Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Serguei Saavedra, MIT "How Do Ecological Systems Become (re)Assembled?"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Serguei Saavedra, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT
Title:
How Do Ecological Systems Become (re)Assembled?
Abstract:
One of the most iconic thought experiments in biology is what would happen if we could rewind the tape of life on Earth and play it again. Would the tape have a different story in every replay? Or is there a general order of events? The relevance of this thought experiment is not just philosophical or counterfactual, because (re)assembly processes undergone by ecological systems, from microbes to mega-fauna, are continuously replicating the experiment. By integrating theoretical and empirical work, in this talk I will provide a guideline to increase our understanding about the (re)assembly possibilities of ecological systems. Explaining and predicting the (re)assembly of ecological systems underpins our ability to develop successful interventions in bio-restoration, bio-technologies, and bio-medicine.
Speaker Bio:
Serguei Saavedra is an Associate Professor at MIT in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is also an external faculty at Santa Fe Institute. Serguei is a theoretical ecologist focused on understanding the feasibility of observing the emergence, transformations, and regeneration of ecological systems under environmental changes. Before joining MIT in 2016, Serguei studied systems engineering in Mexico; specialized in mathematical modeling at Genoa University; completed his PhD in engineering science at Oxford University; and did his postdoctoral work at the NICO (under the mentorship of Brian Uzzi), Doñana Biological Station, and in the department of environmental systems at ETH.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/91082510906
Passcode: NICO2024
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - March 2026 - Speaker: Dawei Xie, Department of Computer Science
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:30 PM
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M416, Technological Institute
Details
MARCH MEETING: Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:30pm (US Central)
LOCATION:
ESAM Conference Room, Tech M416
2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208
AGENDA:
5:30pm - Meet and greet with refreshments
6:00pm - Talk with Dawei Xie, PhD student, Department of Computer Science, Northwestern University, working with Prof. Marcelo Worsley in the tiilt Lab.
TALK TITLE:
AI-Augmented Learning Analytics for Understanding Collaborative Discussions
ABSTRACT:
Collaborative learning has been recognized as an important skill for the 21st century, yet understanding what constitutes high-quality collaborative discussion remains a challenge. This talk explores how AI systems might move beyond traditional behavioral metrics to support nuanced semantic interpretations of collaborative learning. I present our recent work on an AI-augmented analytics system that transforms real-time group discussions into structured representations, and enables educators to explore collaboration quality through interaction with a conversational agent. I discuss both the technical architecture and the design considerations around how users and AI can jointly shape analytical outputs. Finally, I share findings on how this interplay can afford richer, more grounded sensemaking through analytical dialogue.
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly meetings featuring presentations and discussions about data-driven science and complex systems, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! For more information: http://bit.ly/nico-dsn
FUTURE DATES:
Data Science Nights will be held on Thursday evenings in the winter and spring terms, with future dates on April 30, and May 28, 2026.
Time
Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
M416, Technological Institute Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Spring Series returns on April 8th!
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
The Wednesdays@NICO Speaker Series returns on April 8th for the spring term, running through May 20th, 2026. Detailed speaker info will be shared in the coming weeks.
Speakers:
4/08/2026 - Yu-Ru Lin - University of Pittsburgh
4/15/2026 - Nihar Shah - Carnegie Mellon University
4/22/2026 - Michelle Birkett - Northwestern University
4/29/2026 - Lightning Talks with NU Scholars - Sign up here!
5/06/2026 - Daniel Stouffer - Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Germany (NU Alum '07)
5/13/2026 - Hamsa Bastani - University of Pennsylvania
5/20/2026 - Andreia Sofia Teixeira - Northeastern University London
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: Zoom links will be available
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)