CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), announced its 14th Innovative Quantitative Applications Prize recipient. Susan Athey, Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, is the 2019 CME Group-MSRI Prize winner for her work in the economics of digitization and marketplace design. A virtual event honoring Athey will be hosted by CME Group on Dec. 11, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. CT.

Athey is the first woman to receive the CME Group-MSRI Prize. Past CME Group-MSRI Prize winners have included distinguished luminaries in economics and mathematics. Seven out of 13 past recipients have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. A complete list of past recipients is available at msri.org.

The CME Group-MSRI Prize recognizes individuals who contribute original concepts in mathematical, statistical or computational methods for the study of markets' behavior and global economics. As one of the first "tech economists," Athey's research focuses on the design of auction-based marketplaces and the economics of the internet, primarily on online advertising and the economics of the news media. She has also studied dynamic mechanisms and games with incomplete information, comparative statics under uncertainty, and econometric methods for analyzing auction models.

"It is a great honor to receive this prize, especially to join the company of some of my greatest heroes in economics -- including one of my PhD advisors and recent Nobel Laureate,  Paul Milgrom," said Athey. "Throughout my career I've aspired to the ideals of this prize, and I've seen first-hand how mathematics and statistics can be powerful tools for both the theory and practice of analyzing and designing markets."

Athey served as consulting chief economist for Microsoft Corporation for six years, and now serves on the boards of Expedia, Lending Club, Rover, Turo and Ripple, as well as non-profit Innovations for Poverty Action. She also serves as a long-term advisor to the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, helping architect and implement their auction-based pricing system. She is the founding director of the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab at Stanford GSB, and associate director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

Athey received her bachelor's degree from Duke University and her PhD from Stanford, and she holds an honorary doctorate from Duke University. She previously taught at the economics departments at MIT, Stanford and Harvard.

"We are pleased to honor Professor  Susan Athey with this prestigious award," said  Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus of CME Group and founder of the CME Group-MSRI Prize. "Her groundbreaking work in market design as it relates to business and economics has significant applications to our industry."

" Susan Athey's research, from the uses of machine learning in economics to the optimization of government expenditures on vaccines, has been at the leading edge of the field in economics," said  David Eisenbud, Director of MSRI and Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. "MSRI is proud to collaborate with CME Group to honor the importance of  Professor Athey's work."

The virtual event honoring Athey will feature presentations focused on topics related to market design, including how food banks use markets and the intersection of markets with the COVID-19 pandemic response. Several distinguished economists and academics will be participating in the program, including:

• Scott Kominers – MBA Class of 1960 Associate Professor, Entrepreneurial Management Unit, Harvard Business School
• Paul Milgrom – Shirley and  Leonard Ely professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Economics at Stanford University; 2017 CME Group-MSRI Prizewinner; 2020 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences   
• Canice Prendergast – W. Allen Wallis Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Christopher Snyder – Joel Z. and  Susan Hyatt Professor in the Economics Department, Dartmouth College 

Members of the media can attend the virtual seminar where CME Group will present Athey with the CME Group-MSRI Prize medal. Email  Liz McGee at liz.mcgee@cmegroup.com for more information and to register.

The CME Center for Innovation's mission is to identify, foster and showcase examples of significant innovation and creative thinking pertaining to markets, commerce or trade in the public and private sectors. For more information on the CME Center for Innovation, visit http://www.cmegroup.com/company/center-for-innovation/.