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Complexity Science Hub

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Complexity Science Hub

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We Are Europe's Research Center Translating Data into Solutions for a Better World.

The Complexity Science Hub (CSH) is Europe’s research center for the study of complex systems. We derive meaning from data from a range of disciplines – economics, medicine, ecology, and the social sciences – as a basis for actionable solutions for a better world. Established in 2016, we have grown to over 70 researchers, driven by the increasing demand to gain a genuine understanding of the networks that underlie society, from healthcare to supply chains. Through our complexity science approaches linking physics, mathematics, and computational modeling with data and network science, we develop the capacity to address today's and tomorrow’s challenges. CSH members are AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, BOKU University, Central European University CEU, Graz University of Technology, IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria, Medical University of Vienna, TU Wien, University of Continuing Education Krems, Vetmeduni Vienna, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and WKO Austrian Economic Chambers.

23/10/2026

𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀! 👏
Ben Casselman spoke with Hillary Vipond, who is an economic historian in the Complexity Science Hub's Transforming Economies research group, about what past technological upheavals can teach us about AI and the labor market.

Her work on the bootmaking industry in Victorian England shows what happened when sewing machines that could process thick shoe leather transformed shoemaking in the second half of the 19th century. In 1851, the sector employed around 220,000 people. Hillary examined how many jobs disappeared and how many were created across the entire course of this shift – and what that may tell us about today.

🔗 Read the full article by Ben Casselman in The New York Times, which looks at earlier episodes of labor disruption, from the Industrial Revolution to the Great Depression: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/business/economy/ai-economy-jobs-history.html

🔗 More about Hillary’s research: https://csh.ac.at/news/how-bootmaking-in-victorian-england-helps-us-think-about-the-future-of-work/

21/10/2026

No. 4️⃣ Research Topic of the month: 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 – looking behind the scenes with CSH Postdoc Stefan Kitzler: What is he working on right now that he can't stop thinking about? What pulled him into this field in the first place? And what's the thing people get wrong about his field that bugs him?

In this rapid-fire interview, Stefan shares a personal take: https://csh.ac.at/news/digital-currency-ecosystems-interview-with-stefan-kitzler/

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𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀:
In June 2026, the Complexity Science Hub celebrated its 10th anniversary — and throughout our anniversary year, we're spotlighting one research topic every month. For a deep dive into a decade of complexity science, read our 10-year publication here: https://csh.ac.at/news/its-the-complexity-stupid/

20/10/2026

🌟 Our next 𝗔𝗿𝘁 & 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 exhibition opens on 3 November. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻!

This time, artist 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿 brings his work to the Complexity Science Hub. He starts with ordinary objects – a sink, a colander – and plays with their familiar forms and functions until something unexpected appears. The result invites us to look again at the things around us, and to find other meanings and possibilities in them.

Peter Ertl, Vice Rector for Research, Innovation and International Affairs at Vienna University of Technology, joins him to add the scientific perspective.

🎨 Art & Science – "The Characteristics of Viewing Conditions"
📅 Tuesday, 3 November 2026
🕰️ 6:30 pm
📍 CSH Salon, Metternichgasse 8, 1030 Vienna
🗣️ In English

🔗 Register here: https://csh.ac.at/events/art-science-with-markus-hofer-peter-ertl-the-characteristics-of-viewing-conditions/

More about artist Markus Hofer: http://www.markushofer.at/

19/10/2026

👋 Join us in welcoming Ilias Bitinis as a PhD Candidate to the Complexity Science Hub! 🎉

Ilias joined the 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 group, led by Amélie Desvars-Larrive from CSH and Vetmeduni. His research focuses on the mathematical modeling of vector-borne diseases, at the intersection of complexity science, network analysis, and epidemiology.

Ilias holds a bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of Patras and a master's in Biostatistics and Health Data Science from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Welcome, Ilias!

🔗 More about Ilias: https://csh.ac.at/ilias-bitinis/ 🔗 More about Health Across Species at CSH: https://csh.ac.at/research/research-topic/health-across-species/

16/10/2026

🧠💡 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀... With every new hire, research institutions decide whether to build on existing strengths or bring new topics into the fold. These choices shape where knowledge is created – and, ultimately, where innovation happens.

To learn more about whom institutions hire, how much new expertise these hires bring, and how institutions develop thematically over time, a team of the Complexity Science Hub and Leiden University / Universiteit Leiden reconstructed the careers of 9.3 million researchers at 3,965 institutions worldwide between 2000 and 2020.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:

🪞 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Research institutions have been converging in what they study.

🎯 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘁: New hires usually work on topics that closely match their institution’s existing research, down to very specific niches. The median score is 0.84 on a scale from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (identical topics).

💪 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The more prestigious an institution, the more closely its new hires’ topics match its existing research. At 41% of institutions, both new hires and departing researchers match the research profile especially well, with scores above the medians of 0.84 (new hires) and 0.86 (outgoers). Ivy League and top European universities are among them.

🤔 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝘁: Where topic alignment is below the median for both new hires and those leaving (45% of the institutions), citation performance is usually at or below the global average – with one interesting exception: The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Topical closeness within an institution has advantages. Earlier studies show that researchers who share a knowledge base can learn from one another more effectively and be more productive. But too much similarity may also slow innovation, the team notes.

“Our method lets us measure, at scale, which path an institution actually takes,” Thurner says. “University leaders, funders, and policymakers could use it to check whether their hiring strategies match their goals, and to change course if needed.”

🔗 Read the full story: https://csh.ac.at/news/research-institutions-are-converging-on-what-they-study/
🔗 Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-026-05815-7

15/10/2026

Some of the most valuable conversations are the ones that make you look at your own work a little differently. That’s one of the (many) reasons why our 𝗖𝗦𝗛 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 is integral to who we are and where we’re headed.

This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming the board to CSH for its first in-person meeting in its new composition. It brings together leading scientists and strategic thinkers from around the world – people who know the field, ask the right questions and challenge us to think about what comes next for CSH.

The day and a half brought in-depth discussions with CSH President Stefan Thurner and Secretary General Philipp Marxgut, followed by conversations with researchers from across CSH.

As Helga Nowotny, Chair of the CSH Advisory Board, put it: “The first in-person meeting of the newly constituted Advisory Board was a uniquely rich exchange of ideas, vision and practical advice – including meetings with faculty, Postdocs and PhDs. Thanks to all who contributed to make this such a constructive event, strengthening the CSH spirit and its world-wide connections”.

📸 A few impressions from the meeting.

And a very special thank you to our CSH Advisory Board – Luis Bettencourt, Alexandra Brintrup, Nicholas Christakis, Stephanie Forrest, David Krakauer, Simon Levin, Gerhard Schmitt, Robert-Jan Smits, and Helga Nowotny – for their time, thoughtful questions, ideas and input.

🔗 https://csh.ac.at/people/governance/

14/10/2026

Researchers at the Complexity Science Hub tackle real-world problems – and postdoc Stefan Kitzler is a great example. In the project "𝗗𝗲𝗙𝗶𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲", Stefan developed data-driven analysis tools together with colleagues to trace millions of cryptocurrency transactions and decentralized exchanges (DEXs), helping uncover illicit financial flows.

The scale of the problem is considerable: According to the research, cybercrime-related losses totaled more than USD 30 billion between 2017 and 2022 alone.

"Our solution is designed for organisations who need to understand large volumes of financial transactions, for example, in law enforcement and financial supervision," says Stefan in an interview published in the booklet "Success stories from the Austrian Safety Pin." ( 👉 download the booklet: https://www.bmf.gv.at/dam/jcr:0a4c161c-9d53-465f-a719-4b3e335ed30c/FINAL_Sicherheitsklammer-EN-WEB.pdf)

How research methods can be translated into practical tools is illustrated by Thomas Niedermayer from Iknaio Cryptoasset Analytics, where they used the methods developed in DeFiTrace to improve the GraphSense platform and solve problems that conventional tools struggle with.

The DeFiTrace research project is part of the Civil Security Research Program, supported by the Bundesministerium für Finanzen.

🔗 Learn more about the DeFiTrace project: https://csh.ac.at/project/data-driven-methods-for-analyzing-illegal-payment-flows-in-cross-ledger-defi-ecosystems/

11/10/2026

As a , you already have to juggle many things ‒ all the more respect to those who carve out extra time to actively support peers in earlier career stages. This can be rewarding by itself ‒ and sometimes it even leads to amazing collaborations and a publication, as 𝗘𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰 and 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗿 from the Complexity Science Hu have experienced firsthand.

The pair volunteered as tutors at last year's workshop, where students carry out a preliminary research project in 72 hours⏱️. Elma and Katharina led a group of six students from diverse academic backgrounds to oversee project design and guide through the entire research process ‒ from brainstorming project ideas💡 to data analysis 📊 and submitting the manuscript 📃 .

Participants drew from a database of comorbidity networks (where the nodes represent diagnoses and edges their statistically significant co-occurrences) that Elma and Katharina had derived from population-wide Austrian health data 🏥 . In their project, participants looked into the disease patterns in these networks.

"Being a tutor at Complexity72h was a lot of fun," says Elma. "It's demanding, but incredibly rewarding to get something off the ground with people you've never met before. You learn a great deal about how to organize and lead a group in the process. And last but not least, meeting peers from different fields can inspire exciting collaboration opportunities."

Building on the preliminary results from the workshop, the team continued developing the manuscript, and their work has now been published in 👉 Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-68254-7

Congrats to all authors, and thank you to Elma and Katharina for your great initiative and for training the next generation of researchers!

09/10/2026

If you've ever wondered about the glow up routines of 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 💅💡, our second 𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡 was for you! Orit Peleg from University of Boulder Colorado talked about these marvelous bugs that are not only enchanting to look at but also offer fascinating lessons for in .

💡 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝟭: Fireflies use flashes of light to find mates. 💓 Each species has its own pattern, a kind of Morse code in light. The females of some species even mimic the pattern of other species to attract and prey on their males. But when thousands of fireflies flash in the same place, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲?

🕦 In some species, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 their flashing across an entire forest. The signal spreads through the swarm like a stadium wave. One firefly’s flash triggers its neighbor, which triggers the next. This local coupling is enough for a synced flashing rhythm across the swarm. It seems that fireflies don't flash periodically when they are alone, but they readily synchronize with an external signal (LED experiments). But how exactly synchronization initiates in the swarm is part of Orit's ongoing research.

⁉️ Some species 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴. Orit's team tries to understand this by probing fireflies' responses to artificial flashing patterns that mimic those of different species.

🌳 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Fireflies are sensitive to pesticides and light pollution, and are becoming increasingly endangered. Orit talked about some things anyone can do: Provide habitable structures in your garden, avoid pesticides, spread the word about fireflies, and participate in local monitoring projects (Vienna: https://shorturl.at/PoRGu).

Thanks so much, Orit! Thanks to scientist Eddie Lee, who led us through the evening, and thanks to everyone who attended for coming and the lively discussion!

🔗 Our 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗪𝗘𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡 will take place in November. Stay tuned and sign up to our events mailing list: https://csh.ac.at/events-news/events/

07/10/2026

No. 4️⃣ Research Topic of the Month: 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀

🎯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲
When digital currencies like Bitcoin emerged, the promise was to create a fairer, decentralized financial system, free from central institutions such as banks. Reality, as so often, tells a different story. Digital currencies have also become the primary means of payment in global cybercrime.

🧬 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
Blockchain data is public, but making sense of it is not straightforward. CSH researchers build networks from millions of wallet addresses and transactions to find out how they interact. From this, they can ask questions such as: How democratic are decentralized networks in practice? How does a stablecoin collapse? Which innovations in digital finance carry systemic risks that markets haven't yet priced in?

💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁
These methods have been used by law enforcement agencies to connect cybercrime cases and dismantle criminal networks more efficiently. The longer-term ambition: a digital payments ecosystem that protects user privacy, resists criminal use, and prevents dangerous concentrations of power.

We're proud to have these researchers working on this topic at CSH: Bernhard Haslhofer, Stefan Kitzler, Alexander Kropiunig, Allison Owen, Johann Stockinger, Rainer Stuetz.

🗓️ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗽
This month's special event is in November ( 😉 ) — but it's worth the wait! We're joining forces with the of the Kunsthistorisches Museum for an event on 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.

👉 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟭 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺 (free entry to the Coin Cabinet from 4pm)
👉 Registration and details: https://csh.ac.at/events/geld-macht-vertrauen/

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𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀:
In June 2026, the Complexity Science Hub celebrated its 10th anniversary — and throughout our anniversary year, we're spotlighting one research topic every month. For a deep dive into a decade of complexity science, read our 10-year publication here: https://csh.ac.at/news/its-the-complexity-stupid/

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Mittwoch	09:00 - 17:00
Donnerstag	09:00 - 17:00
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