Marriage Matching with Correlated Preferences

Authors of experimental, empirical, theoretical and computational studies of two-sided matching markets have recognized the importance of correlated preferences. We develop a general method for the study of the effect of correlation of preferences on the outcomes generated by two-sided matching mechanisms. We then illustrate our method by using it to quantify the effect of correlation of preferences on satisfaction with the men-propose Gale-Shapley matching for a simple one-to-one matching problem.

Marriage Matching and Intercorrelation of Preferences

Men's and women's preferences are intercorrelated to the extent that men rank highly those women who rank them highly. Intercorrelation plays an important but overlooked role in determining outcomes of matching mechanisms. We study via simulation the effect of intercorrelated preferences on men's and women's aggregate satisfaction with the outcome of the Gale-Shapley matching mechanism. We conclude with an application of our results to the student admission matching problem.

Analysis of Synthetic Diamond Wafer Interferograms Using a Parallelized Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Diamonds are known for both their beauty and their durability. Jefferson National Lab in Newport News, VA has found a way to utilize the diamond's strength to view the beauty of the inside of the atomic nucleus with the hopes of finding exotic forms of matter. By firing very fast electrons at a diamond sheet no thicker than a human hair, high energy particles of light known as photons are produced with a high degree of polarization that can illuminate the constituents of the nucleus known as quarks. The University of Connecticut Nuclear Physics group has responsibility for crafting these extremely thin, high quality diamond wafers. These wafers must be cut from larger stones that are about the size of a human finger, and then carefully machined down to the final thickness. The thinning of these diamonds is extremely challenging, as the diamond's greatest strength also becomes its greatest weakness. The Connecticut Nuclear Physics group has developed a novel technique to assist industrial partners in assessing the quality of the final machining steps, using a technique based on laser interferometry. The images of the diamond surface produced by the interferometer encode the thickness and shape of the diamond surface in a complex way that requires detailed analysis to extract. We have developed a novel software application to analyze these images based on the method of simulated annealing. Being able to image the surface of these diamonds without requiring costly X-ray diffraction measurements allows rapid feedback to the industrial partners as they refine their thinning techniques. Thus, by utilizing a material found to be beautiful by many, the beauty of nature can be brought more clearly into view.