Distributed Control and Game Design: From Strategic Agents to Programmable Machines

Abstract

i sincere thanks goes to you for your support and collaboration during the early stages of my PhD. I remember vividly how much help and enthusiasm you put in teaching me how to write my "first article". If all of this is possible, it is in good part also thanks to you.The atmosphere we breath at IfA is absolutely incredible: a great mix of hardworking, positive energy, and friendship. Sometimes, bent over our papers, we seem to forget how lucky we are. Fortunately (or not), as soon as we step out of the ETH domain, we get reminded of what a privilege this is. I would like to express my greatest gratitude to all those people that made this place what it is. In this regard, there are many colleagues I should thank, but I limit myself to the essential. First of all, I would like to thank Basilio and Francesca for sharing with me a good half of their PhDs, and countless hours on the board conjecturing results that would be proved wrong only a few hours later. I wish both of you a brilliant career as you truly deserve. A very special thanks is due to Nicolò for sharing innumerable moments inside and outside of the office, for the many jokes we have been laughing of, and for the unmissable extra slice of cake (Lucia's). A big thanks goes to the Italian Gang -Basilio, Francesca, Nicolò, Giampaolo, Marcello, Saverio -for the countless adventures, and for making me feel as IfA was the extension of my time in high school. Thank you Tony for being such a positive, cheerful and selfless person. Thank you Peyman for the numerous research discussions we had: I feel there is a lot to learn form you. Thanks to the dream team -Juan, Marcello, Paul -for all the mountains adventures we shared: I will hardly forget when we set foot on the Dammazwillinge for the first time. I am confident you will not forget either. A special thanks goes to Paul for being a terrific office mate, and for sharing the first years of your PhD with me, often out in the Alps. At this point, I feel I owe a big thanks to our secretaries, Sabrina and Tanja, for making everything run incredibly smooth and for being extremely helpful with really anything. "If there is a solution, we will find it" Sabrina told me once, and this pretty much says it all.At a personal level, I would like to thank all my friends in Zurich and elsewhere, in particular Chiara for the gazillions hours we spent climbing together, Federica for being a terrific housemate, Martina and Alessandro for hosting me after my return from the US. A line of his own is needed (and probably not enough) to thank Alessio: a very special thought goes to you for all the things we went through together, way too many to recall. I will never forget the 20-hours day on the Allighesi ferrata, our first climbing route in the dolomites, or simply the usual giro di Ca' Tron. Amongst everything, I would like to thank you for teaching me to be ambitious, to fight, to never give up and to endure pain. Last, I want to thank you for always finding time to meet with me (the usual run) when I come back from Zurich, reg...