Fri, April 11, 4:30 PM
60 MINUTES
Dividing the Indivisible: Algorithmic Fairness in Resource Allocation

How do we fairly divide resources among individuals or groups with different preferences? This talk explores the rich mathematical landscape of fair division, drawing on decades of interdisciplinary research across mathematics, computer science, and economics. We'll examine fundamental fairness concepts, see how these principles apply to real-world challenges, and discuss algorithmic approaches that provide these fairness guarantees. Along the way, we'll highlight major open questions and explore applications from assigning courses to students and resolving inheritance disputes to allocating tasks efficiently. No background is needed just curiosity about how fairness can be achieved when dividing the indivisible!

Soroush Ebadian

PhD Student @ University of Toronto

Soroush is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Toronto, advised by Nisarg Shah. His research, at the intersection of computer science and economics, focuses on designing fair and efficient collective decision-making mechanisms based on individual preferences. His work has been recognized with a AAAI 2025 Outstanding Paper Award and an Ontario Graduate Fellowship. Previously, he earned a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and spent four years as a software engineer and product manager at the Hezardastan Group (Divar, CafeBazaar, Sotoon, and Balad).