Battigalli and Mezard to the Accademia dei Lincei
Two Bocconi professors, Pierpaolo Battigalli and Marc Mézard, have been elected fellows ("soci corrispondenti") of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the oldest scientific society in the world. Founded in 1602, it can boast Galileo Galilei as one of its earliest fellows (since 1611). The Accademia was named after the lynx, an animal renowned for its keen sight, to highlight the insight Accademia's fellows should display in observing the world.
The pin which certifies the status of fellow will be given to the new appointees during the ceremony for the Inauguration of the Academic Year, on 10 November. Professors Battigalli and Mézard say they are honored to be included in the Accademia.
The Lincei academics choose the new fellows (defined as correspondent fellows) via elections. With the cooptation of Battigalli and Mézard, Bocconi doubles its presence in the Accademia, since they join senior professors Aldo Montesano and Mario Monti.
Two professors of Bocconi Department of Computing Sciences, Luca Trevisan and Riccardo Zecchina are fellows of Italy's other major scientific society, the Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze.
Pierpaolo Battigalli (Department of Decision Sciences) is Professor of Microeconomics and Game Theory. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and Game Theory Society, and an Economic Theory Fellow at the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory. His research focuses on the decision theoretic, epistemic, psychological, and learning foundations of game theory, as well as on game theory application to economics.
Marc Mézard (Department of Computing Sciences) is a Professor of Theoretical Physics and a former Director of the École normale supérieure in Paris. He works on statistical physics of disordered systems, with applications in various fields like information theory, computer science, machine learning, and biophysics. At the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, he will join an existing working group on the future of Artificial Intelligence.