ASSYSTComplexity Newsletter

Number 1, May 18th 2009
http://www.assystcomplexity.eu

1. EDITORIAL
2. ASSYST and COSI-ICT EVENTS
3. NEWS FROM THE PORTAL
4. CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS
5. ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND SUMMER SCHOOLS
6. JOBS IN COMPLEXITY
7. CONTACTS

pdf: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=21

1. Editorial

by Jeff Johnson (Coordinator for ASSYST)
Jorge Louçã (Director of Communication)
Welcome to the 1st ASSYSTComplexity Newsletter. In it you will find news and information about the Complex Systems Community. Additionally, there will be information on the EC 7th Framework funded ASSYST Coordination Action (Action for the Science of Complex Systems and Socially Intelligent ICT), with links allowing you to keep in touch with this project.
The ASSYST Coordination Action includes the following objectives:

To promote Complex Systems for Socially Intelligent ICT (COSI-ICT) and, more generally, Complex Systems (CS) Science in Europe and Worldwide, by communicating widely with scientists, policy makers, business people and in particular showcasing success stories of CS applications;
To promote and support CS scientific interchange in Europe and worldwide, through the organisation of scientific meetings;
To create strong links between CS and both the Public and Private Sectors;
To provide conference support for CS research and dissemination;
To provide postgraduate open educational resources across Europe for masters & PhD courses by defining a core curriculum and delivering a European PhD in Complex Systems;
To provide high quality web-based information services and tools for the CS community.
To maintain a Living Roadmap of complex systems science and use it to lobby for funds at National and International levels.

The ASSYST Coordination Action is part of the European COS-ICT programme that includes four important European research projects (Cybermotions, Epiwork, Qlectives and Socionical), which started at the beginning of 2009. These projects will be described in future editions of our newsletter.
The ASSYSTComplexity web portal, available at http://www.assystcomplexity.eu, will be presented in detail in future editions of the newsletter.
We hope you will find the information here interesting and useful. Please don't hesitate to contact us, using the email newsletter@assystcomplexity.eu , to suggest news or other information to be shared by the community.

The ASSYST Newsletter team

2. ASSYST and COSI-ICT EVENTS

Jan 2009: ASSYST project begins
http://assystcomplexity.eu/news.jsp

Jan 2009: ASSYST is represented at a Complexity-NET workshop “Engaging with Social Science” in Chantilly, Paris
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=12

Feb 2009: CYBEREMOTION Kick-off in Warsaw
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=13

Feb 2009: Socionical Kick-off Meeting in Passau, Germany
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=14

Feb 2009: EPIWork Kick-off
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=15

Feb 2009: ASSYST makes contact with Chinese complexity researchers at the conference - Complex’2009 Shanghai
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=16

Feb 2009: ASSYST Kickoff and Roadmap Meeting
http://assystcomplexity.eu/news.jsp

March 2009: Qlectives kickoff
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=17

March 2009: ASSYST supporting a workshop on “Energy & Climate Change: the Contribution of Complexity Science”
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=18

April 2009: The European Future Technologies Conference: Science beyond Fiction in Prague. ASSYST supported a workshop on “Aesthetics at the heart of Science” organized by Paul Bourgine and Jeff Johnson
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=19

April 2009: EPSRC Workshop: Complexity Science in the Real World
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=20

3. NEWS FROM THE PORTAL

COMPLEXITY-NET PILOT CALL
Interdisciplinary Challenges For Complexity Science - Closing date for Expressions of Interest 30th July 2009
Complexity-NET invites Expressions of Interest for transnational interdisciplinary research projects. Proposed projects should be grounded in the mathematical and physical sciences, designed around meaningful collaboration with other scientific disciplines, and should have a clear emphasis on the development of methodologies, tools and techniques of complexity science for addressing real-world challenges.
The principal themes of the call are:

Emergence and self-organisation, individual to collective behaviour, micro to macro;
Dynamics and (un)predictability, risk and extreme events;
Resilience, sustainability, management and control of complex systems.

Expressions of Interest are invited from consortia which include investigators from at least three different countries participating in this call. The research projects funded through this activity will have a duration of up to 24 months and a total budget of up to €500,000 across all investigators.
This call will be administered by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; also referred to as the Call Secretariat); contact details Tel. +31 (0) 70 344 09 21; email complexitynet@nwo.nl
source: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=5
Editor: ASSYST will be setting up a webpage, dedicated to this call, to help people find potential partners with requisite skills. If you are from one of the participating countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain or the United Kingdom) and wish to participate in the call please send us an email through the ASSYSTComplexity website http://assystcomplexity.eu/contact.jsp with a short statement of your competencies, your country and what you can offer. This information will then be made available for everyone to share.

FLU FIGHTERS USE THE WEB TO TRACK VIRUS AT PHYSICSWORLD
News from Assyst partners Epiwork
"Physicists in Italy have begun analyzing data from a new Web-based project that seeks to model how flu spreads through a population
The project, known as Influweb, involved some 2000 ordinary Italians replying over the last six months to a weekly e-mailed questionnaire about their state of health and current geographical location. The project will be able to pin down the spread of flu in real time and with a spatial resolution on the level of a person’s postcode."
more info: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=6

FET09
The Europe Future Technologies Conference (FET09) took place in Prague by 21-23 April 2009
FET provides financial support to ASSYST.
Read about it at:
http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=11

4. CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

http://assystcomplexity.eu/conferences.jsp
iMinds 2009 innovation, incubation, inspiration
12 May 2009
Ghent (Belgium)

MLS 2009 - Morphogenesis in Living Systems International Conference
14 May 2009 to 16 May 2009
Paris, University Paris 5 Rene Descartes

The 2nd Chaotic Modeling and Simulation International Conference
1 Jun 2009 to 5 Jun 2009
MAICh Conference Centre, Chania

International Workshop on Coping with Crises in Complex Socio-Economic Systems
8 Jun 2009 to 13 Jun 2009
ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

20th International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations
14 Jun 2009 to 19 Jun 2009
Pisa, Italy

ESHIA/WEHIA 2009
18 Jun 2009 to 20 Jun 2009
China

First International Workshop on Morphogenetic Engineering
19 Jun 2009 to 19 Jun 2009
Complex Systems Institute, Paris, June 19, 2009

17th International Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics of Electronic Systems
21 Jun 2009 to 24 Jun 2009
Rapperswil, Switzerland

5th National & International HSSS Conference - "From Systemic Thinking to Systems Design and Systems Practice"
24 Jun 2009 to 27 Jun 2009

International Conference on Computational Aspects of Social Networks
24 Jun 2009 to 27 Jun 2009
Fontainebleau, France

ICCSA 2009 - The 3rd International Conference on Complex Systems and Applications
29 Jun 2009 to 2 Jul 2009
University of Le Havre Le Havre, Normandy, France

JOUAL 2009 WORKSHOP - Experiments with emergence in computational systems modeling spacetime and nature
10 Jul 2009 to 11 Jul 2009
ISTI-CNR, Pisa, Italy

The second International Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics and Synchroniztion
20 Jul 2009 to 21 Jul 2009
Klagenfurt, Austria

Swarm Cognition Workshop
29 Jul 2009 to 29 Jul 2009
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Workshop on Sensor-Based Models and Feedback Systems for Social Computing
29 Aug 2009 to 31 Aug 2009
Vancouver, Canada

Darwin Meets von Neumann: European Conference on Artificial Life 2009
13 Sep 2009 to 16 Sep 2009
Budapest, Hungary

ESSA 2009 - The Sixth Conference of the European Social Simulation Association
14 Sep 2009 to 18 Sep 2009
University of Surrey, Guilford, UK

SASO 2009 - Third IEEE International Conference on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems
14 Sep 2009 to 18 Sep 2009
San Francisco, USA

ECCS 2009 - European Conference on Complex Systems
21 Sep 2009 to 25 Sep 2009
University of Warwick, UK

2009 International Conference on Adaptive and Intelligent Systems
24 Sep 2009 to 26 Sep 2009
Klagenfurt, Austria

Complexity Theories of Cities have come of Age
24 Sep 2009 to 27 Sep 2009
Berlageroom at BK City, the new faculty building of the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture.

Natural and Biomimetic Mechanosensing
26 Oct 2009 to 28 Oct 2009
Dresden, Germany

The 11th International Symposium on Stabilization, Safety, and Security of Distributed Systems
3 Nov 2009 to 6 Nov 2009
Lyon, France

SiCoSSys 2009 - International Workshop on "Simulation of Complex Social Systems"
9 Nov 2009 to 9 Nov 2009
Sevilla, Spain

The International Conference on Intelligent Systems Design and Applications
30 Nov 2009 to 2 Dec 2009
Pisa, Italy

5. ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND SUMMER SCHOOLS

THIRD ANNUAL FRENCH COMPLEX SYSTEMS SUMMER SCHOOL
Lyon and Paris, July 20-August 14, 2009
This new series of international summer schools set in France is co-organized by the two French Complex Systems Institutes, in Lyon and Paris, in coordination with the overarching National Network of Complex Systems (RNSC). It is divided into two periods:
"Fundamentals and Practice of Complex Systems" will take place in Lyon, at the Complex Systems Institute Rhône-Alpes (IXXI), Ecole Normale Supérieure, from July 20 to 31
"Advanced Topics in Complex Systems" will take place in the heart of the Latin Quarter in Paris, at the Complex Systems Institute Paris Ile-de-France (ISC-PIF), from August 3 to 14
The aim of the school is to provide in-depth reference courses to a multi-disciplinary audience of researchers and students. The level of lectures will range from introductory to advanced, as attendees are not expected to be familiar with all the fields covered. Lecture topics will address specific objects from various disciplines pertaining to complex systems (physics, biology, sociology, etc.), or interdisciplinary tools and methods (mathematical, computational), or both.
Invited Lecturers (tentative)
Jacob Beal (BNN Technologies & MIT Computer Science Laboratory, Cambridge, US)
Eric Bertin (Department of Physics, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon)
Guillaume Beslon (National Institute of Applied Science, CNRS & Université de Lyon)
Nicolas Brunel (Laboratory of Neurophysics and Physiology, Université Paris 5 Descartes)
Paulien Hogeweg (Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics Group, Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
Pablo Jensen (CNRS & École Normale Supérieure de Lyon)
Matteo Marsili (Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy)
Nicolas Schabanel (Laboratoire d'Informatique Algorithmique, CNRS & Université Paris-Diderot 7)
David Sumpter (Mathematics Department, Uppsala University, Sweden)
other guest speakers to be announced
Applying to the Summer School
Early application tuition rate (if applying by May 18) is €400 for the whole school. Regular tuition rate (if applying after May 18) is €500. Tuition rate includes:

attendance to all courses
housing in Lyon and Paris (if applying by May 31)
bus transfer from Lyon to Paris, organized as a weekend excursion
lunches and coffee breaks

Housing can be guaranteed only if the application was received by May 31 (and accepted). After May 31, housing will be assigned only if there is still vacancy. Note that dinners and travel expenses (other than the bus transfer from Lyon to Paris) are not included. Once you receive confirmation of your participation, we recommend that you make your own travel arrangements into Lyon and out of Paris as quickly as possible.
The number of participants is limited to 30. To apply to the summer school, please
prepare a short CV and a 1-page cover letter stating your interest for complex systems and the summer school; fill out the APPLICATION FORM and follow the form instructions to upload these documents.
Full consideration will be given to applications received by May 18, 2009, for which the special early tuition rate of €400 will apply, if accepted. Applications received after May 18 will be examined on a first-come, first-served basis as long as there is still availability and, if accepted, will incur a regular tuition rate of €500.
more info: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=7

COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND SOCIAL SIMULATIONS
The CEU Summer University in Budapest hosts a summer school in Complex Systems from July 13 through July 24.
The summer school is aimed at providing a state-of-the-art cutting-edge scientific and research-oriented training for junior faculty, young researchers, postdoctoral fellows, MA and Ph.D. students, and professionals from European and overseas universities and research institutes on complex systems and social simulations.
The term Complex Systems (CSS) denotes an interdisciplinary research methodology currently successful in the social sciences and elsewhere. CS research originated from physics and nonlinear systems some decades ago but its models have soon permeated such distant fields as economy, political science or more recently sociology. As implied by the name, a CS is essentially a system of many complicated interactions. Complex Systems methodology has developed sophisticated yet well understood tools to cope with this challenge. In social systems the essence of CS is the characterization of the distributed dynamics of how the interaction of many actors and variables leads to predictable phenomena, which often involve hierarchy, emergence, dynamic structures and large scale transitions.
Each day in the course focuses on one tool of this encompassing methodology. CS methods include various mathematical models (nonlinear systems, networks, statistical approaches), computer simulations (e.g. systems dynamics, agent-based modeling). CS simulations are highly computation intensive and pose problems of supercomputing and parallelization.
The CSSS course offers lectures, tutorials and discussions on the whole spectrum of the above. Lectures are from leading experts, specifically focusing on CS concepts, modeling and (social) simulation, followed by discussion.
more info: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=8

LIPARI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ON COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCES
Computational political science theory and simulation models.
Researchers interested in the emerging field of computational social science, especially but not exclusively computational political science theory and simulation models, are encouraged to consider this as an opportunity to learn more and become acquainted with a variety of research frontiers.
more info: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=9

6. JOBS IN COMPLEXITY

POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS – NECSI
The New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) has openings for postdoctoral appointments in the study of complex systems.
In addition to general projects, there will be openings in research fields such as: Social and global systems, biological systems, cognitive systems, evolution, non-equilibrium dynamics, agent based modeling, multiscale analysis, complex systems engineering, management/organization science, and education of complex systems concepts.
Postdocs should have experience with modeling techniques and computer simulation, data analysis, and/or analytic skills. The ideal candidate will also have strong writing abilities and a desire to work in diverse fields. A commitment to larger social concerns is highly desirable, as NECSI research informs policy in areas such as the national and global economy, health care, the environment and ecology.
NECSI Postdoctoral fellows may also receive joint appointments at MIT, Harvard, or other Boston-area academic institutions.
source: http://assystcomplexity.eu/short/?id=10

7. CONTACTS

Website: http://assystcomplexity.eu

The Project ASSYST 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.

Contributors to this edition:
Jeff Johnson, Jane Bromley, Jorge Louçã and David Rodrigues

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