题    目：Flipping coins to win!

嘉　宾：Sandeep Juneja 教授 阿育王大学

主持人：曾智宇 助理教授 上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院

时　间：2026年6月18日（周四）14:00-15:30

地　点：上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院包兆龙图书馆A503

内容简介：

Consider multiple coins with differing biases that can be flipped. While it is difficult to predict the output from a single coin flip, we can, over a longer horizon, figure out which horse to bet on, that is, the coin with the largest favorable bias. But how to learn this quickly to maximize our winnings? Even such simple problems can have complex and yet delightfully elegant solutions. In this talk we outline the underlying ideas. These involve skillful use of information theory, optimization theory and probabilistic ideas including intricate concentration inequalities. As a bonus, we are able to go much beyond Bernoulli coin flips to general probability distributions. We also discuss related and more general problems and a myriad of applications based on these ideas.

演讲人简介：

Sandeep is a Professor of Computer Science and the founding director of the Safexpress Centre for Data, Learning and Decision Sciences at Ashoka University. Previously, he served as a Senior Professor and Dean at the School of Technology and Computer Science (STCS) at TIFR Mumbai. His research focuses on applied probability, including sequential learning, mathematical finance, Monte Carlo methods, and game-theoretic analysis of queues. More recently, his work includes epidemiological modeling and applying machine learning to monsoon weather modeling in India. He currently serves as the Area Editor for Operations Research in Simulation and has been on the editorial boards of Stochastic Systems, Mathematics of Operations Research, Management Science, and ACM TOMACS.

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