non-Gaussian inputs: the case of Independent Component Analysis in high dimensions

15:30–16:00 Angelini

Algorithmic thresholds in Bayesian Inference

 

16:00–16:30 COFFEE BREAK

16:30–18:00 POSTER SESSION 2

20:00 onward SOCIAL DINNER @ Cascina Cuccagna, Via Cuccagna 2

 

Friday 11th

09:30–10:15 van Meegen

Symmetries in Neural Loss Landscapes and Their Consequences

10:15–11:00 Krzakala

How and What do neural Neural Networks  Learn in High Dimensions?

 

11:00–11:30 COFFEE BREAK

 

11:30–12:15 Loureiro

High-dimensional limit of SGD for sequence single-index models

12:15–13:00 Pehlevan

A Solvable Model of In–Context Pretrain–Test Task Alignment

 

13:00–14:30 LUNCH

 

14:30–15:00 Mignacco

Optimal protocols for high dimensional learning

15:00–15:30 Gerace

Generalization performance of narrow one-hidden layer networks in the teacher-student setting

15:30–16:00 Pastore

Statistical mechanics of extensive-width Bayesian neural networks near interpolation

 

16:00–17:15 COFFEE BREAK

 

Organizers

 

Carlo Baldassi

Carlo Lucibello

Enrico Malatesta 

Gabriele Perugini 

Luca Saglietti 

Enrico Ventura 

Riccardo Zecchina