The talk will have two parts. In the first part, based on joint work with Braverman and Etesami , we will analyze the game Mafia (the chinese variant is known as Killer) - in particular focusing on optimal strategies, the strength of the different groups and the role of probability and cryptography. In the second part (based on work with Daskalakis and Dimakis) we will talk about random games and social networks.

个人简介：

Prof. Elchanan Mossel studies mathematical and algorithmic problems arising in the theory of computing, as well as in such areas as molecular biology, evolution and social choice. He is particularly interested in problems of combinatorial and probabilistic flavor and in large-scale analysis.

Born in Jerusalem in 1973, he received a B.Sc. magna cum laude in mathematics and natural sciences from the Open University of Israel in 1992. He conducted his graduate studies in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning an M.Sc. magna cum laude in 1997 and a Ph.D. in 2000. After conducting postdoctoral studies in the theory group of Microsoft's research division for two years, he moved to the University of California at Berkeley in 2002, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an assistant and an associate professor. He has received a number of grants and awards, including an Alfred Sloan Fellowship in Mathematics, a Miller Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Career Award.