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New mathematical structures are needed to make complex

systems tractable and comprehensible.

It’s time for Mathematics

uring February, some interesting events took place,

namely concerning Mathematics and Complex

Systems Science. This issue of the ASSYST/CSS

newsletter reports on the “International workshop on

Mathematics in the Science of Complex Systems”, recently

held at the European Centre for Living Technology in

Venice. The workshop challenged the status quo and

suggested that there is an exciting universe of new

mathematical structures waiting to be constructed - new

kinds of spaces with new kinds of algebraic, topological,

analytic and logical properties requiring new methods of

investigation to make them tractable and comprehensible.

In a sequence, the First European Ph.D. School on

“Mathematical Modeling of Complex Systems” is being

prepared and will take place in Patras, Greece, during next

summer. You will be able to find here the details of this

summer school, including courses.

Still on the education side, the good news is that the new

étoile - “Enhanced Technology for Open Intelligent

Learning Environments” project is about to start. The étoile

project will test a remarkable information architecture using

social intelligence to provide ultra-low-cost education and

support the rapid dissemination of scientific ideas in

domains related to complex systems science.

Finally, you will be able to find in these pages the

announcement of the workshop “Mining the Digital Traces

of Science Toward interactive visualization of science

dynamics”, that will take place in Paris on the 23rd

and 24th

of March.

Enjoy your newsletter!

-- The ASSYST Team

D

Number 16, March 2011 | www.assystcomplexity.eu | www.cssociety.org

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2

International workshop on Mathematics in the Science of Complex Systems

The Grand Canal in Venice - Félix-François-Georges Philibert Ziem; São Paulo Museum of Art; São Paulo, Brazil

he 2011 edition of the “International workshop on

Mathematics in the Science of Complex Systems”

was organized by Jeffrey Johnson, Irene Poli, Paul

Bourgine and Robert MacKay, at the European Centre for

Living Technlogy, Venice, 17-19 February 2011, and was

supported by ASSYST, the ECLT and the Università

Ca!Foscari Venezia. With the participation of around 30

researchers, presentations and discussions were

introduced by the following background text:

“Over the past decade the Science of Complex Systems

has developed considerably. It is now widely accepted that

the emerging science of complex systems is ICT enabled

while most of the practical and theoretical problems in

information and communications technologies arise

because they are complex multilevel sociotechnical

systems. ICT is revolutionising the concept of data in the

sciences. Traditional data collection instruments are giving

way to massive real time data flows from telephony,

electronic transactions and ubiquitous sensors. It is now

commonplace to see systems modelled as discrete agent

interactions with emergent micro- and meso-level

dynamics aggregating into continuous upper meso- and

macro level dynamics, with higher order emergence as

top-down dynamics changing micro-level relationships and

substructures.

Despite these huge steps forward, there remain problems

that will not be solved by computer power, mass storage

and ever-improving communications alone. For example,

from biology to economies there is no formalism able to

integrate the representation and dynamics of multilevel

systems. The scientific problems of complex systems

science are conceptual. Complex systems have new

behaviours yet we try to model these behaviours using

mathematics fine-tuned over hundreds of years to

represent the relatively simple dynamics of physical

systems. Our workshop challenges the status quo and

suggests that there is an exciting universe of new

mathematical structures waiting to be constructed - new

kinds of spaces with new kinds of algebraic, topological,

analytic and logical properties requiring new methods of

investigation to make them tractable and comprehensible.

Or is mathematics done – with all possible structures

already discovered, making further exploration

unnecessary?

The situation can be likened to the great voyages of the

fifteenth century that discovered exotic new lands and

continents. We have a vision that there are mathematical

continents yet to be discovered, but to find them we must

leave the familiar topography of smooth if occasionally

craggy landscapes with continuous topologies and well

T

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3

manicured algebras. There is uncertainty and possible

shipwreck on voyage, but also the possibility of

discovering wonderful new things.

This workshop is intended to ask whether such new

mathematical universes exist? To do so we will reflect on

the mathematical world we know, trying to map it out and

understand where there are gaps and opportunities. We

will ask what this new universe might look like. Might the

classical harmony and beauty of mathematics give way to

discord and new generations of ugly objects that transform

in ungainly and irregular ways; where closure is hard to

achieve, operators have no simple inverses, and symbolic

forms grow combinatorially making succinct identities rare

and requiring knowledge of many unique objects with

many unique properties interacting in ways with many

exceptions. Or is it possible that by visiting such dystopian

landscapes there may be completely new organising

patterns to be discovered that make accessible the

mysterious dynamics of complex systems - completely

new mathematical systems to able to stimulate and sustain

mathematical research for centuries?

The questions do not begin and end with mathematics.

The science of complex systems is ICT-enabled with

mathematical theories and models entangled with

computation. Mathematical structures translate into data

structures, and data structures have mathematical

properties. Computation has its own dynamics, and this

fact impacts on ICT-based science. Thus the mathematics

of complex systems science may have to advance in

conjunction with new theories of computation. The

questions do not begin and end with mathematics and

computation. Complex systems science is datadriven with

ICT providing completely new kinds of data in volumes

unthinkable just a decade ago. Many of the notions of

prediction that underlie much conventional science are not

applicable in the science of complex systems. In global

systems scientists and policy makers are in the loop,

making some predictions self-fulfilling prophesies and

others inspired but often incorrect guesswork. Laboratory

experiments are often not possible leaving policy and its

implementation as the only practical means of experiment.

But policy is conducted in vernacular language, and when

policy is part of the system it too has to be modelled. Thus

theories of complex systems may need to be meta-

modelled in appropriate new and possibly computer-

implemented logical frameworks. The dynamics of

complex systems science present new kinds of empirical

questions, which require mathematics for modelling

dynamics, computation for processing data and dynamics,

and statistical theory for experimental design, data

modelling and interpretation. Thus statistical theory and

practice become entangled with mathematics and

computation in the science of complex systems.

In this spirit of questioning the status quo and urging

ourselves to think beyond current limits the workshop will

address the questions:

• which areas of mathematics are used in complex

systems science?

• what is the historical context? Have any outstanding

problems been solved?

• have any new fields of mathematics or problems been

generated ?

• how can statistical research contribute to complex

systems science?

• how does mathematics interface to computation in CS

science?

• what are the implications for applications in industry and

for policy makers?

• are new logical frameworks necessary for the science of

complex systems?

• what are the implications for education and training in CS

science?

• are there completely new areas of mathematics waiting

to be discovered?

• what are the "grand challenges! for mathematics and

mathematicians?

This workshop is the second in a series that began at

ECLT in March 2008. In the meantime the science of

complex systems has made great advances, and we can

reflect on what has changed in the mathematical

landscape since then. Have the changes been

incremental, or are there some completely new areas

emerging?”

étoile is about to start Enhanced Technology for Open Intelligent Learning Environments

!

he étoile project will test a remarkable information

architecture using social intelligence to provide ultra-

low-cost education and support the rapid

dissemination of scientific ideas. It will be tested in with

postgraduate students in Europe and around the world. It

is intended to support programmes of education in

domains related to complex systems science to large

numbers of students around the world at almost no cost

per student.

The étoile kickoff meeting will take place at the Hub

Lecture Theatre, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton

Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, 9-12 March 2011.

More info: http://www.etoilecascadesideas.eu/ T

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4

First European Ph.D. School on “Mathematical Modeling of Complex Systems”

n the framework of the European research and training

activities in Complexity Science we announce the

organization of a series of annual Ph.D. Schools on

“Mathematical Modeling of Complex Systems”. The

first such event will take place in Patras, Greece, in the

summer of 2011:

Time: 18 – 29 July, 2011 Location: Patras House of Knowledge and Science

in collaboration with the University of Patras, Greece.

This Ph.D. School is intended for postgraduate students

from all over Europe and offers four coherent lecture

courses, taught by experts in each field, on:

1. Mathematical Foundations of Complexity,

2. Physics of Complex Systems,

3. Complexity in Biology and Neuronal Dynamics,

4. Complex Systems in Economics and Sociology.

Courses & Instructors The Ph.D. School offers four coherent lecture courses:

Course I : Mathematical Foundations of Complexity

Robert MacKay (Warwick, UK) 6 hours

Jeff Johnson (Open University, UK) 4 hours

Steven Bishop (London, UK) 4 hours

Course II : Physics of Complex Systems

Nico Gray, Tom Mullin (Manchester, UK) 4 hours

Tassos Bountis, Ko van der Weele (Patras, GR) 4 hours

Pierre Gaspard, Thomas Gilbert, David Andrieux

(Brussels, B) 4 hours

Devaraj van der Meer (Twente, NL) 4 hours

Course III : Complexity in Biology and Neuronal Dynamics Erik Mosekilde (Lyngby, DK) 5 hours

Jürgen Kurths (Berlin, D) 5 hours

Anastasios Bezerianos (Patras, GR) 2 hours

Course IV : Complex Systems in Economics and Sociology Rosario Mantegna (Palermo, I) 6 hours

Dirk Helbing (Zürich, CH) 6 hours

More information: http://www.math.upatras.gr/~phdsch11/

Mining the Digital Traces of Science Toward interactive visualization of science dynamics Paris March 23-24 2011, Complex Systems Institute of Paris Ile-de-France

he recent ICT revolution has given birth to a parallel

world of digital traces. This change affects a wide

number of contexts of collaborative knowledge

creation, from casual discussions, political arguments, to

scientific elaboration and participative decision-making.

Abstract Science has been the first domain to experiment this shift

to a stigmergic society. No need to recall the ongoing and

yet already old history of scientific publications databases

construction and use. For the first time a whole

community of practice including scholars, decision

makers and possibly any concerned citizen has been able

to get an insight into current scientific research. Despite

the amazing richness of most of these repositories

(whether they are or not free or public), users have been

limited to a more or less sophisticated query-based

search-engine mediated access to bibliographical notices.

The current challenge is to design and develop innovative

tools to access this knowledge in order to enable users

with new methods of navigation, interaction and data

visualization of this kind of databases.

Speakers: Luis Bettencourt, Andrea Bonaccorsi,

Chaomei Chen, David Chavalarias, Jean-Philippe Cointet,

Pablo Jensen, Bruno Latour, Marco Quaggiotto, Ismael

Rafols, Martin Rosvall, André Skupin, Angela Zoss

More information http://iscpif.fr/mdts11

I

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5

Reading snippets

Ants build cheapest networks As with railway networks, directly connecting each nest to

every other nest would allow individual ants to travel most

efficiently, but required a large amount of trail to be

established.

Instead, the ants used central hubs in their networks – an

arguably complex design for creatures that University of

Sydney biologist Tanya Latty described as having “tiny

brains and simple behaviours”.

In itneus.com.au http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=101

Self-organization in social tagging systems Individuals often imitate each other to fall into the typical

group, leading to a self-organized state of typical

behaviors in a community. In this paper, we model self-

organization in social tagging systems and illustrate the

underlying interaction and dynamics.

In arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3989

Swarm cognition on off-road autonomous robots (…) the first validation of swarm cognition as a useful

framework for the design of autonomous robots controller

(…) Based on the ant foraging metaphor and motivated by

the multiple covert attention hypothesis, the model

consists of a set of simple virtual agents inhabiting the

robot!s visual input, searching in a collectively coordinated

way for obstacles.

In Swarm intelligence

http://www.springerlink.com/content/n316748134823141/

A Hybrid Algorithm for Satellite Image Classification Remote sensing is the most relevant science that permits

us to acquire information about the surface of the land,

without having actual contact with the area being

observed. (…)In this paper, we have used a Self

Organizing Ant Algorithm for Classification of remotely

sensed data. Also, we have suggested a new

reinforcement factor for the pheromone updating.

In Advances in Computing, Communication and Control

http://www.springerlink.com/content/r25t54x5311u434n/

Detecting evolving patterns of self-organizing networks by flow hierarchy measurement Hierarchies occur widely in evolving self-organizing

ecological, biological, technological, and social networks,

but detecting and comparing hierarchies is difficult. Here

we present a metric and technique to quantitatively assess

the extent to which self-organizing directed networks

exhibit a flow hierarchy.

In Complexity http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=102

Climate change and evolutionary adaptation Evolutionary adaptation can be rapid and potentially help

species counter stressful conditions or realize ecological

opportunities arising from climate change. The challenges

are to understand when evolution will occur and to identify

potential evolutionary winners as well as losers, such as

species lacking adaptive capacity living near physiological

limits.

In Nature http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=104

General coevolution of topology and dynamics in networks We present a general framework for the study of

coevolution in dynamical systems. This phenomenon

consists of the coexistence of two dynamical processes on

networks of interacting elements: node state change and

rewiring of links between nodes. The process of rewiring is

described in terms of two basic actions: disconnection and

reconnection between nodes, both based on a mechanism

of comparison of their states

In arXiv http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3467

Many Roads to Synchrony: Natural Time Scales and Their Algorithms We survey the variety of ways in which one synchronizes

to a stochastic process. We define associated length

scales, providing characterization theorems and efficient

algorithms for their calculation. We demonstrate that many

of the length scales are minimized by using the #-machine,

compared to all of a process's alternative models

In SFI http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=103

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6

Conferences and workshops http://assystcomplexity.eu/conferences.jsp

WiVS 2011 1st International Workshop WiVS 2011: Flexible

Workflows in Distributed Systems

Kiel, Germany

8 Mar 2011 to 11 Mar 2011

SIMUTools 2011 4th International Conference on Simulation Tools and

Techniques

Barcelona, Spain

21 Mar 2011 to 25 Mar 2011

IMCIC 2011 The 2nd International Multi-Conference on Complexity,

Informatics and Cybernetics

Orlando, Florida USA

27 Mar 2011 to 30 Mar 2011

SKIN2011 Simulating Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Networks:

Workshop

University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany

31 Mar 2011 to 1 Apr 2011

ADS11 Agent-Directed Simulation Symposium

Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel; Boston, MA, USA

4 Apr 2011 to 9 Apr 2011

AISB11 Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour

Convention

University of York, UK

4 Apr 2011 to 7 Apr 2011

ISAmI 2011 2nd International Symposium on Ambient Intelligence -

Software and Applications

Salamanca, Spain

6 Apr 2011 to 8 Apr 2011

PAAMS11 9th International Conference on Practical Applications of

Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

Salamanca, Spain

6 Apr 2011 to 8 Apr 2011

IEEE ALIFE 2011 The 2011 IEEE Symposium on Artificial Life

Paris, France

11 Apr 2011 to 11 Apr 2011

NetSciCom2011 3rd International Workshop on Network Science for

Communication Networks

Shanghai, China

15 Apr 2011 to 15 Apr 2011

WSS 2011 The 4th International Symposium on Web Services

Hammamet, Tunisia

20 Apr 2011 to 21 Apr 2011

AAMAS 2011 The Tenth International Conference on Autonomous

Agents and Multiagent Systems

Taipei, Taiwan

2 May 2011 to 5 May 2011

ATES2011 2nd International Workshop on Agent Technologies for

Energy Systems

Taipei, Taiwan

2 May 2011 to 2 May 2011

AMPLE2011 1st International Workshop on Agent-based Modeling for

Policy Engineering

Colocated with AAMAS2011, Taipei, Taiwan

2 May 2011 to 6 May 2011

MABS11 12th International Workshop on Multi-Agent-Based

Simulation

Colocated with AAMAS 2011, Taipei, Tawian

2 May 2011 to 6 May 2011

FET11 The European Future Technologies Conference and

Exhibition 2011

Budapest, Hungary

4 May 2011 to 6 May 2011

NIDISC2011 14th International Workshop on Nature Inspired

Distributed Computing

Anchorage (Alaska) USA

16 May 2011 to 20 May 2011

ECMS2011 25th EUROPEAN Conference on Modelling and

Simulation

Krakow, Poland

7 Jun 2011 to 10 Jun 2011

ISIE2011 6th International Conference on Industrial Ecology

Berkeley, California, USA

7 Jun 2011 to 10 Jun 2011

ICANN2011 International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks

Espoo, Finland

14 Jun 2011 to 17 Jun 2011

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7

PNCW11 4th Annual Political Networks Conference and Workshops

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of

Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

14 Jun 2011 to 18 Jun 2011

ACM WebSci 11 3rd International Conference on Web Science

Koblenz, Germanay

14 Jun 2011 to 17 Jun 2011

COLLA2011 The First International Conference on Advanced

Collaborative Networks, Systems and Applications

Luxemburg

19 Jun 2011 to 24 Jun 2011

CCSS2011 International Workshop on Coping with Crises in Complex

Socio-Economic Systems - 2011

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

20 Jun 2011 to 25 Jun 2011

ESHIA-WEHIA2011 The 16th Annual Workshop on Economic Heterogeneous

Interacting Agents

Ancona, Italy

23 Jun 2011 to 25 Jun 2011

SiCoSSys 2011 Simulation of Complex Social Systems (SiCoSSys 2011)

Colocated with SCSC11 The Hague, Netherlands

27 Jun 2011 to 30 Jun 2011

ECoMASS-2011 5th Workshop on Evolutionary Computation and Multi-

Agent Systems and Simulation Workshop (ECoMASS-

2011)

Dublin, Ireland

12 Jul 2011 to 13 Jul 2011

CLIMA XII 12th International Workshop on Computational Logic in

Multi-Agent Systems

Barcelona, Spain

17 Jul 2011 to 18 Jul 2011

ASONAM2011 The International Conference on Advances in Social

Network Analysis and

Mining

Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

25 Jul 2011 to 27 Jul 2011

WISHWell 2011 3rd International Workshop on Intelligent Environments -

Supporting Healthcare and Well-being (WISHWell!11)

Nottingham, UK

25 Jul 2011 to 26 Jul 2011

Game Theory and Society 2011 Game Theory and Society - Models of Social Interaction

in Sociological Research

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

27 Jul 2011 to 30 Jul 2011

ECAL11 European Conference on Artificial Life - 20th Anniversary

Edition - Back to the Origins of Alife

Paris, France

8 Aug 2011 to 12 Aug 2011

WIIAT2011 The 2011 IEEE / WIC / ACM International Conferences

on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology

Campus Scientifique de la Doua, Lyon, France

22 Aug 2011 to 27 Aug 2011

IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2011 IEEE CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENT AND

LEARNING, AND EPIGENETIC ROBOTICS

Frankfurt, Germany

24 Aug 2011 to 27 Aug 2011

SPSD2011 International Community on Spatial Planning and

Sustainable Development

Kanazawa, Japan

29 Aug 2011 to 31 Aug 2011

ECCS11 European Conference on Complex Systems 2011

Vienna, Austria

12 Sep 2011 to 16 Sep 2011

ICMC2011 2nd International Conference on Morphological

Computation

ECLT, Venice, Italy

12 Sep 2011 to 14 Sep 2011

ANT2011 2nd International Conference on Ambient Systems,

Networks and Technologies

Ontario, Canada

19 Sep 2011 to 21 Sep 2011

ICORE2011 2nd International Conference on Reputation

Montpellier, France

19 Sep 2011 to 19 Sep 2011

!"#$%&'()'*'+,,-,./0,,'!%123%44%&'5'67&89':;(('

8

Jobs

http://jobs.cssociety.org

Professor Associate/Full Professor in Management Science

IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca

Italy - 02 of Mar., 2011

Teaching/Research Assistant Professeur / Chercheur : Informatique et applications de

l!Informatique aux sciences humaines et sociales

Département de Mathématiques et d!Informatique

appliquées aux Sciences de l!Homme (actuellement 6

MCF et 2 Pr) de l!Institut des Sciences Humaines

Appliquées (ISHA)

France – April 30, 2011

Teaching/Research Assistant Maitre de conférences / Chaire mixte CNRS, Modélisation

des risques en société

UMR 6266 IDEES (équipe MTG), Université de Rouen,

Dept. de Géographie

France – June 21, 2011

5("#%':;#(%-*#(*#.'-*$C'#'("O*

Jane Bromley, David Chavalarias, Jeff Johnson,

Jorge Louçã, David MS Rodrigues

3#(%7*-;:1'--'("*D;'C$)'"$-O**

If you are a Complex System researcher/practitioner and

want to share a success story about your work / research

please submit it to newsletter@assystcomplexity.eu.

The story should approximately 500 words (if you want to

submit an extended story please contact us) and should

be sent in TXT, ODT, RTF or DOC file formats.

Contacts

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Email: newsletter@assystcomplexity.eu

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The ASSYST project acknowledges the financial support

of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)

programme within the ICT theme of the Seventh

Framework Programme for Research of the

European Commission.

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