Off-campus subproject - Workshop on Multidisciplinary Complex Systems Research

Overview: This proposal requests funds to support a Multidisciplinary Complex Systems Research Workshop to be held at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA, in September 12-14, 2016. A main goal of the workshop is to address scientific issues and gaps that are relevant to the scientific community and bring to surface possible areas of opportunity for multidisciplinary research in the area of complex systems. Intellectual Merit: The proposed workshop will bring together a diverse group of experts in complementary areas of complex systems. The workshop participants will include experts both in theory and applications as well as a selection of postdoctoral researchers and students. Emphasis will be place on identifying the most substantive research questions that can be addressed by fundamental complex systems research, on recognizing knowledge gaps and barriers to research progress in this area, on discussing future directions that are likely to lead to transformative research in complex systems, and on identifying topics that cut across disciplinary boundaries to further leverage the outcomes of complex systems research. Broader Impacts: The main broader impact of the proposed workshop will be the preparation of a report to inform the scientific community at large of the current status and challenges as well as future opportunities in basic complex systems research, as perceived by the participants of the workshop. In addition, because of the cross-disciplinary nature of the workshop, the participants themselves will become aware of the latest developments in fields related to but different from their own. Finally, the inclusion of early-career researchers will also help promote the transfer of this expertise to the next generation of engineers, mathematicians, and scientists.