APRIL MEETING: Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 5:00pm (US Central)

LOCATION:
ESAM Conference Room, Tech M416
2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208

AGENDA:
PLEASE NOTE: this event is starting at 5pm this month.
5:00pm - Meet and greet with refreshments
5:30pm - Talk with Joshua Stadlan, Research Associate Professor, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO); Core Faculty, Center for Computational & Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS)

TALK TITLE:
Why do we Socialize in Bursts? Using data and Particle Models to Study Human Interaction

ABSTRACT:
At large social events, conversations do not happen at a steady pace. Many are short and clustered together, while some last much longer or are separated by long gaps. This “burstiness” affects how people connect and how disease, news, or opinions spread through groups. In this talk, I use data and simple particle models to explore possible explanations for social burstiness. A common idea is that some people naturally attract more attention, which can generate burstiness. I show that simpler models can also generate burstiness, even without building in fixed differences between people. Join us in exploring how observational data and theory-driven modeling can together test explanations for patterns in our social lives.

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 May 28, 2026.

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