Algorithms in the Internet Era

Abstract

In the last fifty years, theory of algorithms has been mainly devoted
to understanding the capabilities and limitations of Turing or Von
Neumann machine as mathematical models of the computer. Building upon
various branches of mathematics (such as logic and combinatorics) and
in collaboration with other areas in computer science (databases,
networked systems, etc..) it has inspired us with beautiful results
and challenging open questions.

However, our perception of computers and their applications has been
evolving as well. In the last decade, we observed a paradigm shift in
our computational platform from personal computers and workstations to
networks of computers and especially the Internet. For understanding
this new phenomenon and its evolution, it seems that we need to
develop a new area that uses a fusion of ideas from algorithms, game
theory, and random graph theory.

I will talk about some of the new ideas and open problems in that area.

Biography
Amin Saberi received his BS from Sharif University in 2000 and
his PhD from Georgia Institue of Technolgoy in 2004. He did a short
Postdoc in Microsoft Research in the Theory group. He is an assistant
professor in Stanford University since January 2005.