Excerpt

The behavior of nonlinear dynamical systems has been the unifying theme of my own nonlinear academic trajectory. Beginning as an undergraduate chemical engineer, I ended up with a PhD in theoretical physics, and roughly ten years later transmogrified into a professor of biology at Princeton University. I believe the ways in which system risks can arise, and propagate, in different settings is best seen from many different perspectives. And it is increasingly clear that such a view of complex adaptive systems is critical to our future well-being, as we are indeed engulfed in complex, and often coupled, systems, from our environment to our social networks and our financial systems.

In my own subject of ecology, SFI has been a major player in understanding systemic risk, particularly in studies of the nonrandom network structures whereby real-world ecosystems reconcile complexity (many species interacting with each other) with persistence in naturally fluctuating environments. Given the additional shocks being imposed on ecological systems by human activities—overexploitation, habitat destruction, alien introductions, all compounded by climate change—such understanding is increasingly important. It is especially so as we strive to maintain a multitude of ecosystem services, not counted in conventional assessment of gross domestic product but upon which we depend. In this general area, SFI professors such as Jennifer Dunne, Mercedes Pascual, and others are among the best in the business.

This is only one of several major areas where SFI’s “clean sheet of paper” approach to complicated problems has been important. It is my belief, however, that the recent—and continuing—worries about the performance of financial markets present SFI with its greatest-yet challenge and concomitant opportunity.

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