About NICO
NICO's mission is to incubate innovative collaborations that leverage complexity, networks, and data science to address societal challenges.
The Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) was founded in 2004 with the goals of uncovering fundamental principles that govern complex systems in science, technology, and human behavior.
Faculty
NICO faculty are distinguished researchers from across Northwestern University. Faculty core competencies include:
- Network Science
- Data science
- AI and Machine Learning
- Science of Science
- Data Visualization
- Graph Theory
- Agent-Based Modeling
- Nonlinear Dynamics
- Control Theory
Complex Systems
Based on the belief that breakthroughs in complex systems require collaboration across boundaries of traditional domains, NICO brings together faculty in business, engineering, education, medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences. Cross-disciplinary collaborations break down barriers due to disciplinary knowledge silos and domain-specific terminology, accelerating the development of the new science of complex systems.
Networks of neurons, social networks, ecosystems, the US power grid, the world wide web, and insect and robot swarms are all examples of complex systems. These systems consist of a large number of agents that interact with each other and their environment. A typical characteristic of complex systems is an emergent organization without centralized control.
Read a position statement written by NICO co-founder Julio Ottino for Nature.
Research & Education
To accelerate progress in complex systems, NICO engages in a variety of education and research activities:
- NICO faculty teach courses that prepare the next generation of academic and industrial leaders in the fields of complex systems and data science.
- NICO supports conferences across the university that address themes in complex systems and data science and bring Northwestern students into the community of leaders in the field.
- The Wednesdays@NICO speaker series invites renowned scholars to present their cutting-edge research to the Northwestern community during the school year.
- The NICO Reading Group meets weekly to discuss new research in the fields of complex systems and data science.
- NICO Initiatives including the Data Science Initiative and the Metropolitan Chicago Data Science Corps (MCDC) offer students programs where they may expand their focus into the field of data science and analytics.