Drew Fudenberg (born March 2, 1957) is a Professor of Economics at MIT. His research spans many aspects of game theory, including equilibrium theory, learning in games, evolutionary game theory, and many applications to other fields. Fudenberg was also one of the first to apply game theoretic analysis in industrial organization, bargaining theory, and contract theory. He has also authored papers on repeated games, reputation effects, and behavioral economics.
Fudenberg obtained his A.B. in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1978, when he went on to obtain his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After completing his Ph.D. in just three years, he began his assistant professorship at the University of California, Berkeley in 1981. At Berkeley, Fudenberg was tenured at the age of 28. In 1987, he returned to a faculty position at MIT, where he taught for 6 years. In 1993, Fudenberg accepted a faculty position in the Economics department of his alma mater, Harvard University. He has returned once more to MIT as the Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics as of 2016.[2]
Fudenberg has authored a number of books on game theory, including Game Theory with Jean Tirole, a primary reference for graduate students in economics; Dynamic Models of Oligopoly, also with Jean Tirole; and Theory of Learning in Games with David K. Levine.