Past WICI Events and Recordings

2024 Speaker Videos

Critical transitions in cardiac systems - May 2, 2024

     Thomas Bury, Postdoctoral Researcher, McGill University Faculty of Medicine

Social Finance, Investment Readiness, and Community Wealth Building - March 27, 2024 (A WICI-WISIR Talk at Kitchener City Hall)

  Sean Geobey, Associate Professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development

The Organization of the U.S. Economy from a Complex Systems Perspective - March 12, 2024

     Robert L. Axtell, Professor of Computational Social Science, George Mason University

Community Wealth Building - February 14, 2024 (A WICI-WISIR Panel Discussion at Kitchener City Hall)

  • Naudia Banton, Manager of Waterloo Region Small Business Centre
  • Trevor Charles, Executive Director of LiftOFF
  • Eric Avner, President and CEO of Waterloo Region Community Foundation
  • Carla Leon, President and CEO of Just Like Family Home Care

Cybernetic Aesthetics - January 29, 2024

    Heather A. Love, Assistant Professor of English, University of Waterloo


2023 Speaker Videos

AI and the Transformation of Social Sciences - November 23, 2023

     Igor Grossman, Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo

"Toward a Complex Systems Framework for Creativity and Cultural Evolution" - October 12, 2023

Liane Gabora, Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia - Okanagan

"WICI-Fields "Math for Complex Climate Challenges" Workshop - May 1- 4, 2023 (videos available on the Fields YouTube channel)

WICI Virtual Book Club: "The Ministry for the Future" - April 13, 2023

Moderated by Dawn Parker, Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo


2022 Speaker Videos

"Microbial Research and the Circular Bioeconomy" - November 9, 2022

     Trevor Charles, Professor of Biology, University of Waterloo

WICI Virtual Book Club: "The Little Animals" - March 8, 2022

    Sarah Tolmie, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Waterloo


2021 Speaker Videos

"World after Covid" - March 4, 2021

     Igor Grossmann, Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo

"Mapping Canadian Complex Systems Scholarship" - January 6, 2021

     Jinelle Piereder, PhD Candidate in Global Governance, Balsillie School of International Affairs


2020 Speaker Videos

"It's Complex: Future of Modelling and Simulation in a Changing Geospatial Data Environment" - September 22, 2020

Dr. Raja Sengupta, Associate Professor of Geography & School of Environment, McGill University

"Participatory Complexity: From Epistemic Drift to Epistemic Shift" - July 16, 2020

Dr. William Sutherland, and panelists Chrystopher Nehaniv, Nora Bateson, Zachary Stein, Alayne Adams,

     Presented jointly with McGill Centre for Convergence of Health and Economics 'Convergent Webinar Series'

"Life, but not Alive" - February 6, 2020

     Dr. Kate Adamala, Assistant Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at University of Minnesota


2019 Speaker Videos

"Our Changing Biosphere: Understanding our Future from First Principles" - November 15, 2019

Dr. Mary O’Connor, Associate Professor of Zoology, Associate Director of the Centre for Biodiversity, University of British Columbia (UBC) 

How and Why do Cultures Change? - October 9, 2019

Dr. Michael Varnum, Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University (ASU)

Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History - September 17, 2019

Dr. Lewis Dartnell, Presenter, author and astrobiology researcher at University of Westminster, London, UK   

Socio-Hydrology Opportunities and Challenges Workshop - August 27, 2019

Systems Approaches to Sustainability: Climate, Air Pollution, and Toxic Substances - March 26, 2019

Dr. Noelle Selin-Eckley, Associate Professor in the Institute for Data, Systems and Society and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Director of Technology and Policy Program, MIT 

Graduate Fellowship Awardees: Research Symposium - February 26, 2019

  • Amanda Raffoul (School of Public Health and Health Sciences): Are we (unintentionally) doing more harm than good? Systems Approaches to the Prevention of Eating-and-Weight-Related Disorders
  • Kevin Church(Applied Math): The Hidden Geometry of Complex Dynamics and How to Exploit It
  • Katharine Zywert(School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability): Social-Ecological Systems Change and the Future of Human Health

Demystifying Language and Breaking Down Barriers in Complexity Science and Methods - January 29, 2019

  • Dr. Sharon KirkpatrickUniversity of Waterloo, School of Public Health & Health Systems
  • Dr. James ShelleyWestern University, Research and Knowledge Translation Coordinator, Health Sciences
  • Dr. William SutherlandFounder and Director of the Institute for Complexity and Connection Medicine

2018 Speaker Videos

Wisdom in a Complex World: Measurement, Utility, and Interventions - November 13, 2018

Dr. Igor Grossman, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo

WICI Conference on Modelling Complex Urban Environments: June 21-22 2018


2017-2018 Speaker Videos

Ricard Solé "Synthetic Evolutionary Transitions: From Cells to Brains and Ecosystems" April 24, 2018

Madhur Anand, Roald Hoffmann & Rae Armantrout "Poetry and Complexity – Readings and Discussions" March 27, 2018

Carla Restrepo "From Sandpiles to Real Mountains - Complex Dynamics of Tropical Mountainscapes" February 27, 2018

Mark Crowley "Using Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning toTame Spatially Spreading Processes" October 25, 2017

Johan Koskinen "Analysing Covert Networks from Unstructured Sources" October 2, 2017

WICI Interdisciplinary Conference on Resilience in Complex Natural and Human Systems: Living on the Precipice (May 16 & 17, 2017):

  • Ann Kinzig "Extending Resilience Beyond Small-Scale Natural Resource Systems: A Help or a Hindrance for Human Well Being?" 
  • Vanessa Schweizer "Investigating Resilience and Transformability in Human Systems"
  • Mark Constas "Resilience and the Measurement of Recovery in Development Settings"
  • Philip Beesely "New Sentient Architecture"
  • Simron Singh "System Collapse, Tipping Points and Complex Disasters: Nicobar Islands in the Aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami"
  • Mathew Bonds "Ecology of Poverty, Disease, and Health Care Delivery: A New Model District in Madagascar"

2016-17 Speaker videos

Professor Sara Walker “Bio from Bit: Quantifying the Origins of Life”March 7, 2017

Dr. Alexander Wong “Deep Learning with Darwin: Evolutionary Synthesis of Operational Deep Intelligence” February 21, 2017

Blake LeBaron "Self-Generating Economic Forecast Heterogeneity" January 24, 2017

Matt Hammond "Nature in a bottle: Incorporating Real-World Complexity into Designer Ecosystems" November 22, 2016

Dawn Parker "Urban Growth and Change Research Group Symposium" November 22, 2016

Jon Mackay "Infighting Among House Republicans: Leaders, Factions and Complex Networks of Interests"October 25, 2016


2015-16 Speaker Videos

Melanie Mitchell "Using Analogy to Recognize Visual Situations" May 26, 2016

Tuomas Yiä-Anttila "Comparing Climate Change Policy Networks" April 20, 2016

Cesar Hidalgo "Why Information Grows" February 23, 2016

Wendell Wallach "A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond our Control" February 10, 2016

Jane Heffernan "Multi-Scale Modelling of Infectious Diseases" January 26, 2016

Sarah Burch "Transformative Sustainability Governance: Triggering Change on an Urban Planet" November 13, 2015

Dr. Vakhtang Putkaradze "Dynamics and Control of Flexible Solar Towers" October 27, 2015


2014 - 15 Speaker videos

Jack Goldstone "Democracy and Development: Getting Away from Linear Thinking to True Understanding" March 31, 2015

Dawn Parker and Sarah Tolmie "Bridges Lecture: Dancing the Math of Complex Systems" March 13, 2015

Lewis Dartnell "The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch" March 11, 2015

Derek Robinson "Discovering the Themes of Complexity Science in Land Use Modeling" February 24, 2015

Hans de Sterck "Mathematical modelling of social spreading processes" January 27, 2015

Dr. Sander van der Leeuw "Invention and Innovation: The Long Term" January 13, 2015

Dr. John McLevey  "Collaborating On-Line: An Analysis of Communication Networks for Linux Kernel Developers" December 2, 2014


2013-14 Speaker Videos

Scott Heckbert "Agent-Based Modelling And GIS: Applications To Land Use Change And Environmental Modelling" May 26, 2014

Marcin Jakubowski "Open Source Ecology: Towards the Open Source Economy" May 15, 2014

Mireille E. Broucke "Reach Control Problem" March 31, 2014

Paul Thagard "Creative Cognition In Social Innovation" December 3, 2013

Data Visualization and Analysis Symposium November 21, 2013

  • Terry Stewart "Validating Models of Cognition
  • Brian Ingalls "Local and Global Sensitivity Analysis Connect Model Parameters to System Behaviour in a Model of Beta-Cell Metabolism"
  • Dawn Parker "Tracing the Impacts of Land-Market Structure on Urban Growth"
  • Mike Hudson "Problems in Cosmology and the Upcoming Data Avalanche"
  • Przemyslaw Grabowicz "Fast Visualization of Relevant Portions of Large Dynamic Networks"

Data Visualization and Analysis Symposium November 22, 2013

  • Steve Williams "A Framework for Decision Making in Social Innovation Lab Processes"
  • Kirsten Robinson "Using Models in Social Innovation Labs: Prototype Models of Agro-Economic Systems in Southern Ontario to Support Innovation in Food System Policy"
  • Elliott Miller & Sarah Hogland "Visualizing a Complex System: The Use of Dance as a Data Visualization Tool"
  • Sheelagh Carpendale "Interactive Visualization"

Chris Eliasmith "Handling The Complexities Of Large-Scale Brain Models" October 23, 2013

Sheldon Soloman "Afraid Of The Dark: Humanity At The Crossroads" October 4, 2013

Brian Neff "Traps And Transformations Of Social-Ecological Systems: Commentary From The Caribbean" October 2, 2013


2012-13 Speaker Videos

Marc Hurwitz "Leadership: It’s Pretty Simple… By Itself" April 16, 2013

Tobias Shröder "Changing Minds About Cars: Modeling the Adoption of Innovations in Transportation" February 26, 2013

Chris Bauch "How Mathematics Can Help Explain Vaccine Scares and Associated Disease Dynamics" February 5, 2013

Dan Lizotte "Possible Futures: Complexity in Sequential Decision-Making" January 22, 2013


2011-12 Speaker Videos

Darla Munroe "The Interdependence of Forest Transition Pathways at the Household Level in Yunnan, China" April 25, 2012

Matto Mildenberger "Exploring the Possibility Space of Ideological Change" March 29, 2012

Shreyas Sundaram "Reaching Agreement in Complex Networks: Avoiding the Influence of Extreme Agents" March 20, 2012

Carla Gomes "Computational Sustainability" Computer Science Colloquium on Computational Sustainability March 7, 2012

Steve Mock "The End of Economic Growth: Social Regression or New Beginning?" February 28, 2012

Joshua Armstrong "Clearing the Fog of Geriatrics: Applying Complex Systems Thinking to the Health and Care of Older Adults" February 14, 2012

Michael Beeler "Modeling Complex Healthcare Environments Using Discrete-Event Simulation: A Case Study of Mass Immunization Clinics" January 24, 2012

Katherine Larson "Social Distance Games" December 6, 2011

Sasha Gutfraind "Crime and Terror: Mathematical Exploration and Modelling of Dark Networks" Applied Mathematics Colloquium November 17, 2011

Mark Hancock "Leveraging Physical Actions to Interact with Digital Surfaces" November 1, 2011

Monica Cojocaru "Objective and Subjective Factors: Modelling Consumer Behaviour From Individual to Population Scale" October 25, 2011

Shreyas Sundaram "Diffusing Information and Reaching Agreement in Networks: Convergence and Resilience" September 27, 2011


2010-11 Speaker Videos

Mike Batty "Complexity, Scaling and Cities" March 31, 2011

Steve Purdey "Steady State Economics" March 23, 2011

Marten Scheffer "Early Warning Signs for Critical Transitions" March 7, 2011

Land-Change Science Seminar February 16, 2011

Kevin Dunbar "From DNA To Complex Cognition: How We Learn, Discover, And Create The World" November 4, 2010

John R. Clymer "Simulation-Based Engineering Of Complex Systems" October 2010


2009-10 Speaker Videos

Leigh Tesfatsion "Testing Institutional Arrangements Via Agent-Based Modeling: A U.S. Electricity Market (Part 1) & (Part 2) March 22, 2010

Victor Galaz "Can Information Technology Really Help Save The Planet?" March 9, 2010

Mark Tovey, Michael Nielson and Hassan Masum "Open Source Democracy (Part 1) & (Part 2) February 22, 2010

Jukka Petta Onnela "Harnessing Network Science to Reveal our Digital Footprints" January 26, 2010

J. Doyne Farmer "Laws of Technological Progress" December 7, 2009

Philip Beesley "Responsive Environments: Transitional Fields" November 23, 2009

Brad Bass "Revitalizing Central Place Theory: Cities As Experiments On A Dynamic Fitness Landscape" November 10, 2009

Karen Houle "Is our Concept of Moral Responsibility Newtonian?" October 26, 2009

Dawn Parker "Market Activity, Landscaping Behavior, And Carbon Sequestration In Ex-Urban Landscapes" October 1, 2009


2008-09 Speaker Videos

George Francis "World and Other Systems: A Challenge to WICI" April 14, 2009

Lee Smolin "Symmetries in Economic Models and Their Consequences" March 18, 2009

Matthew Hoffman "Governance Avalanches: A Self-Organized Criticality Perspective on Innovation in Global Governance" February 25, 2009

Frances Westley "Complexity Approach to Change and Transformation" February 10, 2009

Keith Hipel "Trade Versus the Environment: Strategic Settlement from a Systems Engineering Perspective" January 28, 2009

Thomas Homer-Dixon "Ingenuity Theory: Adaptation Failure and Societal Crisis" January 13, 2009

Brenda Zimmerman "Applications of Complexity Science to Healthcare" December 11, 2008

Paul Thagard "Changing Minds About Climate Change" November 19, 2008

Stuart Kauffman "The Evolution of Economic Wealth and Innovation" October 27, 2008