Machine learning: Economics and computer science converge

Today's digital economy is blurring the boundaries between computer science and economics -- in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street, and increasingly on university campuses. Yale undergraduates interested in both fields can pursue the Computer Science and Economics (CSEC) interdepartmental degree program, which launched in fall 2019, with coursework covering topics such as machine learning and computational finance. Philipp Strack, CSEC's inaugural director of undergraduate studies, is comfortable straddling multiple disciplines. With an academic background in economics and mathematics, his research reflects this broad and interdisciplinary outlook -- ranging from behavioral economics and neuroscience to auction design, market design, optimization, and pure probability theory. Strack, an associate professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, recently spoke to YaleNews about the real-world implications of this work, what the CSEC program offers students, and how it bridges these critical fields.