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Zurich Center for Market Design
John von Neumann Lecture Series — Zurich Center for Market Design

John von Neumann Lecture Series

Honoring a Legacy at the Frontier of Science

About the Series

Honoring one of the greatest scientific minds

John von Neumann studied at ETH Zurich from 1923 to 1926. His revolutionary work shaped mathematics, physics, computer science, economics, and game theory—defining the modern world. Since 2020, we honor his legacy by bringing the world's leading scholars to Zurich. One extraordinary mind, one transformative lecture, each year.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
John von Neumann

2025 — Artur Ekert

Privacy for the Paranoid Ones – the Ultimate Limits of Secrecy

Artur Ekert (University of Oxford and Centre for Quantum Technologies Singapore) gave the 2025 John von Neumann lecture on "Privacy for the Paranoid Ones - the Ultimate Limits of Secrecy" on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 16:00-17:15 in ETH Main Building (HG) in Room F 30 (Audi Max). The introduction was given by ETH President Joël Mesot.

Artur Ekert

2024 — Éva Tardos

Stability and Learning in Strategic Games

Éva Tardos (Cornell University) gave the 2024 John von Neumann lecture on "Stability and Learning in Strategic Games" on Friday, 31 May 2024, 16:00-17:15 in ETH Main Building (HG) in Room G 5. The introduction was given by ETH Rector Günther Dissertori.

Éva Tardos

2023 — 100 Years of von Neumann at ETH

Event: John von Neumann Centenary Symposium

Date/Time: Friday, 2 June 2023, 15:00–18:00
Location: ETH Zurich, HG F 30 (Audi Max)

Serge Haroche

Serge Haroche (ENS Paris)

Quantum Information and Mechanics

Yurii Nesterov

Yurii Nesterov (UC Louvain)

Higher-Order Methods for Equilibrium

Larry Samuelson

Larry Samuelson (Yale University)

Utility and Game Theory

Benny Sudakov

Benny Sudakov (ETH Zurich)

Mathematical Contributions of von Neumann

2022 — Philipp Strack

Misspecified Beliefs

Philipp Strack (Yale University) gave the 2022 John von Neumann lecture on "Misspecified Beliefs" on Friday, 3 June 2022, 15:00-16:30 online via Zoom. The introduction was given by Marina von Neumann Whitman.

Philipp Strack

2021 — Constantinos Daskalakis

Equilibrium Computation and the Foundations of Deep Learning

Constantinos Daskalakis (MIT) gave the 2021 John von Neumann lecture on "Equilibrium Computation and the Foundations of Deep Learning" on Friday, 11 June 2021, 15:00-16:30 online via Zoom. The introduction was given by Marina von Neumann Whitman.

Constantinos Daskalakis

2020 — Hervé Moulin

Fair Division: What's New?

Hervé Moulin (University of Glasgow) gave the inaugural 2020 John von Neumann lecture on "Fair Division: What's New?" at ETH Zurich. The introduction was given by ETH Rector Sarah Springman.

Hervé Moulin