Nobel laureate Alvin Roth to speak Dec. 2

Nobel laureate Alvin Roth will discuss “The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design” in a Dec. 2 lecture presented by the Rice Initiative for the Study of Economics (RISE) and the Office of the President. The lecture will be at 5 p.m. in McNair Hall’s Shell Auditorium and will be followed by a 6:30 p.m. reception in McNair Hall’s Executive Commons.

Alvin Roth (Photo courtesy of Rice School of Social Sciences)

“Markets are not just about money,” said Antonio Merlo, founding director of RISE and the dean of Rice’s School of Social Sciences. “Price is not the key determinant for matching medical students with residencies, students with schools or bodily organs with transplant patients, yet these examples involve markets nonetheless. Alvin Roth’s pathbreaking research focuses on the design of markets to improve the lives of individuals and to ameliorate the condition of our society.”

Roth is an expert in the field of game theory. Along with Lloyd Shapley, he received the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. He is the Craig and Susan McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University.

This highly anticipated event features the third Nobel laureate in economic sciences to visit Rice since 2015 and is made possible by a gift from Doyle Arnold ’70, Merlo said. He said RISE is grateful for support from Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business and School of Social Sciences.

Admission to the lecture and reception is free of charge; however, space is limited so RSVPs are requested. RSVP by visiting http://bit.ly/2fVDpSI.