Social network analysis has an especially long tradition in the social science. In recent years, a dramatically increased visibility of SNA, however, is owed to statistical physicists. Among many, Barabasi-Albert model (BA model) has attracted particular attention because of its mathematical properties (i.e., obeying power-law distribution) and its appearance in a diverse range of social phenomena. BA model assumes that nodes with more links (i.e., “popular nodes”) are more likely to be connected when new nodes entered a system. However, significant deviations from BA model have been reported in many social networks. Although numerous variants of BA model are developed, they still share the key assumption that nodes with more links were more likely to be connected. I think this line of research is problematic since it assumes all nodes possess the same preference and overlooks the potential impacts of agent heterogeneity on network formation. When joining a real social network, people are not only driven by instrumental calculation of connecting with the popular, but also motivated by intrinsic affection of joining the like. The impact of this mixed preferential attachment is particularly consequential on formation of social networks. I propose an integrative agent-based model of heterogeneous attachment encompassing both instrumental calculation and intrinsic similarity. Particularly, it emphasizes the way in which agent heterogeneity affects social network formation. This integrative approach can strongly advance our understanding about the formation of various networks.
I am a University Academic Fellow (UAF) in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. My research areas are agent-based modelling, decision making in complex systems, AI and multi-agent systems, urban analytics and housing markets. I obtained PhD in Economics from Iowa State University under supervisor Prof. Leigh Tesfatsion in 2014. I worked as a researcher at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland between 2014 and 2019. I joined the University of Leeds as a UAF of Urban Analytics in 2019. I am originally from Shanghai, China.
My main research areas are agent-based modelling, urban analytics and complex decision making enabled by AI. I am interested in the bottom-up transition of complex urban systems under major socio-economic and environmental shocks, such as climate change and the fourth industrial revolution. I want to understand how cities as self-organised complex systems respond to external shocks and evolve under a constantly changing environment. In the past, I have looked at various aspects of urban systems, including the housing market, the labour market, transport and energy system. I am also interested in decision making in complex systems. For example, I have studied the decision to become a vegetarian/vegan under social influence. I have also looked at global food trade in a complex trade network and the resulting food and nutrition security. Recently, I am interested in applying AI algorithms especially reinforcement learning in multi-agent systems, including applications of AI in urban adaptation to climate change, housing market dynamics and criminal behaviour in an urban system.
Applying agent-based models to archaeological data, using modern ethnoarchaeological data as an analog for behavior.
Mathematical modeling and simulation in social sciences, biology, physics, and signal processing.
Improving agent models and architectures for agent-based modelling and simulation applied to crisis management. In particular modelling of BDI agents, emotions, cognitive biases, social attachment, etc.
Designing serious games to increase awareness about climate change or natural disasters; to improve civil engagement in sustainable urban planning; to teach Artificial Intelligence to the general public; to explain social phenomena (voting procedures; sanitary policies; etc).
Andrew Crooks is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment between the Computational Social Science Program within the Department of Computational and Data Sciences and the Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, which are part of the College of Science at George Mason University. His areas of expertise specifically relate to integrating agent-based modeling (ABM) and geographic information systems (GIS) to explore human behavior. Moreover, his research focuses on exploring and understanding the natural and socio-economic environments specifically urban areas using GIS, spatial analysis, social network analysis (SNA), Web 2.0 technologies and ABM methodologies.
GIS, Agent-based modeling, social network analysis
Leonardo Grando is a Ph.D. Student at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. I am interested in complex systems, agent-based simulation, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, programming, and machine learning tools. I have expertise in Netlogo, Python, R, Latex, SQL, and Linux tools.
My Ph.D. work project is an IoT devices (UAVs) swarm agent-based modeling simulation (ABMS) aiming the perpetual flight. The workflow is Netlogo to ABMS simulate, Python and R to data analysis, and I use Latex for my thesis writing.
Dr. Morteza Mahmoudzadeh is an assitant professor at the University of Azad at Tabriz in the Department of Managent and the director of the Policy Modeling Research Lab. Dr. Mahmoudzadeh did a degree in Software Engineering and a PhD in System Sciences. Dr. Mahmoudzadeh currently works on different regional and national wide projects about modeling sustaiblity and resilience of industrial ecosystems, innovation networks and socio-environmental systems. He also works on hybrid models of opinion dynamics and agent based models specifically in the field of modeling customers behavior and developing managerial tools for strategic marketing policy testing. His team at Policy Modeling Research Lab. currently work on developing a web based tool with python for systems modeling using system dynamics, Messa framework for agent-based modeling and Social Networks Analysis.
Modeling Complex systems, Simulation: System Dynamics, Agent Based and Discrete Event
System and Complexity Theory
I am a Postdoctoral Associate in the Ecology, Evolution and Behavior department at the University of Minnesota. My research involves using agent-based models combined with lab and field research to test a broad range of hypotheses in biology. I am currently developing an agent-based model of animal cell systems to investigate the epigenetic mechanisms that influence cell behavior. For my PhD work, I created a model, B3GET, which simulates the evolution of virtual primates to better understand the relationships between growth and development, life history and reproductive strategies, mating strategies, foraging strategies, and how ecological factors drive these relationships. I have also conducted fieldwork to inform the modeled behavior of these virtual organisms. Here I am pictured with an adult male gelada in Ethiopia!
I specialize in creating agent-based models of biological systems for research and education in genetics, evolution, demography, ecology, and behavior.
Postdoctoral researcher at Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences and in Macroprudential Research Division at National Bank of Poland. She graduated in Mathematics (Jagiellonian University, Poland) and in Economics (University of Alcala, Spain). In 2017 she obtained Fulbright Advanced Research Award. In the United States, she carried out research on systemic risk and complex systems. Her doctoral dissertation was about the measurement and modeling of systemic risk using simulation methods and complex systems approach (the results to be published by Palgrave Macmillan US). Previously, she gained experience on agent-based modeling while working with Juan Luis Santos on the European Commission FP 7 MOSIPS project (http://www.mosips.eu/).
Mathematics, complex systems, financial modeling, agent-based modeling, econometrics, macroprudential policies, systemic risk, cental banking