@vcsi
The Vermont Complex Systems Institute at the University of Vermont is a post-disciplinary team working on real-world, data-rich, meaningful complex systems problems of all kinds. https://vermontcomplexsystems.org/
Congratulations to Laurent Hébert-Dufresne @lhd.bsky.social, UVM Professor of Computer Science and core faculty member of the Vermont Complex Systems Institute, on receiving the 2026 Young Scientist Award for Socio and Econophysics from the German Physical Society! www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/news...
Abstract submissions close on March 3rd!
We are also extending a ✨ call for mentored reviewers ✨ if you advise excellent graduate or postdoctoral researchers you are welcome to recommend them to review for IC2S2 2026. Email IC2S2@uvm.edu to nominate mentored reviewers (or faculty colleagues)
We're excited to welcome @begus.bsky.social as a keynote speaker for IC2S2 2026!
Only six days left! Tutorial submissions close on February 2nd.
Submit here: ic2s2-2026.org/submit-tutor...
Jan Eiẞfeldt will be a keynote speaker for IC2S2 2026!
Jan is an external fellow at @sfiscience.bsky.social and serves as Director, Global Head of Trust & Safety at the Wikimedia Foundation @wikimediafoundation.org, the non-profit hosting Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other free knowledge projects.
I'm teaching my evolutionary robotics course again, for those who want to follow along.
Lecture 1: why make robots?
youtu.be/FjNNFRDvQgs?...
Conference update: IC2S2 Virtual Day. While Vermont is an incredibly kind and welcoming state, national policies and federal actions have a real impact on conference access, particularly for people from countries who cannot enter the US due to federally enacted travel bans. 1/6
We are thrilled to announce that @katymilkman.bsky.social will be a keynote speaker at IC2S2 2026.
Milkman is best known for her award-winning research on to identify and overcome barriers that prevent positive behavioral change.
We are excited to welcome @rafaelprietocuriel.bsky.social as a 2026 keynote for IC2S2. His work at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, as well as his work with OECD - OCDE and the The World Bank focuses on mobility, migration and urban dynamics:
2026 tutorial submissions are open!
✔️ Submission deadline: February 2nd, 2026
✔️Acceptance Notification: February 16th, 2026
View the guidelines here:
lnkd.in/eBHVe2tP
There’s a secret language beneath your favorite movies, musicals, and even video games.
We visualized every motif in Wicked, Hamilton, and Les Mis to show how tiny musical ideas can build entire emotional worlds.
🔗: pudding.cool/2025/12/moti...
IC2S2 2026 Speaker announcement displaying the image of Kate Starbird from the University of Washington with a background showing Lake Champlain in Vermont
Keynote Announcement!
We're thrilled to have Kate Starbird from the University of Washington's Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering speak at IC2S2 2026.
Registration is open with submissions opening on 12/15: ic2s2-2026.org
Woohoo! We're excited.
We're excited to announce that the website and registration for IC2S2 2026 (July 28-31) will launch in early December! The Vermont Complex Systems Institute @vcsi.bsky.social at the University of Vermont will be hosting IC2S2 in 2026: youtube.com/watch?v=p412S4GnPkc&feature=youtu.be
Core faculty Juniper Lovato recently joined Across the Fence to discuss artificial intelligence. Check out the episode "What Does a Computer Scientist (and Philosopher) think of A.I.?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5V8...
Eight arms clapping for our champions: "Complex City United" is #1! Our complex systems team of faculty and graduate students won UVM's recreational soccer finals this month:
Congratulations (to us) for making a Valencian-approved paella 🥘 under suboptimal (regular) stove top conditions in honor of our excellent cohort of visiting PhD scholars from Spain:
We wrote a little something! @nwlandry.bsky.social and I talk about how new software to study networks with groups (like @xgi.bsky.social !) can help interdisciplinary collaborations tackle old questions from social ontology and the science of groups.
www.siam.org/publications...
Students and faculty standing outside for a group picture on a fall day in Vermont
It’s fall in Vermont and here we are with @uvmvermont.bsky.social president Dr. Marlene Tromp for the annual social on the green 🍁🍂
New paper dropped!
Led by @thosvarley.bsky.social and Pai Vaibhav, we show that flows of information within a #xenobot resemble flows of information observed in adult human brains.
Thomas provides caveats and context below.
w/ @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, Caitlin Grasso, & Jeantine Lunshof.
🎓 I've joined the PhD in Complex Systems & Data Science at @vcsi.bsky.social to work w/ @lhd.bsky.social & @juniperlov.bsky.social to explore social (complex) dynamics
🔬 Huge thanks to @joanagsa.bsky.social & Lília Perfeito for helping me get ready for this chapter
🚀 Excited for this next step!
Excited about this paper and the interactive story to accompany it. Congrats @lhd.bsky.social @juniperlov.bsky.social @giulioburgio.bsky.social @sfiscience.bsky.social @unioflimerick.bsky.social and nice story telling @jstonge.bsky.social!
Our Physical Review Letter looks at how to get power-law distributions of cascade size without tuning or self-organization to criticality by allowing cascades to improve in quality and jump over gaps or dead-ends
TL;DR complex-stories.uvm.edu/friends-funn...
Paper: journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Working on an interesting data project? Want to enjoy Vermont during leaf peeping season? Submit a talk for PyData Vermont 2025! We will be hosting this event at UVM through our open source program office, VERSO: pydata.org/vermont2025/
We love this research profile on Vermont Complex Systems Institute core faculty @juniperlov.bsky.social 🐙 www.linkedin.com/posts/uvm-vc...
What do cascade dynamics teach us about why things go viral? New research from VCSI faculty and @sfiscience.bsky.social considers the fact that things don’t just spread — they change as they spread, and those changes strengthen or weaken their impact.
Read more here: www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/news...
Why do stock markets behave the way they do? New work from our partnership with MITRE upends traditional understanding of stylized facts in markets. Read more here:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
All the keynote recordings are available now, enjoy! www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Team from the University of Vermont + External faculty posing for a picture by a river
VCSI executive director announcing location for the conference in 2026, standing on a large stage with colleagues
female scholar presenting a parallel talk, engaging with the audience
PhD student presenting a research poster
Proud of our team's talks and posters at #IC2S2 in Norrköping Sweden - what a great week. We're excited to host next year in Vermont!
Great job Hendrik!
