Colloquium - 3/25, 3:00PM, Duncan Hall 1064

Florian A. Potra

Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Maryland

"Equilibria and Weighted Complementarity Problems"

The weighted complementarity problem (wCP) is a new paradigm in applied mathematics that provides a unifying framework for analyzing and solving a variety of equilibrium problems in economics, multibody dynamics, atmospheric chemistry and other areas in science and technology. It represents a far reaching generalization of the notion of a complementarity problem (CP). Since many of the very powerful CP solvers developed over the past two decades can be extended to wCP, formulating an equilibrium problem as a wCP opens the possibility of devising highly e cient algorithms for its numerical solution. For example, Fisher's competitive market equilibrium model can be formulated as a wCP, while the Arrow-Debreu competitive market equilibrium problem (due to Nobel prize laureates Kenneth Joseph Arrow and Gerard Debreu) can be formulated as a self-dual wCP.