Research Statement and Proposal 2 past and Future Research

Over the past fifty years, computer science was based on theoretical models which originated from Von Neumann (or alternatively Turing) and computer science theory was built mainly on the foundations of logic and combinatorics. In recent years we are witnessing a fascinating phenomenon which requires a radically different way of thinking, namely, the emergence of applications and environments that involve strong socio-economic aspects. The examples are numerous, including electronic commerce and economics in general, the design of wide area networks, multi-agent systems and a large number of Internet applications. Problems that stem from such applications are very different from traditional algorithmic problems as the behavior of the participants in these applications is determined by their own goals and not by the instructions of the designer. From a technical point of view, these problems require the fusion of methods from both computer science and game theory (and micro-economics) and above all, a novel set of tools and ideas. Currently, very little is known about such problems and their understanding is a fascinating and deep challenge.