Robert Aumann

Robert Aumann	Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Robert Aumann was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1930, to a well-to-do orthodox Jewish family. He emigrated to the United States with his family in 1938, settling in New York. In the process, his parents lost everything, but nevertheless gave their two children an excellent Jewish and general education. Aumann attended Yeshiva elementary and high schools, got a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1950, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1955. He joined the mathematics department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1956, and has been there ever since. In 1990, he was among the founders of the Center for Rationality at the Hebrew University, an interdisciplinary research center, centered on Game Theory, with members from over a dozen different departments, including Business, Economics, Psychology, Computer Science, Law, Mathematics, Ecology, Philosophy, and others. Robert Aumann is the author of over ninety scientific papers and six books, and has held visiting positions at Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Louvain, Stanford, Stony Brook, and NYU. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the British Academy, and the Israel Academy of Sciences; holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Chicago, Bonn, Louvain, City University of New York, and Bar Ilan University; and has received numerous prizes, including the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for 2005. During EURO 2016 he will convey a lecture on "Why Optimize? An Evolutionary Perspective". By the doctrine of "Survival of the Fittest", evolutionary pressures indirectly lead to optimal functioning of vital processes like nourishment and reproduction. Conscious, purposeful optimization does so directly, indeed more efficiently. The lecture will suggest that the poorly understood phenomenon of consciousness has evolved for precisely that reason - to enable efficient optimization of life processes. Project realized within the Academic Poznan programme, co-organized by Poznan University of Technology and City of Poznan.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Robert Aumann was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1930, to a well-to-do orthodox Jewish family. He emigrated to the United States with his family in 1938, settling in New York. In the process, his parents lost everything, but nevertheless gave their two children an excellent Jewish and general education. Aumann attended Yeshiva elementary and high schools, got a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1950, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1955.

He joined the mathematics department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1956, and has been there ever since. In 1990, he was among the founders of the Center for Rationality at the Hebrew University, an interdisciplinary research center, centered on Game Theory, with members from over a dozen different departments, including Business, Economics, Psychology, Computer Science, Law, Mathematics, Ecology, Philosophy, and others.

Robert Aumann is the author of over ninety scientific papers and six books, and has held visiting positions at Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Louvain, Stanford, Stony Brook, and NYU. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the British Academy, and the Israel Academy of Sciences; holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Chicago, Bonn, Louvain, City University of New York, and Bar Ilan University; and has received numerous prizes, including the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for 2005.

During EURO 2016 he will convey a lecture on "Why Optimize? An Evolutionary Perspective". By the doctrine of "Survival of the Fittest", evolutionary pressures indirectly lead to optimal functioning of vital processes like nourishment and reproduction. Conscious, purposeful optimization does so directly, indeed more efficiently. The lecture will suggest that the poorly understood phenomenon of consciousness has evolved for precisely that reason - to enable efficient optimization of life processes.

Project realized within the Academic Poznan programme, co-organized by Poznan University of Technology and City of Poznan.

Reminder
The central plenary lecture by Robert Aumann takes place outside the main conference venue, in the beautiful Earth Hall at Poznań International Fair (Głogowska 10).

How to reach Poznan International Fair from EURO 2016 venue?
Take a tram! There are two routes you may follow.
Go to Politechnika stop, take a tram (line 5 or 13), heading to Bałtyk. The tram will pass close to the Old Market Square, a symbol of Poznań's modernim - Okrąglak (The Round House), Kaiser's Castle, and June 1956 Events Monument. After about 12 minutes in a tram you will be there, next to Poznan International Fair (Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie). You just need take a short walk (in the direction of Main Railway station) to get to the main entrance.
Alternatively, have a short walk to Serafitek stop, take a tram (line 6 or 18), heading to Most Dworcowy. After about 9 minutes in a tram you will be right at the entrance of Poznań International Fair.