ABSTRACT: There is a fundamental difference between a technological and a natural system. While the former is the product of an intelligent designer, the latter is the result of an emerging process where randomness, volatility, and environment aggression play an important role. This talk will approach several hard problems in natural systems with computer-based complex network analysis, from drug repurposing and patient phenotype identification to specific patterns of opinion spreading in social networks. The talk will also cast light on the presenter’s academic journey, from quantum computing to network science.

BIO: Mihai Udrescu is a Professor with the Department of Computer and Information Technology at the Politehnica University of Timisoara (UPT), Romania, and a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon University (September 2019 – February 2020). He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from UPT in 2005. Mihai Udrescu’s research is targeting the physics of computation and the design of emerging computer systems such as quantum circuits and bio-inspired hardware. Recently, he got involved in research projects that focus on network science, online social networks, and network medicine.

Hosted by: Paul Bogdan