Title: Some Topics in Algorithmic Mechanism Design 

                 	Ahuva Mu'alem
   Center for the Mathematics of Information
       California Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT:  Algorithmic Mechanism Design deals with designing computationally
efficient protocols for achieving global goals that require interaction with
selfish agents. This area lies at the intersection of Economics, Game Theory 
and Computer Science. In this introductory talk we will briefly cover several 
topics involved in the design of such mechanisms (no prior knowledge is 
assumed): Roberts' Impossibility result, randomized mechanisms, frugality 
issues, and combinatorial auctions.