We are now the Binghamton Center of Complex Systems (CoCo). With the addition of world-class new members, we will further advance the science of complex systems to address various real-world problems.

What Is CoCo?

CoCo is an interdisciplinary Organized Research Center (ORC) at Binghamton University that studies the collective dynamics of various types of interacting agents as complex systems. Its goals are to:

  1. Advance our understanding about the dynamics of physical, biological, social, and engineered complex systems through scientific research,
  2. Promote interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty and students in different colleges/schools and departments, and
  3. Translate the understanding to products and processes which will improve the well-being of people at regional, state, national and global scales.
With the active participation of faculty members with diverse backgrounds, CoCo has been playing a key role in producing several interdisciplinary research projects since 2007 as an informal research group. It officially became a designated ORC of the University (the Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems) on July 1st, 2015. The Center's name was officially updated to the "Binghamton Center of Complex Systems" on July 1st, 2023, to better reflect the continuously expanding scope of CoCo.

CoCo is also the hosting organization of the US Northeast Chapter of the Complex Systems Society.

There is an email list run by CoCo for general discussions on complex systems. To subscribe, please contact Hiroki Sayama.

CoCo CRISPIE, a student group of CoCo, has launched in Spring 2023!! Check out their website.

Take a look at our CoCo brochure here.

You can support CoCo's research and educational activities by making donations! See more details.

Get your CoCo merch at our RedBubble online shop! (No profit would come to CoCo; they are just for fun)


What Are Complex Systems?

Complex systems are networks of many components with nonlinear interactions which arise and evolve through self-organization, such that the system is neither completely regular nor completely random, permitting the development of emergent behavior. These properties can be found in many real-world systems, such as gene regulatory networks in a cell, physiological systems, brains and other neural systems, food webs, stock markets, the Internet, and social networking systems. We study their structural/dynamical properties to obtain general, cross-disciplinary implications and applications.

Research Foci


Social/Organizational Dynamics: The utilization and extension of agent-based modeling, evolutionary theory, game theory, and network theory to model, analyze and improve the behaviors of social and organizational systems. Current research topics include agent-based modeling of groups, collectives, societies and economies; experimental studies of leadership, team performance and organizational decision making; and evolution of cooperative/competitive strategies and collective actions in society.

Network Science: The utilization and extension of network science to explore the connectivity between elements, growth and self-organization, and dynamical evolution of various complex networks. Current research topics include modeling of epidemic dynamics in multilayer social networks; developing novel network modeling and analysis tools such as effective graphs, adaptive networks and higher-order networks; and application of network science to biological, biomedical and psychological/psychiatric data.

AI/Machine Learning/Artificial Life: The exploration of novel approaches to autonomous, intelligent, adaptive artificial systems using bioinspired methodologies. Current research topics include complex dynamics of random Boolean networks; representation learning in AI/ML; application of AI/ML to healthcare; morphogenetic swarm systems; and open-ended evolution and creativity of artificial systems.




CoCo Seminar Series

CoCo Seminar Series: Spring 2024 Schedule Flyer

January 24, 2024
Unsupervised Embedding of Trajectories Captures the Latent Structure of Scientific Migration
Dr. Sadamori Kojaku

SSIE, Binghamton University
[Flyer]
[Video]

February 7, 2024
Lessons from Life Itself: Relational Models of Complexity and Self-Organization
Dr. Pedro Márquez-Zacarías

Santa Fe Institute
[Flyer]
[Video]

February 9, 2024 (in **EB R15**)
Temporal Networks: State-Transition Dynamics Modeling and Interaction among Manga Characters
Dr. Naoki Masuda

Mathematics, University at Buffalo
[Flyer]
[Video]

February 28, 2024
[Online] More Than Positive Weights: Structural Balance and Random Walks
Dr. Yu Tian

Nordita: Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Sweden
[Flyer]
[Video]

March 27, 2024
How Do We Make Collaborative Decisions on the Way to Net-Zero Energy Systems?
Dr. Neha Patankar

SSIE, Binghamton University
[Flyer]

April 3, 2024
Stability, Integration, and Higher-Order Interactions in Complex Systems
Dr. Thomas Varley

Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont

April 17, 2024
The Measure of Complementarities and Synergies: A Systematic Review of the Organizational Science Literature and an Interdisciplinary Exploration
Minjong Jun

Management, Binghamton University

Wednesday 12:00-1:00pm US Eastern Time
EB-T1 & Online (via Zoom; link posted in Google Calendar on the right)
Followed by open discussions


Video Archives on Vimeo

Past Seminars:

2023:  SpringFall
2022:  SpringFall
2021:  SpringFall
2020:  SpringFall
2019:  SpringFall
2018:  SpringFall
2017:  SpringFall
2016:  SpringFall
2015:  SpringFall
2014:  SpringFall
2013:  SpringFall
2012:  SpringFall
2011:  SpringFall
2010:  SpringFall
2009:  SpringFall
2008:  Fall

Also check out the schedule of EvoS Seminars

Education

Binghamton University

4400 Vestal Pkwy E

Binghamton, NY 13902

Contact Us

Hiroki Sayama, DSc, Director (Systems Science and Industrial Engineering)

sayama@binghamton.edu

Andreas Pape, PhD, Associate Director (Economics)

apape@binghamton.edu

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA