Professor Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Monday, January 29, 2001
3:00 pm (CT)
3269 Beckman Institute

Abstract

Systems as diverse as the world wide web or the cell are described by networks with complex topology. Traditionally it has been assumed that these networks are random. However, recent studies indicate that such complex networks are the result of self-organizing processes governed by simple but generic laws, resulting in topologies strikingly different from those predicted by random networks. I will discuss the implications of these findings on the error and attack tolerance of the Internet, the robustness of the cells, and other properties of complex networks. Finally, I will discuss the results of a systematic comparative mathematical analysis of the metabolic networks of 43 organisms representing all three domains of life. We show that, despite significant variances in their individual constituents and pathways, these metabolic networks display the same topologic scaling properties demonstrating striking similarities to the inherent organization of complex non-biological systems. In collaboration with H. Jeong, B. Tombor, R. Albert, Z. N. Oltvai.

Tea and coffee will be served in R3151 Beckman Institute at 2:15pm.