Systems Sciences Group

Systems Sciences Group

[Institute name], [University]

We are a study group of students and researchers interested in complex systems: how the behaviour of a whole follows from the way its parts interact, and why that behaviour is often invisible when you look at the parts alone. We read papers, build small models and talk about them. Meetings are open to anyone.

Phase portrait of a predator–prey model: nested closed loops around a central point of balance, one loop highlighted. prey predators
Predator–prey dynamics (Lotka–Volterra model). Each loop is one possible history of the two populations, cycling around a point of balance.

About

Systems sciences look at what comes out of the interaction between the components of a system. The field draws on mathematics, computer science, biology, engineering and the social sciences, and the group has the same mix of backgrounds.

Some questions we keep coming back to: why small changes sometimes have large effects, how feedback loops stabilise or destabilise a system, and what makes a network resilient.

Study group

We meet regularly to read and discuss papers, to present work in progress, and now and then to run a modelling session. No prior knowledge is required.

When
[Weekday, time]
Where
[Room / online link]
Who
Students, researchers and staff of [Institute name]
Contact
[Name, email]