Research Supervisor Connect
The research will involve computational and mathematical analysis in dynamical systems and complex networks. The student will be developing mathematics for and computational analysis of dynamics on complex networks; this will involve computational experiments including simulations and numerical analysis. The PhD will be supervised by A/Prof. Joseph Lizier. The applicant will join A/Prof. Lizier’s Information Dynamics team in the Modelling and Simulation group, which studies complex systems and networks at The School of Computer Science, and potentially involve collaborations within the University’s Centre for Complex Systems.
Associate Professor Joseph Lizier.
Studies of the structure of complex networks have been one of the great successes of complex systems in the past several decades, establishing well-known small-world and scale-free networks for example and revealing how widely they occur in the world around us. The field has been very successful in characterising the structure of complex networks, but we remain less well informed about the function of complex networks. That is, one of the most significant open questions in complex systems research is that of structure-function: how does the structure of a complex network relate to its dynamics?
A canonical problem of structure-function has been that of characterising synchronisation, a phenomenon of interest observed across fireflies, heart cells, the human brain in epilepsy, and in power grids. How does the structure of connections between the entities in these systems help or hinder them from synchronising their activity, and can we control this?
We have recently published the first method to fully relate the structure of a complex network to how well it can synchronise (Lizier et al, PNAS, 2023; doi:10.1073/pnas.2303332120), and to interpret that in terms of walks on networks. This presents the opportunity to build on this method for further insights (such as for networks with delayed coupling), and to utilise it to explore further scenarios.
Successful candidates must have:
How to Apply:
To apply, please email joseph.lizier@sydney.edu.au the following:
A cover letter (or paragraphs in the email) explaining your interest in, and suitability of skills/background/experience for, this project. Please highlight your academic results, any published papers and research/industry experience.
The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is 3422