DATE: 4:10 p.m. Feb. 6, 2007.

EVENT: Carl Simon, director of U-M’s Center for the Study of Complex Systems, will discuss using complex systems approaches when he delivers the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts 28th Distinguished Faculty Lecture.

He will discuss how a complex systems approach can be used to solve real-world problems such as the struggling Michigan economy and the current energy crisis during his lecture in the Rackham Ampitheatre. The title: “Complex Systems Approaches Across Disciplines.”

Simon has studied topics as diverse as HIV transmission, hydrogen fuel distribution, and antibiotic resistance using a complex systems approach, which looks at the big picture while also focusing on the interactions of the components.

“Everything from literature to antibiotics and transportation can benefit from a complex systems approach,” said Simon, professor of mathematics, economics and public policy and co-director of a U-M initiative on sustainable mobility and accessibility and another on antibiotic resistance.

Simon says one of his goals is to catalyze an interaction between the University and the auto industry in southeastern Michigan. For example, Simon and his colleagues are working with researchers at Ford Motor Co. to build a master’s degree program promoting a systems approach to problem solving.

Interdisciplinarity plays a major role. “Our whole energy crisis is not just about engineering;” Simon said. “It’s also about prices, taxes, people’s decisions to drive an SUV and the effect on the environment.”

PLACE: Rackham Ampitheatre, 915 E. Washington St. For a map visit: http://www.umich.edu/~info/maps.html

SPONSOR: College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Center for the Study of Complex Systems