REU Site: Multi-Agent Simulations of Social Systems

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Abstract:This project focuses on the study of multi-agent systems (MAS) in social systems. The proposed research breaks into three parallelprojects: 1) multi-agent systems that support natural human decision- making, 2) a simulation of urban areas and their inhabitants that can be used in the MAS, and 3) a data analysis and visualization tool for the system. Students will receive training in a variety of areas, including multi-agent systems¡¯design and implementation, spatial modeling, empirical methods for system evaluation and statistical techniques for data analysis. In addition, students will attend professional meetings, learn to assimilate the latest research from reading and discussing recent papers, and learn how to write up and present the results of their own research. This REU program will focus on strong mentoring and individual contact with the students and will include weekly sessions to help them pursue graduate studies.Intellectual Merit. The proposed research will develop a new multi- agent framework. Contributions to the MAS community will include a multi-agent system that represents dynamic interactions between agents and social structures that shape the agent¡¯s behaviors, and a decision-making mechanism that captures the common human decision- making attitudes through modeling the domain of human intuition. We will also use this MAS to simulate urban areas and their inhabitants and develop a data analysis and visualization tool for the system. Students will have the opportunity to work in depth in the core area of MAS or with the application of the core area to different disciplines in computer science.Broader Impact. This project creates a model program for liberal arts institutions that addresses the exposure to research by undergraduates as well as awareness of the pathway to graduate school. While the recruiting effort for students will be nationwide, we will emphasize the recruitment of students from underrepresented groups. Of particular interest to us are Hispanic students enrolled at the many Hispanic serving colleges and universities in South Texas. Training a more diverse engineering and science professoriate will benefit society significantly, not only in South Texas but nationally, in promoting a more equitable participation of minorities and women in the computer science disciplines.