Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The Systems Science Seminar Series covers a wide range of topics, providing an opportunity for presenters to share and attendees to become exposed to the latest research from different fields and disciplines. Agent-based simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, genetic algorithms, machine learning, neural networks, signal processing, social networks, system dynamics, and science itself are just a few of the many diverse topics that have been presented, all in an informal environment where questions and discussion are encouraged.

Unless otherwise specified, seminars are held on Fridays from 12-1 p.m. in Harder House Room 104 throughout Fall and Winter terms. For those taking the seminar for credit, grading is based on attendance, either in-person or remote.

CONTACT US: If you have questions, comments, or topic/speaker suggestions, or if you would like to present a seminar, please email Wayne Wakeland.

SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT LISTSERV: To receive seminar announcements, you can join our mailing list. If that doesn't work, please email Wayne Wakeland.

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View View Slideshow

Latent Space Models for Temporal Networks

Jasper Alt

1-11-2019

In many contexts we may expect the structure of networks to be derived from some kind of abstract distance between actors. We refer to this phenomenon as homophily: like nodes ...Read More
Modeling Public Susceptibility to Fake News

Dale Frakes

10-12-2018

This session will present on-going research in using Agent Based Modeling to study applying Inoculation Theory to mitigating the spread of false-news. Inoculation Theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation_theory) comes from the ...Read More
Systems Evolution and Engineering Thermodynamics

Terry Bristol

10-5-2018

Despite impressive contributions, the philosophical foundations of systems theory remain in flux. In the practical context, the proper understanding of the relation of the systems framework to classical mechanics and ...Read More
One Government's Use of LCA: An Introduction

Peter Canepa

3-2-2018

The scale and extent of humanity’s global demand, in terms of total material output from the technosphere, has been estimated at 30 trillion metric tons and rising. Extracting, manufacturing, transporting, ...Read More
How are Data Science and Systems Science Connected?

Ted Laderas

2-15-2018

Data Science is a relatively new interdisciplinary field, taking concepts from statistics and machine learning to produce predictive models. However, Systems Science concepts (such as feature-feature interactions and dynamics) have ...Read More
Smart Cities Initiatives in the Portland Region

Kristin A. Tufte

2-9-2018

This talk will describe work in Smart Cities in the Portland region. We’ll begin with the framework and motivation for the Smart Cities work and the question What is a ...Read More
Natural Selection, Mental Action, and the Sciences

Steve Staloff

2-2-2018

Although overlooked by contemporary evolutionary biology, mental action -- recognized through learning and decision-making -- is present in every living organism. In this presentation I explain how, starting from shortly ...Read More
Teaching for Risk Tolerance: Intellectual Virtue in Mathematics Education

Holly Brewster

1-12-2018

An important aspect of navigating the world as an adult is the appropriate response to risk, including processing and evaluating information related to likelihood of occurrences and impact of consequences. ...Read More
The 2016 Oregon Waste Composition Study: Quantifying Disposal of Materials

Peter Geissert and Peter Spendelow

11-17-2017

This presentation will discuss the background, methodology and field results from the 2016 Oregon Waste Composition Study including the following:

• The tons of solid waste disposed in Oregon or ...Read More
Science, Global Finance and Decarbonization: Is there a Common Transactional Framework for COP21, Agenda2030 and Habitat III?

Hank Patton

10-28-2016

Estimates of as much as 10 trillion in annual capital investment will be required to meet the COP21 carbon and UN sustainable development commitments unanimously adopted by the community of ...Read More
Social Science in the Information Age: Toward a Paradigm for Integrating Research, Publication and Theory Development

Jonathan Straus

3-11-2016

The application of the scientific method to social psychology and related disciplines has long been rife with controversies, and recent failures to replicate many of the results from classical psychology ...Read More
Helping Scientists Connect Their Datasets

David Maier

3-4-2016

Scientific datasets associated with a research project can proliferate over time as a result of activities such as sharing datasets among collaborators, extending existing ones with new measurements, and extracting ...Read More
Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Collaborative Modeling: An introduction

Antonie J. Jetter

2-5-2016

Fuzzy Cognitive Map Modeling is a system modeling approach that has its roots in social science and artificial intelligence. FCM are comparatively easy to create, are well understood by audiences ...Read More
Evaluating Urban Heat Islands: Case Studies from Doha, Qatar and Portland, Oregon

Vivek Shandas and Jackson Lee Voelkel

1-29-2016

With ever-increasing populations in urban areas, and major changes to our climate system, a public health imperative is to prepare for dangerous weather events in cities. Extreme weather events, such ...Read More
Computational Biology and T-Cell Receptor Sequencing

Patrick Michael Leyshock

1-22-2016

Leyshock will begin with an overview of Computational Biology work at OHSU, then take a closer look at Tcell sequencing pipeline under development. The pipeline itself will be discussed, as ...Read More
Stress Physiology in Humans: a Systems Approach to Stress, Stressors, and Resilience

Barry S. Oken

1-15-2016

This talk focuses on the biology of stress and resilience and their biomarkers in humans from the system science perspective. A stressor pushes the physiological system away from its baseline ...Read More
Living Systems Immersion: Sustainability and PDC in the Peruvian Andes

David E. Hall

12-4-2015

This past summer David led a PSU study abroad course to Peru, Living Systems Immersion: Sustainability and PDC in the Peruvian Andes. The course focused on sustainability education, following the ...Read More
Prediction: The Quintessential Model Validation Test

Wayne Wakeland

10-9-2015

It is essential to objectively test how well policy models predict real world behavior. The method used to support this assertion involves the review of three SD policy models emphasizing ...Read More
Four Decades of Systems Science Teaching and Research at PSU

Wayne Wakeland

10-10-2014

Systems science (SySc) is defined, and a brief background is provided regarding some of the systems science-related societies, conferences, journals, research institutes, and educational programs. The SySc program at Portland ...Read More
Civic Ecology: Living Community Systems for Sustainability

Tim Smith

11-30-2012

Civic Ecology is a stakeholder-driven, whole systems framework for creating sustainable communities. The framework focuses on empowering citizens of all ages, cultures, and abilities to envision, create, and manage their ...Read More
System Dynamics Modeling of Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Abuse

Alexandra Nielsen

10-12-2012

The nonmedical use of prescription opioid pain relievers and associated overdose deaths have been labeled an epidemic by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. While these medicines play an ...Read More
The Intersection between Science and Computer Science is Almost Empty

Dick Hamlet

6-1-2012

Traditionally, a science such as physics overlaps with mathematics and engineering in a way that has been astonishingly productive. The math provides precise expression for the science, which in turn ...Read More
Levels of Altruism

Martin Zwick and Jeffrey Alan Fletcher

5-25-2012

The phenomenon of altruism extends from the biological realm to the human sociocultural realm. This paper sketches a coherent outline of multiple types of altruism of progressively increasing scope that ...Read More
Bayesian and Related Methods: Techniques Based on Bayes' Theorem

Mehmet Vurkaç

5-8-2012

Bayes' theorem is a simple algebraic consequence of conditional probability. Yet, its consequences are critical to philosophy, society, and technology. Starting from its simple derivation, we will show how its ...Read More
Neuroscience of Personality: Principles of the Psyche as a Living System

Dario Nardi

2-10-2012

The brain is a complex living system. Using colorful slides and anecdotes, Dario Nardi, PhD will overview his hands-on research of the past 5 years in his social neuroscience ...Read More