Speaker:

Julio M. Ottino - Dean, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University

Title:

THE NEXUS - Augmented Thinking for a Complex World - The New Convergence of Art, Technology, And Science

Abstract:

Today, more urgently than ever, we need to augment our thinking. The world faces enormous challenges of unprecedented complexity—problems that intertwine in a dizzyingly interconnected, interdependent, and changing landscape. The demands are clear: we must adopt new ways of thinking and working that cross the boundaries of classical knowledge and practice; creativity must increase, and execution must excel. How can we augment our thinking spaces to increase creative solutions? How can we make those solutions real by mastering complexity? By working at the Nexus, where art, technology, and science converge.

Speaker Bio:

Julio Mario Ottino is an internationally renowned thought leader, engineering scientist and researcher, author, educator, and administrator, with interests spanning many fields. His research work is centered on chaos theory and complex systems; his initial passions were split between painting and math and engineering; deeply interested in the intersection between art, technology, and science, he also made incursions in the links between engineering with humanities and law. As dean of engineering and applied science at Northwestern University, he founded initiatives in design, entrepreneurship, and energy and sustainability He has been listed in the “One Hundred Engineers of the Modern Era" by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, he was awarded the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education from the National Academy of Engineering.

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/92466241180
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Arlei Silva - Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Rice University

Title:

Link Prediction with Autocovariance

Abstract:

Machine learning on graphs supports various structured-data applications including social network analysis, recommender systems, and natural language processing. One could argue that link prediction is the most fundamental among the graph-related tasks. This is because link prediction not only has many concrete applications (e.g. friendship and product recommendation, uncovering protein-protein interactions) but can also be considered an (implicit or explicit) step of most graph-based machine learning pipelines due to the fact that the observed graph is often incomplete. Earlier link prediction approaches relied on expert-designed heuristics (e.g., Common Neighbors, Adamic-Adar, Preferential Attachment) to extract topological information from the network. More recently, representation learning on graphs and Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have emerged as the predominant solutions for link prediction.

In this talk, we will introduce link prediction methods based on autocovariance, which is a multiscale random-walk-based node similarity metric. We will show that the proposed approaches achieve state-of-the-art performance on simple, signed, and attributed graphs. As some of our key findings, we show that representation learning results for node classification do not generalize to link prediction. Moreover, autocovariance is especially accurate at predicting negative links in polarized signed graphs. Finally, our results illustrate how existing approaches for training and evaluation of supervised link prediction, including those based on GNNs, picture an overly optimistic picture of their performance. We show that a simple approach combining autocovariance and attribute information outperforms several recent GNN-based link prediction methods.

Speaker Bio:

Arlei Silva is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Rice University. His research focuses on developing algorithms and models for mining and learning from complex datasets, broadly defined as data science, especially for data represented as graphs/networks. He is particularly interested in problems motivated by computational social science, infrastructure, and healthcare. The tools that he applies to address these problems include machine learning, network science, graph theory, linear algebra, optimization, and statistics. Professor Silva received a Ph.D in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, advised by Ambuj Singh, where he was also a postdoctoral scholar.

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/98973037019
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Dewey Murdick - Director, Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), Georgetown University

Title:

Enhancing data-informed technology security policy analysis

Abstract:

The Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) aims to connect policymakers to high-quality analysis of emerging technologies and their security implications. I will briefly introduce you to our work and will dig into the data-driven infrastructure that supports this capability. I will introduce our Emerging Technology Observatory and applied data science research projects that support our policy analysis. I will especially mention our work to better understand how basic and applied research can be connected with their future applications and potential societal impact.

Speaker Bio:

Dewey Murdick is the Director at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). He serves as an unpaid advisor to several organizations: the OECD Network of Experts on AI (ONE AI); Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Data Governance Working Group; the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Task Force on AI and National Security; and CEIMIA, where he is a member of the board of directors. Prior to joining CSET as its founding Director of Data Science, he was the Director of Science Analytics at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where he led metric development, data science, and machine learning and statistical research for scientist-facing products and science-related initiatives. Dewey served as Chief Analytics Officer and Deputy Chief Scientist within the Department of Homeland Security. At the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), he co-founded an office in anticipatory intelligence and led programs in high-risk, high-payoff research in support of national security missions. He has also held positions in intelligence analysis, research, software development and contract teaching.

Dewey’s research interests include connecting research and emerging technology to future capabilities, emerging technology forecasting, strategic planning, research portfolio management and policymaker support. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Physics from Andrews University.

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97787761062
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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NICO is hosting another round of research lightning talks as a part of our Wednesdays @ NICO seminar series. This fall, Lightning Talks will be held in person on October 19, 2022 in Chambers Hall, with additional sessions in the winter and spring.

These are open to Northwestern graduate students and postdoctoral fellows! If you are interested in giving a lightning talk (~10 minutes with questions) to the broader NICO audience, please sign up here: https://kellogg.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6XdMMBOgiOylqgS

Speakers will be balanced based on their topics/disciplines in order to provide a broad representation of the research activities at NICO

Speakers, Talk Titles and Abstracts:

TBA

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/91209535173
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Penny Mealy - Economist at the World Bank, Research Associate at INET and the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at SoDa Labs at the Monash Business School

Title:

Adjacent Possible Policies: The Climate Policy Space Conditions Future Policy Adoption

Abstract:

TBA

Speaker Bio:

Penny Mealy is an economist at the World Bank, a Research Associate at INET and the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at SoDa Labs at the Monash Business School. Her work applies various methods from complex systems and data science to analyse the interrelated challenges of climate change and economic development. Her research has developed novel, data-driven approaches for analysing structural change, occupational mobility and the future of work, and the transition to the green economy.

Penny completed a PhD at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford University. She has held various research fellow roles at the Oxford Martin School, the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University, and SoDa Labs, Monash University. Penny also has frequently advised international organisations, governments and businesses on green growth and development strategies.

Location:

NOTE: Penny Mealy is joining this talk remotely via Zoom, but attendees are welcome to join us in Chambers Hall as usual.

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/93658786968
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Joshua B. Plotkin - Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences, University of Pennsylvania

Title:

Measuring evolutionary forces of cultural change

Abstract:

I will describe how to measure forces driving cultural change, using inference tools from evolutionary theory. We study time series data from large corpora of parsed English texts to identify what drives language change over the course of centuries. And we measure frequency-dependent effects in time-series of baby names and purebred dog preferences over the past century. The negative frequency dependence we infer among names explains their diversity patterns, and it replicates across the United States, France, Norway and the Netherlands. We find different growth rates for male versus female names, attributable to different rates of innovation, whereas biblical names enjoy a genuine selective advantage at all frequencies. Frequency dependence emerges from a host of underlying selective mechanisms, including a preference for novelty that recapitulates boom-bust fads among dog owners. Analyzing cultural evolution through frequency-dependent selection provides a quantitative account of social pressures to conform or to be different.

Speaker Bio:

Joshua Plotkin uses mathematics and computation to study questions in evolutionary biology and ecology. Research in the Plotkin group is concerned primarily with adaptation in populations. Related interests include the evolution of robustness and adaptability, the evolutionary ecology of viral populations, the evolution of cooperation, conflict, coalitions, and group decision-making.

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/91997079786
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Cristian Huepe - Adjunct Professor, Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics (ESAM), Northwestern University, and External Faculty, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)

Title:

Online opinions and interactions regarding Covid-19 vaccinations: a Complex Systems analysis

Abstract:

Digital social networks can significantly affect Covid-19 vaccination campaigns, if well-connected conversations emerge that discourage immunization. Although the information in these platforms could help understand and manage the communities and narratives that influence vaccination, it has rarely been used to help evaluate or guide public health policy.

I will present an interdisciplinary study in which we analyzed all Chilean tweets related to the Covid-19 vaccines and vaccination process produced during a period of 6 months, to examine quantitatively and qualitatively the structure and dynamics of their opinions and interactions in a society that achieved high levels of immunization while experiencing substantial sociopolitical conflict. We trained a machine learning algorithm to score the tweeting accounts from the most pro-vaccine to the most anti-vaccine. We show that four categories with distinct tweeting practices and connectivity naturally emerge: pro-vaccine activists, anti-vaccine activists, and moderates that promote or inhibit vaccination in discussions, which also play a key role. Accounts disfavoring vaccination tend to appear in the periphery of the interaction network, consistent with Chile’s high immunization levels, but are more active in addressing those favoring vaccination than vice-versa, which reveals a potential problem in communication policy. Our results highlight the importance of social networks and online interventions for successful immunization campaigns.

Speaker Bio:

CHuepeLabs develops research in complex systems, nonequilibrium physical dynamics and quantitative social sciences. Current efforts focus on collective motion, active matter, complex networks, modular-hierarchical evolutionary structures, and opinion formation.

CHuepeLabs is a global research team centered on the work of Cristián Huepe in Chicago and at NICO (Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems) & ESAM (Applied Math Dept.) at Northwestern University (USA). CHuepeLabs also include collaborative teams at the School of Systems Science of Beijing Normal University (China), the Middle East Technical University ODTÜ/METU (Turkey), and the Social Listening Lab SoL-UC (Chile).

Location:

In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/92818942739
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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Speaker:

Amanda Melin - Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, University of Calgary

Title:

Plasticity and adaptation of capuchin monkeys examined through behaviour, microbes, and genes

Abstract:

Adaptation to changing environments shapes the genetic and phenotypic diversity of organisms over evolutionary time. Animals also face changing environments throughout the course of their lifetime, and plasticity in behaviours, gene expression, and microbes helps them survive these short-term shifts. In my talk, I discuss adaptation and plasticity in a highly flexible, long-lived, social primate, the capuchin monkey. I introduce several of our collaborative field and lab studies, which integrate 40 years of behavioural and demographic study of white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) in Sector Santa Rosa, Costa Rica, with recent genomics analyses of capuchins and their gut microbiomes. This includes analysis across seasons, years, populations, and in comparative context with other mammalian species. By using different approaches and tools that span behavioural ecology, demography, and the ‘omics of hosts and their commensal organisms, we can better understand how adaptation and plasticity have shaped the form and function of our close relatives, and generate new insight into the forces shaping our own evolutionary history and present-day variation.

Speaker Bio:

Amanda Melin's lab is involved in a broad range of research situated at the intersection of behaviour, sensory ecology, and dietary outcomes of nonhuman and human primates. We take an integrative approach to answering questions about primate origins and evolution, melding study of sensory systems with molecular ecology, microbiome analysis, metagenomics and field observations of primates.

Location:

Note we are meeting in a different location this week:
In person: Kellogg Global Hub, 2211 Campus Drive, Room 1120
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/95713083124
Passcode: NICO22

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.

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