The Queen's College Record 2020

Bernhard Kasberger (Economics)
This was my second year of three as a Junior Research
Fellow in Economics at Queen’s. In this year, I published
an article called ‘On the clock of the combinatorial clock
auction’ in the journal Theoretical Economics (joint
work with Maarten Janssen). The article is based
on a chapter of my dissertation at the University of
Vienna. It provides a thorough theoretical analysis of
an auction mechanism that has been used in spectrum
auctions around the world. Having an objective and scientific understanding of this
complicated auction format is critical in designing spectrum auctions in favour of
the wider public instead of a narrow group of rent-seekers. A lot is at stake in these
auctions as they shape the telecommunications industry for years and typically
generate billions of revenue. I presented other papers at conferences and seminars
in Seattle, Leipzig, Vienna, Klagenfurt and Manchester. As a Junior Research Fellow,
the most important aspect of my job is to develop new ideas, and this is what I have
enjoyed most in the last academic year. I am delighted that Queen’s gives me this
incredible opportunity for another year.
Reports and College Activities
Jon Keating (Mathematics)
I arrived at Queen’s in September 2019 and have
greatly enjoyed the intellectual life of the College. In
November 2019 I took over the Presidency of the
London Mathematical Society. In July 2020 I finished
my five-year term as Chair of the Heilbronn Institute for
Mathematical Research. My own research has centred
on developing the theory of random matrices, and on
exploring applications ranging from number theory to
machine learning. I have published several papers on the moments of the moments of
characteristic polynomials of random matrices. I gave a Plenary Lecture on this work
at the Congress of Chinese Mathematicians in Guangzhou in November 2019. I would
have given a Distinguished Lecture on the same subject at the University of Hong
Kong, but the political unrest there prevented this from taking place.
I recently solved a problem relating to mixed moments of characteristic polynomials
of random unitary matrices that I have been thinking about, on and off, for twenty
years. The solution is rather pretty and I gave a lecture on it at a conference that was
due to take place at New York University in May 2020, but that ultimately moved
online because of the coronavirus. I did manage to give a talk in the Queen’s College
Symposium in February 2020.
College Record 2020 | The Queen’s College 19