Theory and Applications of Complex Networks
David Feldman
College of the Atlantic
Fall 2008
Tu/Fr 1:00-2:25
James Gower Seminar Room
Most information about the course can be found
on betweenness, the
class blog.
Homework
Course Lectures
Network structures are ubiquitous in the world around us:
communication networks, transportation networks, networks of friends
and acquaintances, and biological networks, to name just a few. In
this class, students will learn about the mathematical similarities
and abstractions that under-lie these examples. Additional examples
will be drawn from molecular biology (gene regulation and protein
interaction networks), economics (trading networks, relations among
firms, and strategic interactions on networks), computer science
(computer networks and the world wide web), and ecology (food webs).
The last decade has seen an explosion of work in the theory and
applications of networks to an enormously wide range of problems.
Students who successfully complete this course will: gain a broad
introduction to recent work in this field; understand the strengths
and weaknesses of network modeling; and be able to apply networks and
network analysis in a variety of settings.
In the first part of the course, we will focus on empirical
descriptions of network structure. We will then turn our attention to
dynamics of networks: how do networks form and grow, and how are
these growth rules related to global structure? Finally, we will
consider algorithms and dynamics on networks. In this latter part of
the course we will learn about the spread of diseases and computer
viruses on networks, how to detect community structure in networks,
and how Google's PageRank algorithm works.
Evaluation will be based on several problem sets, three short
literature reviews to be posted on the course blog, and a final
project on a topic of the student's choosing.
Intermediate/Advanced. *ES* *QR* Pre-requisites: at least one
college-level mathematics class and permission of instructor. Lab fee
$10.