BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Apple Computer\, Inc//iCal 1.0//EN X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:USC VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Title: Information as A Double-Edged Sword in Strategic Interactions\n \n PhD Candidate: Haifeng Xu\n \n Committee: \n Shaddin Dughmi (Chair), Milind Tambe (Chair), David Kempe, Detlof von Winterfeldt, Vincent Conitzer, Odilon Camara. \n \n Location & Time: SSL 150, 10 - 12 pm May 9th.\n \n Abstract:\n \n Strategic interactions among self-interested agents (a.k.a., games) are ubiquitous, ranging from economic activity in daily life and the Internet to defender-adversary interactions in national security. A key variable influencing agents' strategic decision making is the information they have available about their environment as well as the preferences and actions of others. In this talk, I will describe my work on computational questions pertaining to the role of information in games. In particular, I will illustrate the double-edged role of information through two threads of my research: (1) how to utilize information to one's own advantage in strategic interactions; (2) how to mitigate losses resulting from information leakage to an adversary. In each part, I will demonstrate how the study of fundamental theoretical questions sheds light on executable solutions to real-world problems in security applications including, e.g., delivered software to the Federal Air Marshal Service for improving the scheduling of US federal air marshals.\n SEQUENCE:5 DTSTART:20180509T100000 LOCATION: 150 DTSTAMP:20180509T100000 SUMMARY:PhD Defense- Haifeng Xu UID:EC9439B1-FF65-11D6-9973-003065F99D04 DTEND:20180509T120000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR