About NICO

NICO's mission is to incubate innovative collaborations that leverage complexity, networks, and data science to address societal challenges. The Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) was founded in 2004 with the goals of uncovering fundamental principles that govern complex systems in science, technology, and human behavior.

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NICO is a collaboration between the McCormick School of Engineering and the Kellogg School of Management.

Research

Tackling grand challenges, leading with interdisciplinary solutions

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Announcements

The lastest news and events from the NICO.

Quarterly Newsflash

NICO’s Quarterly Newsflash provides insights about the Northwestern ecosystem of data science, network science, and complex systems with the aim of sparking innovation and collaboration in our community.

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NICO Interdisciplinary Research Networking Luncheon Groups

Networking luncheons have been meeting since 2017 to facilitate networking among faculty, stimulate discussion of significant and emerging research areas, and advance interdisciplinary research.

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Metropolitan Chicago Data-science Corps (MCDC)

MCDC is an NSF funded initiative that is administered by NICO. It is a collaboration of community organizations and data science students and experts from multiple Chicago-area universities and colleges.

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Apply to Open Positions at NICO

NICO is seeking exceptional candidates for Post Doctoral Fellows and research assistance in computational social science, science of science, and complex systems.

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News & Events

News

Chicago has record high $2.5 billion in TIF accounts City is not spending

CivicLab and its TIF Illumination Project show the City of Chicago has billions shielded in tax increment financing (TIF) accounts available to meet community needs. Interns working as part of the Metropolitan Chicago Data-Science Corps (MCDC) collected the data.

Kellogg launches the Ryan Institute on Complexity

Made possible by a gift from the Ryan Family Foundation, The Ryan Institute will work to solve increasingly complex societal, business and market challenges. It is led by NICO faculty members, Dashun Wang, Ben Jones, and Brian Uzzi.

What Should Leaders Make of the Latest AI?

As ChatGPT flaunts its creative capabilities, Brian Uzzi and David Ferrucci discuss the promise and pitfalls of our coexistence with machines.

Lighten Up! On Biology and Time

Through the lens of art, Lighten Up! On Biology and Time explores the connection of living organisms with the natural cycle of light and dark. Guy Amichay, a NICO Postdoctoral Fellow, collaborated on this exhibit.

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