Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Lightning Talks with Northwestern Fellows and Scholars!
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
NICO is hosting a lightning talk seminar each term as a part of our Wednesdays@NICO seminar series. Northwestern graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to participate. To sign up for future lightning talks, please visit: https://bit.ly/2lRqSXK
FALL 2019 SPEAKERS
Diego Gómez-Zará - Ph.D. Candidate, Technology and Social Behavior
Title: A Network Approach to the Formation of Self-assembled Teams
Abstract: Which individuals in a network make the most appealing teammates? Which invitations are most likely to be accepted? And which are most likely to be rejected? This study explores the factors that are most likely to explain the selection, acceptance, and rejection of invitations in self-assembling teams. We conducted a field study with 780 participants using an online platform that enables people to form teams. Participants completed an initial survey assessing traits, relationships, and skills. Next, they searched for and invited others to join a team. Recipients could then accept, reject, or ignore invitations. Using Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs), we studied how traits and social networks influence teammate choices. Our results demonstrated that (a) agreeable leaders with high psychological collectivism send invitations most frequently, (b) previous collaborators, leaders, competent workers, females, and younger individuals receive the most invitations, and (c) rejections are concentrated in the hands of a few.
Alex Mercanti - Ph.D Candidate, Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics
Title: Protecting your privacy in machine learning using randomness.
Abstract: Machine learning models are commonly trained over datasets that contain personal information about people and their daily routine, health, online activity, and social behavior. Although these models play a crucial role in modern software applications, the extent to which trained machine learning models leak private and sensitive features of their respective training data remains poorly understood. In this talk, I will discuss the privacy risks associated with publicly releasing trained machine learning models and will demonstrate that the addition of random noise to training algorithms guarantees privacy for each individual in the training dataset at minimal cost to the accuracy of the model.
Kyosuke Tanaka - Ph.D Candidate, Media, Technology, and Society
Title: How dispositional and positional factors affect an individual’s ability to efficiently route messages in a network
Abstract: Milgram’s small-world experiment provided evidence for six degrees of separation, on average a chain of five contacts separated any two random people in the world. However, this was only true for those messages that reached the final destination. While, in theory, the small-world phenomenon is structurally common in social networks, empirical evidence shows that human navigation of small-world social networks is remarkably challenging. Messages often reach the intended destination via a longer path than expected, get enmeshed in loops, and/or often never reach it. This leads to painful consequences for organizations that require information routing to share (or retrieve) knowledge among their members. Extreme examples of these failures contributed to the loss of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Here, I present a study of an understudied type of error—network routing—and introduce network acuity to conceptualize and operationalize an individual’s ability to efficiently route messages. Using, 6-DoS (Six Degrees of Separation), a network routing task based on Milgram’s small-world experiment with 435 individuals organized into 25 networks, I explored two types of factors that impact an individual’s network acuity: positional factors (where you are in the network) and dispositional factors (who you are). Results show that (a) those in the core or brokerage position had high network acuity than did peripheral or non-bridge members, (b) neuroticism was positively associated with acuity, (c) conscientiousness was negatively associated with acuity. Further, individuals’ network positions impacted network acuity more than dispositional characteristics. The results of this experimental study illustrate not only the usefulness of the concept of network acuity to characterize network routing errors but also advance our understanding of factors that explain variance in individuals' network acuity.
Alexandria Volkening - NSF-Simons Fellow, NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology
Title: Forecasting U.S. elections with compartmental models of infection
Abstract: U.S. election forecasting involves polling likely voters, making assumptions about voter turnout, and accounting for various features such as state demographics and voting history. While political elections in the United States are decided at the state level, errors in forecasting are correlated between states. With the goal of shedding light on the forecasting process and exploring how states influence each other, we develop a framework for forecasting elections in the U.S. from the perspective of dynamical systems. Through an interdisciplinary approach that borrows ideas from epidemiology, we show how to combine a compartmental model with public polling data from HuffPost and RealClearPolitics to forecast gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential elections at the state level. Our results for the 2012 and 2016 U.S. races are largely in agreement with those of popular sources, and we use our model to explore how subjective choices about uncertainty impact results. We conclude by comparing our forecasts for the 2018 midterms with those of popular analysts, and we discuss future directions related to the 2020 elections. This is joint work with Daniel Linder (Augusta Univ.), Mason Porter (UCLA), and Grzegorz Rempala (Ohio State Univ.).
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Maksim Kitsak, Delft University of Technology
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Maksim Kitsak, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology
Title:
Geometric Representations of Complementarity-Driven Networks
Abstract:
Similarity is one of the key principles underlying the formation of social networks: the more similar individuals are the higher is the chance
for a social interaction between them. Latent geometry provides an elegant way to model similarity in social networks. Network nodes are viewed as points in underlying latent or hidden space, such that distances between them quantify node similarities: the smaller the distance between the two nodes the more similar they are. It is the similarity interpretation of latent distances that lies at the origin of many applications of network embeddings, including link prediction, soft community detection and clustering, network navigation, and search.
In my talk, however, I will focus on another class of networks that are shaped not only by similarity but also by the complementarity principle. Examples of complementarity-driven networks include interdisciplinary collaboration networks, networks of interacting proteins, and, possibly, food webs.
Indeed, individuals with complementary expertise are more likely to solve an interdisciplinary problem of interest, and interactions often take place between proteins with complementary chemical properties and/or complementary binding interfaces. One of the most popular food web network models, the niche model, is based not on the similarity but on the complementarity principle, as I will demonstrate.
In my talk I will argue that existing network embedding methods are not readily applicable to complementarity-driven networks. I will then deduce a proper framework for the representations of complementarity-driven networks and demonstrate its efficiency in network reconstruction tasks.
Speaker Bio:
Maksim Kitsak is an assistant professor in the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at the Delft University of Technology. Dr. Kitsak earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Boston University. Dr. Kitsak has held postdoctoral positions at the Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), UC San Diego; and the Center for Complex Network Research (CCNR), Northeastern University. His research focuses on the development of theoretical and computational approaches to networked systems, with diverse applications ranging from systems biology to civil infrastructure. Results of his research have been published in top cross-disciplinary journals, such as Nature, Nature Physics, Science, and Science Advances, and have received broad media coverage.
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/91064172482
Passcode: nico
ID: 910 6417 2482
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - January 2021 Meeting
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:15 PM
Details
NOVEMBER MEETING: Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 5:30pm (Central) via Zoom and Gather
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly hack nights on popular data science topics, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
AGENDA:
TBA
SPEAKER: Bryan Pardo, Associate Professor, McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University
TOPIC: New directions in deep audio source separation: training without ground truth and automatic model selection
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
Time
Monday, January 25, 2021 at 5:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Irena Vodenska, Boston University
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Irena Vodenska, Associate Professor in Finance, Director, Finance Programs, Metropolitan College, Boston University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Irena Vodenska is associate professor of finance and director of finance programs at Boston University’s Metropolitan College. Her research focuses on network theory and complexity science in macroeconomics. She conducts theoretical and applied interdisciplinary research using quantitative approaches for modeling interdependences of financial networks, banking system dynamics, and global financial crises. She holds a PhD in econophysics (statistical finance) from Boston University, an MBA from Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, and a BS in computer information systems from the University of Belgrade.
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/94202105939
Passcode: nico
ID: 942 0210 5939
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Tina Eliassi-Rad, Northeastern University
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Tina Eliassi-Rad, Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Tina Eliassi-Rad is a Professor of Computer Science at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She is also a core faculty member at Northeastern's Network Science Institute. Prior to joining Northeastern, Tina was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Rutgers University; and before that she was a Member of Technical Staff and Principal Investigator at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Tina earned her Ph.D. in Computer Sciences (with a minor in Mathematical Statistics) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research is at the intersection data mining, machine learning, and network science. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications (including a few best paper and best paper runner-up awardees); and has given over 200 invited talks and 14 tutorials. Tina's work has been applied to personalized search on the World-Wide Web, statistical indices of large-scale scientific simulation data, fraud detection, mobile ad targeting, cyber situational awareness, and ethics in machine learning. Her algorithms have been incorporated into systems used by the government and industry (e.g., IBM System G Graph Analytics) as well as open-source software (e.g., Stanford Network Analysis Project).
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/95878198317
Passcode: nico
ID: 958 7819 8317
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Noah Askin, INSEAD
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Noah Askin, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, INSEAD
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Noah Askin is an Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD in Fontainebleau. His research interests include social and cultural networks, the drivers and consequences of creativity and innovation (particularly in the music industry), the production and consumption of culture, and the dynamics of organisational and individual status. His work, which has garnered recognition on the Thinkers 50 Radar list, has appeared in Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, computational social science publications, and been covered in the press by Rolling Stone, Forbes, Business Insider, Quartz.com, The Times of London, M Magazine, the New York Post, and music industry blogs.
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96945660289
Passcode: nico
ID: 969 4566 0289
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Susanna Manrubia, Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC)
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Susanna Manrubia, Associate Professor, Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC)
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Susanna Manrubia is an Associate Professor at the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology (CSIC), in Madrid. She belongs to the Systems Biology Program, where she leads the Group of Evolutionary Systems. Her group maintains close collaborations with experimentalists and focuses on developing theoretical and computational descriptions of biological, mainly evolutionary phenomena. Professor Manrubia is also interested in cultural patterns and collective social behaviour.
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96887739805
Passcode: nico
ID: 968 8773 9805
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - February 2021 Meeting
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:15 PM
Details
NOVEMBER MEETING: Monday, February 23, 2021 at 5:30pm (Central) via Zoom and Gather
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly hack nights on popular data science topics, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
AGENDA:
TBA
SPEAKER: Aviv Landau, Postdoctoral research scientist, Data Science Institute, Columbia University
TOPIC: TBA
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
Time
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 5:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Lorien Jasny, University of Exeter
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Speaker:
Lorien Jasny, Lecturer in Political and Environmental Network Analysis, University of Exeter
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Lorien Jasny is a computational social scientist focusing on questions of public involvement in environmental decision making. Her research agenda focuses on two related themes – how the structure and dynamics of inter-organizational networks affect policy change, and how the structure and dynamics of belief networks affect behavioral change. Substantively, I study how people try to bring about societal change in response to political and environmental concerns. Methodologically, the need to grapple with these often complex phenomena requires the use and development of techniques for handling large, dynamic, and relational data sets.
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/93434519191
Passcode: nico
ID: 934 3451 9191
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO WEBINAR: Lightning Talks with Northwestern Fellows and Scholars!
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
Details
Description:
NICO is hosting a lightning talk seminar each term as a part of our Wednesdays@NICO seminar series. Northwestern graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to participate. To sign up for future lightning talks, please visit: https://bit.ly/2lRqSXK
Webinar:
Webinar link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96018513447
Passcode: nico
ID: 960 1851 3447
Speakers:
TBA
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - March 2021 Meeting
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:15 PM
Details
NOVEMBER MEETING: Monday, March 22, 2021 at 5:30pm (Central) via Zoom and Gather
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly hack nights on popular data science topics, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
AGENDA:
TBA
SPEAKER: Matt Satusky, Postdoctoral Fellow, Renaissance Computing Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
TOPIC: TBA
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
Time
Monday, March 22, 2021 at 5:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)