Complex Systems across Disciplines

From atoms and molecules to biology, engineering,
economics, social systems and organizations

Interconnectedness of Broadway Musicals in 1895, Brian Uzzi

Scientific breakthroughs frequently happen at the edges of established discipline-based knowledge; ideas originating in one field often find successful applications in other fields, sometimes leading to revolutionary conceptual changes. This conference brings leaders in the field of complex systems - foundations, networks, agent based models, etc. - to catalyze discussion and to facilitate transfer of knowledge across the traditional boundaries. The topics are relevant to a wide array of disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, all branches of engineering, economics, sociology, and management and decision sciences.







Conference Organizers

Julio M. Ottino
Julio M. Ottino
Robert R. McCormick Institute Professor and Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Daniel Diermeier
Daniel Diermeier
IBM Distinguished Professor of Regulation and Competitive Practice, Department of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences (MEDS); Director, Center for Business, Government, and Society, Kellogg School of Management
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Conference Speakers

Carla Gomes Carla Gomes
Director, Intelligent Information Systems Institute, Faculty of Computing and Information Science and Department of Applied Economics and Management and Department of Computer Science Cornell University

Heavy-tailed Phenomena in Computation
Abstract | Homepage
Natalia Komarova Natalia Komarova
Mathematics, University California, Irvine

Evolution of language
Abstract | Homepage
Blake LeBaron Blake LeBaron
International Business School, Brandeis University

Evolving trading strategies and financial features
Abstract | Homepage
Mark Newman Mark Newman
Physics, University of Michigan

Networks and communities:
Patterns of connections in complex systems
Abstract | Homepage
John Padgett John Padgett
Department of Political Science University of Chicago, External Professor Santa Fe Insititue

Economic production as chemistry
Abstract | Homepage
Bernhard O. Palsson Bernhard O. Palsson
Systems Biology University of California at San Diego

Bringing Genomes to Life:
the use of genome-scale models
Abstract | Homepage
Zoltan Toroczkai Zoltan Toroczkai
Acting Deputy Director, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Exploring the fabric of contact networks for monitoring and mitigating smallpox epidemics:
an agent-based approach to decision making
Abstract | Homepage
Alessandro Vespignani Alessandro Vespignani
School of Informatics, Center for Biocomplexity and Department of Physics, Indiana University

Epidemic modeling:
dealing with complexity
Abstract | Homepage




NICO Members, Northwestern University


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Conference Information

Conference Schedule

Registration, Questions, and Contact Information

Conference Location

Visiting Campus





Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)

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Complex Systems in the News

Complexity Digest

We're All on the Grid Together (pdf), The New York Times, August 16, 2003

First Cells, Then Species, Now the Web (pdf), The New York Times, December 26, 2000



Complex Systems Papers

Engineering Complex Systems (pdf), Nature, January 29, 2004
Scale-Free Networks (pdf), Scientific American, May 2003
AIChE Journal Cover, February 2003Perspective: Complex Systems (pdf), AIChE Journal, February 2003
Efficient system-wide coordination in noisy environments;
Moreia, A.;Mathur, A.; Diermeier, D.; Amaral, L.
Complex networks - augmenting the framework for the study of complex systems;
Amaral, LAN, & Ottino, JM
Self-assembling Fluidic Machines;
B.A. Grzybowski, M. Radkowski, C.J. Campbell, J.N. Lee, G.M. Whitesides


Multicolour micropatterning of thin films of dry gelatin;
R. Klajn, M. Fialkowski, I.T. Bensemann, A. Bitner, C.J. Campbell, K. Bishop, S. Smoukov, B.A. Grzybowski


Virtual round table on ten leading questions for network research;
Amaral, LAN, Barrat, A, Barabasi, AL, Caldarelli, G, De Los Rios, P, Erzan, A, Kahng, B, Mantegna, R, Mendes, JFF, Pastor-Satorras, R, & Vespignani, A


Microfludic mixers: from microfabricated to self-assembling devices;
C.J. Campbell, B.A. Grzybowski


Self-assembly at all scales;
G.M. Whitesides, B.A. Grzybowski


Sexual networks: implications for the transmission of sexually transmitted infections;
Liljeros, F, Edling, CR, & Amaral, LAN


Robust patterns in food web structure;
Camacho, J, Guimera, R, & Amaral, LAN


The web of human sexual contacts;
Liljeros, F, Edling, CR, Amaral, LAN, Stanley, HE, & Aberg, Y


Classes of small-world networks;
Amaral, LAN, Scala, A, Barthelemy, M, & Stanley, HE


Small-world networks: evidence for a crossover picture;
Barthelemy, M, & Amaral, LAN