Network Science Institute

We’re excited to announce Moon Duchin as a #NetSci2026 Plenary Speaker! A top University of Chicago mathematician, she applies geometry and computation to democracy and voting systems. Her award-winning work bridges math, policy, and complex systems.

www.netsci2026.com/speakers

Happy to share our most recent paper, led by @allisonwan.bsky.social, auditing what domains Google shows when you search for a Member of Congress.

journalqd.org/article/view...

@journalqd.bsky.social

Join us on the 11th floor at 177 Huntington Ave for “The Digital Bind” with Jeffrey Boase from the University of Toronto. Happening Thursday, Dec 4 at 2pm ET. Hybrid option available: northeastern.zoom.us/j/93421052481

Don’t miss this talk on how digital life reshapes our social world!

⏰ 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵!

NetSci 2026 abstract submissions close Dec 19 — just around the corner.
If you’re doing exciting work in network science (theory, computation, or applications), this is your chance to share it with a global community.

📅 Submit by Dec 19
🔗 www.netsci2026.com/call-for-abs...

Join us for two exciting talks happening today — one at our London Hub and one at our Boston Hub! 🌍✨

Stay up to date on all upcoming events by visiting our Events page:
🔗 www.networkscienceinstitute.org/events

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Institute! 🍁

We’re grateful for our community of researchers, collaborators, and students who push the boundaries of science every day.

✨ Excited to announce 𝗬𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗬𝗲𝗼𝗹 (𝗬𝗬) 𝗔𝗵𝗻 as a NetSci 2026 Plenary Speaker! A leading network and data scientist, YY explores how complex systems shape behavior, cognition, and discovery. Stay tuned for more speaker updates as we build toward an inspiring NetSci 2026! ✨
www.netsci2026.com/speakers

Cuisines can be broken down into simple 'culinary fingerprints,' research finds Network scientist Iacopo Iacopini looked to understand how different cuisines have congregated around certain core ingredients and flavors.

A follow-up article by NGN offers a window into the curiosity and inspiration behind Iacopo Iacopini’s food-focused research.
news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/12/w...

The networks of ingredient combinations as culinary fingerprints of world cuisines - npj Science of Food npj Science of Food - The networks of ingredient combinations as culinary fingerprints of world cuisines

New study by @iaciac.bsky.social + co-authors and published on 𝘯𝘱𝘫 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 models global cuisines as networks of ingredient pairings, revealing unique culinary signatures and patterns, with AI models able to identify a cuisine from just a few recipes.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

💥 Northeastern University in Boston is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Network Science & Communication! Joint appointment with Communication Studies & College of Science. Review of applications begins 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. Please share!!
northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/...

Future computer scientists urged to embrace AI collaboration Northeastern University Professor Tina Eliassi-Rad met with students on the Oakland campus to discuss concerns about AI.

At the 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 at Northeastern University–Oakland, Tina Eliassi-Rad highlighted how real gains in human effectiveness will come from collaborating with AI. Her keynote explored AI’s impact on jobs and the environment & the promise of true human–AI partnership

news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/24/h...

Why do the latest fads spread like wildfire? Research explains Network scientists found that the social overlap between groups plays a major part in how fast a phenomena or contagious illness transmits.

🗞️ The latest NGN features a discussion with I. kiss on our latest paper "Disentangling the Role of Heterogeneity and Hyperedge Overlap in Explosive Contagion on Higher-Order Networks" recently published in PRL [https://doi.org/10.1103/z3d5-94zb]

news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/24/w...

We’ve just released Epistorm-Mix, a new open dataset on how people in the U.S. mix across ages and settings in the post-COVID era.

📊 Contact-level data + contact matrices
Built for epidemic modeling & forecasting
Fully open data & code

🔗 www.epistorm.org/data/epistor...

⏰ 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗗𝗲𝗰 𝟴!
Submit your Satellite proposal for NetSci 2026.
Details on how to apply, the review process, and organizer responsibilities are at the link below.
Don’t miss your chance to contribute to the program!
👉 tinyurl.com/42sru6kz

Don’t miss the next 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 talk by 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝗻𝘀! Discover how honeybee swarms balance exploration and social signals to reach decentralized decisions, inspiring models for robotics and artificial swarms.
Join in person at One Portsoken 802 or online: tinyurl.com/48paxt7p

Dynamics of defensive and malicious worm co-propagation across networked systems The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has greatly enhanced global connectivity but has also amplified cybersecurity risks, particularl…

Happy to share our @complexity72h.bsky.social 2023 work on defensive vs. malicious worm dynamics. The study reveals when defence tools can contain attacks and when network topology tips the balance.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We are excited to share the NetSci Conference announcement of its 1st plenary speakers! 🥁 🥁

Two pioneers—one stage: 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘁𝘀 & 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘇 will reflect on the ideas that shaped their work and transformed our field in a joint keynote!

NetSci 2026: tinyurl.com/4jdxb4kv

What happens when a network is neither perfectly ordered nor completely random? Watts & Strogatz’s 1998 “small-world” insight: add a few random shortcuts to a local network, you keep the clustering but gain short paths.
𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙎𝙘𝙞 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣…

The EPS SNPD Prizes 2025 are announced! The Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Division (SNPD) of the European Physical Society (EPS) is happy to announce the winners of the EPS SNPD Prizes 2025.

Congratulations to @alexvespi.bsky.social for being awarded the EPS SNPD Prize 2025, in recognition of his seminal contributions to the statistical physics of complex networks and for unveiling the universal principles governing epidemic spreading and information diffusion.
eps.org/eps-snpd-pri...

We’re proud to share that NetSI faculty David Lazer and
@alexvespi.bsky.social
have been named to Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, recognizing scientists whose work ranks among the top 0.1% most cited globally for exceptional impact and influence.

𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 🔗 bit.ly/449idlv

And here's the published version: journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Great teamwork with @federicomalizia.bsky.social, @andresguzmanm.bsky.social, and I. Kiss -- with special thanks to Federico for leading the effort!

Want to eradicate malaria-bearing mosquitoes? Try fungus, this researcher says A Northeastern postdoc has created a mathematical model that demonstrates how a fungal solution could control malarial mosquito populations.

With mosquitoes growing resistant to insecticides, new malaria control methods are crucial. A study by Binod Pant & colleagues shows that releasing fungus-infected male mosquitoes could safely and effectively curb malaria transmission.
tinyurl.com/k2dzcjxw
Study 🔗 tinyurl.com/3crmyr9w

Next up: two classic sociological networks!
Mohr & Duquenne (1997) map how NYC’s social welfare system evolved from strict moral categorizations of “the poor” in 1888 to a professionalized structure by 1917.
A Galois lattice reveals how culture shaped the very logic of relief.
🔗 tinyurl.com/a35dr9cv

Turing Seminar series event graphic. Headshot of Giovanni Petri on the right.

The Turing Liaison Team is excited to host @lordgrilo.bsky.social, who will deliver a seminar entitled 'Tracing the Cultural Fabric of Sperm Whale Societies.'

📆 5 November
⏰ 13:00 - 14:00
📍Biomedical Building, C42 at the University of Bristol

Find out more here: tinyurl.com/mrxp5h2n

Study 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 by @federicomalizia.bsky.social, @andresguzmanm.bsky.social, @iaciac.bsky.social, István Z. Kiss

YouTube video by Network Science Institute SIR Epidemic on Higher-Order Networks

Forthcoming in Physical Review Letters!
NetSI London authors Federico Malizia, Andrés Guzmán, Iacopo Iacopini & Istvan Kiss explore how group interactions spark explosive contagion in higher-order networks.
Story 🔗 tinyurl.com/84ymkz2t
Video ▶️ youtu.be/7mQwvK5mje0

Another striking network visualization: the Network of Political Blogs during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
Red = Republican, Blue = Democratic.
The analysis revealed dense within-party links and few cross-party ties—an early snapshot of online polarization.
Study 🔗 tinyurl.com/4mfxpr9b

⚽📊 Dive into two days of data, sports & network(ing)s at the 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 & 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 + 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 at #NetSI!
Hackathon kicks off Feb 27, followed by industry talks, panels & awards.
🗓️ Register by Dec 31 — open to all (under)grad students in Boston!
🔗 tinyurl.com/bdf5et9f

🚨 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻!
Secure your spot at the flagship conference of the Network Science Society and take advantage of the early bird registration special - www.netsci2026.com/registration
📅 June 1–5, 2026 | Hyatt Regency, Cambridge, MA
Join us as we celebrate 20 years of NetSci!

Another great visualization—The Network of the Conclave maps the social structure of the papal conclave, where each node represents a cardinal, colored by doctrinal orientation. Few modern decision-making processes combine secrecy, ritual, and influence as vividly as this one.
🔗 tinyurl.com/2rz3as5w