Ali Jadbabaie: $7.5 Million MURI Project |
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July 17, 2012,
Volume 59, No. 01 |
Dr. Ali Jadbabaie, professor of electrical and systems engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, is the recipient of a 2012 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) Award. His project, "Evolution of Cultural Norms and Dynamics of Socio-Political Change," will include collaborations with researchers at Cornell, MIT, Stanford and Georgia Tech. Funding for the project is $7.5 million over five years.
This project examines questions and challenges related to political change, social norms, cultural dynamics, and societal transformations. While advances in traditional game theory, political economy, development economics and political science have enabled analysts to provide a posteriori analysis, a rigorous study of the issues requires a new set of theory, modeling, field experiments and algorithmic tools that are amenable to analysis of sociopolitical change. This brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts from disciplines ranging from network science and systems theory to political science, political economy and economics to design an analytical framework for analysis and prediction of these socio-political phenomena.
The MURI program is sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD) and its efforts involve teams of researchers investigating high priority topics and opportunities that intersect more than one traditional technical discipline. MURI awards provide sustained support for the education and training of students pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering fields critical to DoD. |