Robert Aumann

Robert John Aumann was born on June 8, 1930, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He fled to the United States in 1938 with his family to escape Nazi persecution. Aumann grew up in New York City, where he attended the prestigious City College of New York before later earning his Ph.D. in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955.

In 1955, Robert Aumann received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Under the supervision of George Whitehead, his doctoral dissertation focused on algebraic topology, which laid the foundation for his future work in the mathematical analysis of conflict and cooperation through game theory.

In 1956, Robert Aumann began his long-term association with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem when he joined its faculty. Over the years, he became a pivotal figure in the university's mathematics department, where he conducted much of his groundbreaking research in game theory and economics.

Around 1974, Robert Aumann developed the core equivalence theorem, a significant contribution to game theory that describes conditions under which the core of an economy matches the set of competitive equilibria. This theorem helped to establish a formal connection between cooperative game theory and competitive markets.

In 1981, Robert Aumann introduced the concept of common knowledge within game theory. This idea explored how certain knowledge conditions among rational players can dictate outcomes in games, significantly influencing economic and political strategic analysis models by deepening the understanding of shared information.

In 1994, Robert Aumann presented his work on epistemic game theory, which incorporates aspects of knowledge and belief into game theory models. This addition helped scholars understand how players form and reason about their own and others' beliefs, influencing their strategic decisions and outcomes.

In 1998, Robert Aumann published a comprehensive analysis on how game theory can provide insights into economic behavior and systems. His work emphasized the theoretical and practical applications of game theory in economics, reinforcing its relevance in understanding market dynamics and strategic interactions among economic agents.

On October 10, 2005, Robert Aumann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, shared with Thomas Schelling, for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis. His work especially contributed to a better understanding of repeated games, where he analyzed the conditions for cooperation and conflict resolution.

Robert Aumann was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on March 27, 2012. The academy, one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies, recognized his substantial contributions to the field of economic sciences particularly in the domain of game theory, reinforcing his impact on academia and policy.

In 2016, Aumann contributed to the expanded understanding of repeated games with his publication 'Repeated Games with Incomplete Information'. This work addressed how lack of complete information impacts strategic interactions over repeated gameplay, shedding light on more realistic scenarios in economic and natural contexts.