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AKSOE: Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

AKSOE 9: Special Session: Young Scientist Award

AKSOE 9.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 7, 2005, 16:00–17:00, TU A151

The Dynamics of Networks, and their Relevance to Infectious Diseases, IT, and Many Other Things — •Robert M. May — Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS

The transmission of infection among humans or other animals, the spread of viruses or worms among computers, and the way ecosystems respond to disturbance are three examples of nonlinear dynamical systems whose behaviour depends upon the nature of the network of connections among nodes (that is individuals, computers, species, respectively). Recent and current concern about HIV/AIDS, SARS, and foot and mouth disease among livestock have prompted advances in our understanding of the interplay between network patterns and effective control measures. Separate, but ultimately related, work has recently focussed (often in the context of "homeland security") on protecting IT networks from attack. Perhaps surprisingly, this work has made relatively little contact with older questions about ecosystem resilience. My talk aims to be an opinionated overview of all this.