[Séminaire CREM Caen] Picking Sequences for Resource Allocation

Abstract:
Fairly and efficiently dividing a set of indivisible objects between a set of agents is a complex problem with a lot of practical applications. These applications range from allocating courses to students to scheduling observation requests on a constellation of Earth observing satellites. In this talk, after a short general introduction on fair division, we will present a very simple yet remarkable allocation protocol: picking sequences. Being conceptually quite simple, this protocol can be easily understood and implemented in various practical contexts. Yet, in spite of its simplicity, this protocol has nevertheless very appealing theoretical properties. During the presentation, we will particularly focus on the problem of finding the fairest picking sequences for a given configuration. We will also touch upon the topic of manipulating picking sequences.