Month: March 2013

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (all of them)

Phew. There’s only one day to go before the call for abstracts closes, but with a burst of posts in the last couple of days, I finally managed to complete the list of 9 reasons to visit NetSci this year. This post summarizes and lists all 9 reasons (although it’d be great if you could read them all) – hoping to convince you that you absolutely need to head on over and submit a 1-page abstract on your most recent fun result … so you can join in on the fun. The very best reason to go, is all the interesting, intelligent, and creative people you will meet in Copenhagen.

Don't forget to submit an abstract
Don’t forget to submit an abstract

And check out the brand new poster for more info + don’t forget to retweet, +1, put on mailing lists, and so on.

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 9)

The 9th and final reason is an obvious one (but after all, probably still the best reason for attending the conference). And don’t forget that the call for abstracts closes tomorrow! So head over and submit an abstract (if you haven’t done so already).

Reason 9: Great list of invited speakers

This year we’ve managed to convince an amazing group of keynotes and invited speakers to participate. I can’t wait to see all of them – and hear what they’ve been up to since last year! Here’s the list (in the official NetSci design).

speakers

 

And that’s it folks, this concludes the series – and don’t forget to check out the other reasons to visit NetSci 2013 if you haven’t seen them yet.

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 8)

We’re nearing the end of the list of reasons to go to NetSci (and the call for abstracts ends this friday, so go and submit something!). This 8th reason is not so much a specific reason to go to Copenhagen. Rather, it is an example of how we’ve tried to rethink & rework every aspect of the conference, how we’ve done our best to make it the best conference we possibly could.

Reason 8: Re-designed graphics & logo

While I love the classic NetSci design pictured below, Petter and I agreed that it might be time to update the NetSci look.

Screen Shot 2013-03-13 at 7.06.40 PM

Along with chair of design, Isabel Meirelles, we set out to update the look. The first draft was a bit simpler than what we ended up with, but amazing all the same. Take a look:First draft

The motivation came from Isabel, based on a visual idea from Sebastian Ahnert’s talk at the NetSci 2012, she noted

Inspired by the sketch tool by Sebastian, I am proposing the overlapping circles rather than the wave in previous editions of the conference.

The colors could change every year, either using the flag colors of the hosting country (e.g., 2013 Denmark, 2014 USA, 2015 Germany, etc.) or just arbitrary (e.g., 2016).

The font (Bauhaus) was selected for the way letters seem to connect in this very geometric fashion. 

The next iteration was a bit more complex, but the central idea remains.

Second Draft

This is the version we went with – and if you look closely, you’ll see that the colors in this year’s logo represent the colors seen in the scandinavian flags. The logo itself also went through many iterations of input from Petter and Isabel, here are some of the intermediate versions

logo alogo bIsabel’s rationale on the final design is worth reproducing in full:

Inspired by the sense of community that is NetSci, I am proposing a new logo that communicates this feature. It combines a visual mark with its verbal description.

final logo

The visual mark is a play with the commonly used diagrammatic representation for close connection within a community. The logo starts and ends with the highly connected community, in that the red serving as the dot for the “i” is the same as the white dot inside the larger circle. It is also a play with figure/ground perception. Ultimately, I hope that the displacement of the red dot gives a sense of motion, both metaphorically and literally. The color red is a remainder of the previous logo.

The typeface Bauhaus was selected for the way letters seem to connect in a very geometric fashion. I used different type weights to provide a more dynamic display while also facilitating readability of the acronym for those not familiar with it. The logo might have its full description or be used without it. I think it can depend on the material being published.

The web site banner shows the logo in addition to the dates, the image of the venue, and overlapping circles. The overlapping circles represent the several communities participating in the conference. It was inspired by the sketch tool devised by Sebastian Ahnert and presented at this year’s NetSci. The color palette for the circles reflects the colors of the country or region hosting the event. This year, the colors are those of Scandinavian flags, with the more obvious reference to Denmark. The palette should change every year accordingly. 

final

Stay tuned for the remaining reason – and don’t forget to check out the other reasons to visit NetSci 2013.

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 7)

When I started the “Nine reasons” series of posts, I had planned a single Letterman top-ten style “silly” reason. I’d forgotten, however, that the general NetSci audience is a clever bunch, so I was a little bit disappointed (but also impressed) when I posted “Reason 1”, and Mason Porter saw that one coming a mile away. In a comment, he noted

No Letterman-style ‘Top Ten’ list in the traditional reverse order? And one or two of the reasons should be snarky, of course. E.g. ‘Reason number 5: “Three words: Zachary Karate Club” ‘

Beating me to the punch (and with a better joke).

My original silly reason was

Petter and I paid for everything using my mom’s credit card, so we
need your registration money or I’ll be grounded for NetSci 2014.

But I kind of revealed that one in my answer to Mason, so I’ve had to come up with new material.

Reason 7: Ok, the snarky/silly reasons.

Here’s what I have so far – the jokes are pretty weak, so please forgive me.

Rules of NetSci:

  • First rule of NetSci. Submit an abstract to NetSci.
  • Second rule of NetSci. SUBMIT an abstract to NetSci.
  • Third rule of NetSci: If someone says “stop” or goes limp, taps out the talk is over.
  • Fourth rule of NetSci: Only approximately one person to a talk.
  • Fifth rule of NetSci: One talk at a time (unless it’s a parallel session).
  • Sixth rule of NetSci: Wear a shirts, and shoes.
  • Seventh rule of NetSci: Talk will stay strictly within time limits.
  • Eighth rule of NetSci: If this is your first NetSci, you HAVE to talk.

Another good reason to go is that on the first day of a NetSci conference, Laszlo can’t deny any request. (But some day, and that day may never come, he may call upon you to do a service for him. But until that day, consider his justice a gift on the first day of NetSci).

Godfather

Stay tuned for the remaining two (serious) reasons – and don’t forget to check out the other reasons to visit NetSci 2013.

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 6)

In today’s list of reasons that you should head over to the NetSci website and submit an abstract right away (the deadline is this friday people!), we change focus away from the academic reasons and turn our attention to the culinary reasons.

Reason 6: The NetSci dinner

Copenhagen is know for food. The world’s best restaurant, Noma, is located in Copenhagen, and we even have Thai restaurants here with Michelin stars. This year, the NetSci dinner reflects that fact. We’re having the dinner in University of Copenhagen’s (not too shabby) Banquet Hall, pictured below,

festsal

and the dinner will feature uncompromising French cuisine created by the renowned Chef Francis Cardenau, from the Le Sommelier. We’re even in negotiation to have fine wines included in the dinner price.

And don’t forget to check out the other reasons to visit NetSci 2013.

Stay tuned for more good reasons.

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 5)

Now that the weekend is over, it’s back to the reasons I think you should head straight over to the NetSci 2013 website and submit an abstract. The call ends on Friday, so there’s no time to waste.

Reason 5: Amazing list of satellite workshops

This year, the number of satellite workshops has increased significantly, and I sincerely think we’re in for a treat. With many angles on temporal & dynamic networks, plus many other exciting topics, this is the place to be, if you’re interested in where the field of network science is headed. And the satellites are right next to the NetSci school, so you can switch back and forth, if you want to attend a satellite workshop, but you just can’t miss that tutorial on NetworkX.

laika

You can find full info on the satellites here, but I’ve also reproduced the (impressive) list below.

Monday (June 3, 2013)

  • Networks over Time
    Organizers: Rickard Coster, Niloy Ganguly, Balaraman Ravindran, Subramanian Shivashankar, Samarth Swarup
  • Networks of Networks: Systemic Risk and Infrastructural Interdependencies
    Organizers: Antonio Scala, Gregorio D’Agostino, Guido Caldarelli, Stefano Battiston
  • Human Behaviour and Network Science
    Organizers: Janos Kertesz, Rosario N. Mantegna
  • Language and Network Science
    Organizers: Gareth Baxter, Alexander Mehler
  • Network Science in Education
    Organizers: Stephen Uzzo, Hiroki Sayama, Catherine Cramer, Peter Pollner, H. Eugene Stanley, Paul Trunfio
  • Network Medicine: Future of Disease Genomics and Healthcare
    Organizers: Amitabh Sharma, Yang-Yu Liu, David Gomez-Cabrero
  • Temporal and Dynamic Networks: From Data to Models – Day 1
    Organizers: Vittoria Colizza, Chiara Poletto, Alain Barrat, Bruno Gonçalves, Luis Rocha, Renaud Lambiotte, Jari Saramaki, Esteban Moro
  • State-Topology Coevolution in Adaptive Networks
    Organizers: Hiroki Sayama, Thilo Gross
  • Multiple Network Modeling, Analysis and Mining
    Organizers: Guido Caldarelli, Michele Coscia, Przemysław Kazienko, Matteo Magnani, Dino Pedreschi, Luca Rossi
  • Dynamic Networks: Theory and Applications in Information and Communication Networks
    Organizers: Maarten van Steen, Yamir Moreno, Frank Schweitzer

Tuesday (June 4, 2013)

And don’t forget to check out the other reasons to visit NetSci 2013.

Stay tuned for more reasons!

NetSci 2013: Nine reasons to go (Reason 4)

With only one week left for submissions, the list of reasons to visit NetSci continues. This time announcing an exciting event that’s not even on the conference site yet.

Reason 4: Publisher Session

On Thursday night we’re having a special publisher session. The idea is to give editors a chance to speak to authors about their journals – what they’re looking for in terms content & scientific writing.

PSKroeyer
The event will take place on the evening of June 6th and will feature a mix of talks and panel discussion. We have secured (another) great location, this time at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Guests & speakers include:
  • Joerg Heber, representing Nature Communications.
  • Hernan Rozenfeld, representing APS (Physical Review Letters and Physical Review E).
  • Ernesto Estrada, representing the new Journal of Complex Networks from Oxford University Press.
  • Alessandro Vespignani, representing EPJ Data Science.
  • We also hope to have a representative for Network Science form Cambridge University Press.

We’re still planning this event, so we may have surprise speakers as well. Note that seating for publisher session will be limited, so keep an eye on the NetSci page for up-to-date information on how to attend.

Also don’t forget to read about the first three reasons to visit NetSci 2013:

Stay tuned for the rest of this series.