Meet one of our undergraduate students and summer research
interns, Julia Sacamano!
Over the summer I will be studying Game
Theory under the direction of Professor Akin. I will be using my
experience with probability theory and linear algebra to understand
the nature of games. The theory, first introduced by mathematician
John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s, is
the branch of mathematics which addresses situations in which there
is conflict, competition, and potential strategies between rational
thinking human ‘players’. We can see its uses in economics,
politics, philosophy, and psychology. I will be focusing the
majority of my studies on both two-person zero-sum games and
two-person nonzero-sum games. Through these studies I will be
taking a look at topics such as utility theory, payoff matrices,
and Nash equilibrium in hopes of better understanding how to
discern ‘solutions’ to games or predict potential outcomes of these
situations. I will be reading Game Theory and Strategy by Philip
Straffin, The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod, and Game
Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction by CCNY Emeritus Professor
Morton D. Davis.
I will be using this knowledge to further examine the classic
paradox of the Prisoner’s Dilemma which was originally proposed by
Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher as well as the iterated (repeated
play) version. I am an Applied Mathematics major and will begin my
Junior year in the fall. I hope to relate my studies in game theory
to classes I've taken at CCNY, such as Probability Theory, Linear
Algebra, Philosophy, and Economics, as well as things in everyday
life. I love challenges, puzzles, and problems that come with
studying math and am forever chasing the feeling of satisfaction
when I find a solution and truly understand a topic. I love the
universal and dynamic aspects of math and how it is the same in
every country around the world, how it is used in every facet of
life, and how its presence might not be noticed a first glance.
