Skip to main content

Conferences and Workshops

NICO supports and sponors a variety of conferences and workshops that promote complex systems, data science, and computational research. Learn more about upcoming and past events that our faculty and researchers have participated in.

Upcoming Conferences

NICO is excited to host the 2nd Annual Complex Challenges for a Complex Future Conference on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, co-sponsored with Northwestern's Office for Research, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, and the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. The primary goals of the conference are to bring Northwestern faculty together to discus research challenges of significance, make connections across disciplines, and apply for seed funding with new collaborators. Interested faculty should contact Kristi Hubbard for information.

The 2023 conference awarded over 100k in seed funding to research at Northwestern.

Past Conferences

SICSS: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science

August 4-8, 2024
Northwestern University

From August 4 to August 8, 2024, the Department of Management and Organization at Kellogg School of Management, Center for Science of Science & Innovation (CSSI) sponsored the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science, in collaboration with Northwestern Institute on Complex System (NICO) and the School of Communication, held at Northwestern University. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and beginning faculty interested in computational social science. The Summer Institute is for both social scientists (broadly conceived) and data scientists (broadly conceived).

MCDC Annual Conference

June 26, 2024
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

The Metropolitan Chicago Data-science Corps (MCDC) Annual Conference took place on June 26, 2024 at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.  The conference brought together data scientists, community organizations, and corporate entites in the Chicagoland area, to learn and share how to best integrate data-science into their mission and engage experts and organizations with discussions, lectures, and activities.

The 9th International Engineering Systems Symposium (CESUN)

November 6-7, 2023
Northwestern University

The 9th International Engineering Systems Symposium (CESUN 2023) took place on November 6-7, 2023, at Northwestern University. NICO Co-Directors Daniel Abrams and Brian Uzzi gave a keynote address, titled "Conditions favoring the effective generation and communication of new ideas in science". and Brian Uzzi also served as one of the local chairs for this event.

Complex Challenges for a Complex Future Conference

August 30, 2023
Northwestern University

NICO was excited to host the Complex Challenges for a Complex Future Conference on August 30, 2023, co-sponsored with Northwestern's Office for Research, the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, and the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. This event convened faculty from across the University for a half-day conference with the goal of generating new interdisciplinary scientific research collaborations.

The International Workshop on Network Theory took place in May 18-20, 2023 at the Kellogg Global Hub at Northwestern University.  The theme for this year's workshop was "Human AI Social Networks @ Work".  This invitation only workshop is convened annually and organized by Annenberg Networks Network (ANN), Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) research group and Northwestern Institute of Complexity (NICO).

MCDC Annual Conference

May 19, 2023
DePaul University

The Metropolitan Chicago Data-science Corps (MCDC) Annual Conference took place on May 19, 2023 at Depaul University. Please visit the MCDC web site for further information.

SICSS: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science

June 14 to June 25, 2021
Chicago, IL (virtual event)

Northwestern University sponsored the 4th Annual Summer Institute in Computational Social Science Chicago, held virtually. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and beginning faculty interested in computational social science. The Summer Institute is for both social scientists (broadly conceived) and data scientists (broadly conceived).

The Summer Psychology Forum was a two day event combining elements of a scientific conference and a hands-on workshop. The forum addressed issues of (a) data acquisition, including means of harvesting data from Twitter and other social media platforms as well as mobile technologies such as smartphones and wearables, (b) data analysis, including techniques for semantic analysis, feature-extraction, spatial analysis, and machine learning, and (c) data interpretation, including theoretical applications to the study of individual differences, social influence, social network structure and function, and other traditional and nontraditional areas of social, personality, and political psychology.

The forum was organized by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. NICO was honored to sponsor this unique event.

Bias in Big Data Workshop

July 19, 2019
Feinberg School of Medicine

Bias in Big Data was a half day workshop hosted by the  CONNECT Research Program in Complex Systems and Health Disparities.  NICO was honored to co-sponsor this event.  The aim of this workshop was to bring together a diverse group of scientists, students, and community leaders at the intersection of technology, data science, and health equity to discuss bias in big data, how bias impacts all marginalized populations, and how bias may specifically impact sexual and gender minority communities.

For more information, visit the event web site to watch the live stream video.

The Summer Institute in Computational Social Science sponsored a partner site in Chicago. The purpose of SICSS-Chicago is to bring together Chicagoland graduate students and early career researchers in both social science and data science to learn and collaborate. Topics covered include text analysis, digital data collection, experimental design, non-probability sampling, agent based modeling, and ethics.

NICO was thrilled to sponsor this partner event in both 2018 and 2019. Please visit the event web site for archived speaker videos.

Chicago Area SIAM Student Conference

April 7, 2019
University of Illinois at Chicago
April 8, 2018
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
April 15, 2017
Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center, Northwestern University

The Chicago Area SIAM Student Conference (CASSC), an event organized by the Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago SIAM Chapters, is aimed at promoting applied mathematics among the youngest research community. CASSC is a conference that highlights the application of mathematics across diverse disciplines, including engineering, computer science, biology, chemistry, social sciences, and physics.

NICO is a sponsor of this annual conference.

Dynamics Days is an annual conference on applications of nonlinear dynamics. Sessions will cover a broad range of topics, including neuroscience, fluids, data-driven & machine learning methods, nonlinear materials, complex networks, and human & biological systems. NICO is honored to sponsor this conference which is hosted by the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University.

9th International Workshop on Network Theory: Brain Science and Social Networks

October 25-27, 2018
Northwestern University

Northwestern University was pleased to host the 9th ANN / SONIC / NICO Network Theory Workshop at the Evanston campus. This invitation only international workshop is convened annually and sponsored by Annenberg Networks Network (ANN), Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) research group, and Northwestern Institute of Complexity (NICO). This workshop is hosted by Northwestern University and University of Southern California. 

4th Annual International Conference on Computational Social Science (IC2S2)

July 12-15, 2018
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

4th Annual International Conference on Computational Social Science (IC2S2) seeked to redefine business in the 21st century at the intersection of computer science and social science. For four days, IC2S2 was the epicenter of computational social science. Convening over four hundred attendees from more than 20 countries at the Kellogg School of Management, the impact of IC2S2 is influential, innovative and global.

NICO was an institutional partner and co-organizer of this conference.

Data Science Research Day

June 25, 2018
Norris University Center

Data Science Research Day was a half day symposium consisting of a series of lightning talks, panel discussion, and meet and greet sessions throughout the day. This collaborative event  was open to all Northwestern undergrads, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, and was organized by NICO and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
The Symposium on Microgrids featured technology, policy, economic, and development experts as they assessed the barriers to installing renewable energy microgrids in developing economies and discussed opportunities for overcoming these barriers. The symposium also explored the roles of knowledge sharing, technological innovation, and innovative financing in accelerating the deployment of renewable microgrids as a key enabler of sustainable development.

Northwestern Computational Research Day

April 10, 2018
April 18, 2017
April 19, 2016
Norris University Center, Northwestern University

Computational Research Day is an all-day symposium which brings together students, faculty, and researchers across fields and disciplines to share and promote their experiences and efforts in digital research. Northwestern Computational Research Day is hosted by Northwestern Information Technology and sponsored by Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Kellogg School of Management, Feinberg School of Medicine, Office for Research, The Graduate School, Northwestern University Library, CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics), and NICO (Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems).

2nd Annual International Conference on Computational Social Science (IC2S2)

June 22-26, 2016
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

This 2nd Annual International Conference on Computational Social Science is an interdisciplinary event designed to engage a broad community of researchers  academics, industry experts, open data activists, government agency workers, and think tank analysts – dedicated to advancing social science knowledge through computational methods.

NICO was an institutional partner and co-organizer of this conference.

Computational Social Science Summit

May 15-17, 2015
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

The 2015 Computational Social Science Summit was designed to create a broad community of social science researchers dedicated to advancing sociological knowledge through computational methods.

NICO was a co-organizer of this event.

5th International Workshop on Network Theory: Network Science Meets the Science of Teams

October 3-5, 2013
Wieboldt Hall, Northwestern University

Although teams have been an integral part of how society has organized for centuries, the digital revolution is dramatically changing the nature of how teams assemble and interact. Indeed, teams are considered critical in addressing the grandest societal challenges of our day. There is an increasing awareness that network science has the potential for offering important theoretical and methodological insights in understanding and enabling 21st century team performance. This workshop sought to catalyze a dialog among a community of thought leaders on teams and multi-team systems, network theory, and computational science.

NICO was a co-organizer of this event.

Science of Team Science Conference 2013

June 24-27, 2013
Jacobs Center, Northwestern University

The Annual International Science of Team Science (SciTS) Conference is a forum to enhance our understanding of how best to engage in Team Science to meet society’s needs. The SciTS Conference serves as a point of convergence for investigators studying science teams and Team Science leaders/practitioners, to engage funding agencies to provide guidance on developing and managing Team Science initiatives, and to afford data providers and analytics developers insight into collaboration tracking and analysis needs.

NICO was a co-organizer of this conference.

NETSCI 2012

June 18-22, 2012
Jacobs Center, Northwestern University

NICO and SONIC brought to Northwestern two of the premier conferences in Network Science: NetSci 2012 and Web Science 2012.  These two events attracting more than 400 attendees from around the world to the Jacobs Center at the Kellogg School of Management.
Back to top