Global network science conference opens
May 10, 2010
Albert-László Barabási, distinguished professor of physics, speaks at the NetSci 2010 conference. Photo by Mary Knox Merrill
Network scientists and researchers in the arts and humanities converged
at Northeastern University Monday to kick off an annual conference that
seeks to expand research in network science and foster new
collaborations between researchers from across the globe.
The highly interdisciplinary science of networks - which examines
complex systems and processes that exhibit network behavior, from
biological systems in the body to the shifting networks formed by
social media websites - has grown rapidly in the last decade. That
growth is due to the rising amount of network-relevant data available
to researchers, according to Maximilian Schich, an art historian and
visiting research scientist at Northeastern University's Center for
Complex Network Research (CCNR).
The CCNR, led by a pioneer in network science, Distinguished Professor
of Physics Albert-László Barabási , is considered the leading
university-based center for network science research in the world.
Monday's Arts | Humanities | Complex Networks symposium was a satellite
workshop of NetSci 2010 - a weeklong conference being jointly held by
Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Schich says there was a feeling last year that arts and the humanities
were underrepresented at the conference compared with other topics such
as mathematics, physics, biology, and economics. As a result,
organizers wanted to bring arts and the humanities to the forefront
this year with its own full-day workshop.
"We are striving to expand and foster cross-disciplinary research on
complex networks, within or with the help of arts and humanities,"
Schich said.
"This is the coolest session we've done so far at NetSci, and if we
start this way, I have very high hopes for the [conference]," added
Barabási, a co-organizer of NetSci 2010.
The symposium examined research areas such as archeology, art history,
music, literature and film. In one presentation, researchers charted
networks of words throughout published works such as "Romeo and Juliet"
and the Bible, as well as those based on Google searches. Another
presentation detailed research analyzing the wide network of
photographs posted on social media websites - which, for instance,
could lead to studying patterns of how people move through the world
based on the cities and landmarks highlighted in the photos.
The symposium was co-chaired by Isabel Meirelles, associate professor
in Northeastern's Department of Art + Design , and Roger Malina,
executive editor at Leonardo, an international journal focusing on the
application of science and technology to the arts and music.
The NetSci conference is traditionally divided into two sections. The
"school" portion, held at Northeastern, offers a series of lectures and
tutorials to introduce tools and results on various research areas in
network science. The "conference" portion, held at MIT, focuses on
talks presenting the latest research in network science.
The school portion began Monday and continues on Tuesday at
Northeastern's Shillman Hall with a morning discussion on "Economic
Networks" and afternoon discussions on "Dynamics on Networks" and
"Biological Networks."
For more information on the entire NetSci 2010 conference, visit http://netsci2010.net/program.php
For more information on the Arts | Humanities | Complex Networks symposium, visit http://artshumanities.netsci2010.net/ Selected Media Coverage