Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
Faculty of Engineering Sciences
My life before BGU:
I was born in Haifa and studied at Haifa’s Reali High School. I got my undergraduate degree in economics and business at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a research track master’s in economics through a joint program of the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University. I obtained a doctorate in game theory at the Technion and did postdocs at Stanford’s Dept. of Management Science and Engineering, Harvard’s
Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, and Tel Aviv University’s School of Mathematical Sciences.
My research:
I study complex systems in environments that lacking in knowledge and rational behavior. Or, simply put, how people’s personal knowledge (such as experience, intuition and the like) is utilized efficiently by various distributive mechanisms (such as markets). I employ mathematical tools developed in the context of game theory to identify sources of inefficiency and shape solutions. I then test these theoretical results on real-world data or through experiments. This approach has proved to be useful in a range of applications and content worlds, from organ donations through to the design of machine learning algorithms that incorporate human behavior in the prediction process.
Why BGU?
While I was in California, I met with BGU’s president. I connected with his vision for a university that grows and leads, engaged with the society within which it operates on one hand, and with the hi-tech industry on the other. I am a great believer in boundary-crossing transdisciplinary research. The Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at BGU has excellent researchers in a wide range of research fields and methods. I am happy and proud to be joining them and look forward to our collaborations.
An insight from my research:
Sometimes decision making in economic systems is more “correct” precisely when random noise is introduced into the system. For example, in a joint paper accepted to a leading conference on learning last year, we demonstrated that this method could improve the allocation of transplant organs in the US.
Something that doesn't appear on my CV:
I really love cooking. Since the Corona started, I’ve become proficient in many techniques and flavors. Currently I am learning to make Kombucha, a kind of fermented tea.
A source of inspiration:
I discovered game theory in The Undercover Economist, a book I read when I was stuck in Buenos Aires during my post-army trip. I became fascinated (and am still fascinated) by its ideas about pricing, and about the inefficiency that is sometimes caused by situations in which we each attempt to behave in the way that is best for us as individuals.
When I grow up:
I knew I wanted to do research from a young age.
If I wasn’t a researcher, I would...
I would like to say that I would do something cool, like opening a food truck, but I would most probably end up in hi-tech. But you know what? Let’s stick to the food truck… or a pub...
In Brief:
» Fauda or Big Brother? The Boys, on Amazon
» Yoga or CrossFit? Running
» Hapoel or Maccabi? Liverpool
» Ravid Plotnik or Noa Kirel? Neither is really my cup of tea, but I admire Ravid Plotnik’s journey from “Nechi Nech” to the heart of the mainstream
» Steak or tofu? Steak. Do I really have to explain?
» Trekking or the spa? Trekking. Totally
» Car or train? Train. I live in Haifa (for now at least), and there really is no other viable alternative
» Classical Europe or India? South America
» Ocean or pool? Pool
» Night or morning? Night
» Winter or summer? Winter. Everything seems more peaceful when it’s cold outside
» City or country? Not sure… leaning more towards the city these days
» Film or play? It depends. Some things work better in each of these media
» Phone call or text message? Really! You can still talk on these devices?
» Savory or sweet? I live for burrekitos…
» Android or iPhone? Android, especially now that all the apps have switched to a subscription model
» Cat or dog? Dog, but not one of those little yappy ones…
» Facebook or Twitter? I’d like to say Twitter, but most of my friends are on FB…
