CABDyN
The CABDyN Complexity Centre was established in July 2003 with seed
funding under the EPSRC Novel Computation Initiative. The acronym
CABDyN stands for Complex Agent-Based
Dynamic Networks, and reflects our shared
interest in network dynamics and agent-based models of complex systems across
a broad range of application domains. CABDyN brings together a truly multi-disciplinary
group of researchers in Oxford, ranging from the physical, biological and
computational sciences to the social, economic and political sciences.
GOALS
Our aim is to define shared research questions and transferable
and generalisable methods and techniques which will enable a better understanding
of the dynamic and functional properties of network structures encountered
in different contexts and disciplines. This involves the development of new
statistical measures to characterize network structures and properties, so
that the key features of incompletely mapped or noisy empirical networks can
be summarized efficiently. At the same time, we aim to elucidate the fundamental
properties of different classes of parsimonious models in which agents are
linked by non-trivial networks. We hope that the combination of these two
strands of research may provide a better understanding of how the microstates
of a networked system map into the global system behaviour, how global network characteristics influence the microstates, and what role intermediate mesoscopic structures play. This should allow us to understand network dynamics at many different scales, and will help elucidate functional network properties such as efficiency, robustness, persistence etc. Ultimately,
we are committed to the development of tools and methods which enable the
transfer of desirable properties from networks which have emerged and evolved
in competitive environments, such as many biological and socio-economic systems,
to designed networks, such as computer networks, supply chains or distributed
organizations.
OPEN ACTIVITIES
In order to support these goals we have established two specific
activities to encourage a dialogue across different disciplines, so that a
shared language appropriate to interdisciplinary research across application
domains can be developed. The Network Journal Club
provides researchers in Oxford and academic visitors with a forum
to discuss journal articles as well as preliminary results from their own research and questions relating to
methods and techniques. The CABDyN
Seminars provide an opportunity for Oxford researchers to present more
developed work such as working papers or recent publications to an interdisciplinary
audience, as well as bringing in UK and international speakers to help us
track relevant state-of-the-art research.
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