Internet Course Announcement on Complex Systems

[Jason Redi]

[ This course will be available through the MBONE virtual network on ]
[ the Internet.  For more information see the URL		     ]
[ http://ripple.bu.edu/CSDL/sc726/sc726.html			     ]


                       COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT:
                 SC726: Dynamics of Complex Systems
                          Spring, 1995
                      Prof. Yaneer Bar-Yam

What do protein folding, neural networks, developmental biology,
evolution and human economies have in common? 

Are there mathematical models that capture key properties of these
complex systems? 

Can we develop principles for the design of complex systems?

It is now widely held that the theory of complexity and the dynamics
of complex systems may be founded on universal principles that
describe disparate problems ranging from physics to economics. A
corollary is that transferring ideas and results from investigators in
many disparate areas will cross-fertilize and lead to important new
results. In this course we will study a few examples of complex
systems and identify questions that appear in many of them. A central
goal of this course is to develop models and modeling techniques that
will be useful when applied to all complex systems. For this purpose
we will adopt both analytic tools and computer simulation. Analytic
techniques will be introduced from statistical mechanics and
stochastic dynamics. Computer simulation using Monte Carlo methods and
Cellular Automata will be an integral part of the curriculum. 

Course consists of: three hours of lecture and one hour guest lecturer
per week. Students will  work on a group project on topics suited to
the group interests. 

Topics to be covered include: subdivision and hierarchical
organization, the scaling of kinetic properties with system size,
self-organization and organization by design, measuring complexity. 

Systems to be discussed include: protein folding, neural networks,
developmental biology, evolution and human economies/societies.  

Time:  MW 12:00-1:30pm EST

This course is intended for graduate students (both Ph.D. and Masters)
from a variety of departments - physics, chemistry, biology, all of
engineering, mathematics, computer science - who are interested in
investigating, working with or engineering complex systems. One
purpose of the course is to help doctoral students learn about current
research in these areas and identify possible new research
topics. Interested faculty are also welcome to attend. 

Prerequisites:  Basic probability and statistics as provided by one
of: MA381, EK500, EK424, PY410. 


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Course offered through the Internet to remote sites by
arrangement. First day of classes: Jan. 18, 1995 
For further information contact Prof. Bar-Yam at tel. (617) 353-2843
or Internet: yaneer at enga.bu.edu