Lectures will start Monday, 18 September 2023


Course Description: Modern computing systems and services often rely on large numbers of independent interacting components to provide their functions. Under certain conditions, the behavior that results from these interactions can be unexpected and surprising. Complexity Science is an interdisciplinary field for studying global behaviors resulting from many simple local interactions in an effort to characterize and control them. Networks allow us to formalize the structure of interactions. They play a central role in the transmission of information, transportation of goods, spread of diseases, diffusion of innovation, formation of opinions and adoption of new technologies. Network Science is an interdisciplinary field for studying the interconnectedness of modern life by exploring fundamental properties that govern the structure and dynamic evolution of networks.

Prerequisites: Basic notiions of computer system architecture, computer networks, operating systems, and probability theory.

Lectures: Monday 16.00 - 18.00 (Aula E1); Wednesday 9.00 - 11.00 (Aula E3); Thursday 13.00 - 15.00 (aula E1)

Office: Mura Anteo Zamboni 7, Room 104

Tutor: Francesco Alfieri (francesco.alfieri5@studio.unibo.it)

Office Hours: Wednesdays 11.00 - 13.00 (or by appointment via Teams)

Evaluation: In the second half of the course, each student will present a research paper selected among these sites that are related to topics covered in the course. There will also be a final project to be completed individually using the PeerSim simulator or the NetLogo modelling environment. Final grade for the course will be based on three factors: (i) the research paper presentation (40%), (ii) the project written report (50%) and (iii) the project discussion (10%).

The presentation has to be delivered in English, based on slides prepared in English and will be evaluated based on the following points:

  1. Relevance of the topic to the course,
  2. Quality of the contents,
  3. Quality of the delivery,
  4. Quality of the slides,
  5. Adherence to the time limit (30 minutes)
Textbooks:
  1. (EK) Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World, D. Easley, J. Kleinberg. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  2. (vS) Graph Theory and Complex Networks: An Introduction, M. van Steen. 2010.
  3. (F) The Computational Beauty of Nature, G. W. Flake. MIT Press, Cambridge MA. 2000.
  4. (MP) Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, J. H. Miller, S. E. Page. Princeton University Press, 2007.

Final Exam: The "oral final exam" is scheduled for:

Thursday, 11 January 2024 starting at 10.00.

The exam will entail a short on-line discussion via Teams of your project work and should not take more than 5 minutes. I will call you when your turn comes according to the order that you signed up through AlmaEsami.