DYNANETS · Computing Real-World Phenomena with Dynamically Changing Complex Networks

Recent advances in experimental techniques such as detectors, sensors, and scanners have opened up new windows into physical and biological processes on many levels of detail. The complete cascade from the individual components to the fully integrated multi-science systems crosses many orders of magnitude in temporal and spatial scales. The challenge is to study not only the fundamental processes on all these separate scales, but also their mutual coupling through the scales in the overall system, and the resulting emergent properties. These complex systems display endless signatures of order, disorder, self-organization and self-annihilation. Understanding, quantifying and handling this information complexity is one of the biggest scientific challenges of our time. Amazingly nature seems to be able to process information on many spatial scales simultaneously. DynaNets will study and develop a new paradigm of computing through Dynamically Changing Complex Networks reproducing the way nature processes information. It will develop theory and methods of dynamical networks providing us with new insights into the underlying processes of nature, economy, and society. As a pilot study we will investigate the dynamics of the HIV and influenza epidemics from the molecule all the way up to the population.