Biological systems of every scale, from ecological to molecular, exhibit tremendous complexity. Examples include water systems, erosion, ecological dynamics, wildlife
and revegitation dynamics, infectious diseases, population dynamics, agriculture/pestilence cycles, symbiosis, immunology, bioregulation, protein structure analysis, molecular and cellular signaling and dynamics, toxicology, bioinformatics, phylogenetics, evolutionary dynamics, and cardiac, respiratory, and circadian rhythms.
However, advances in various forms of instrumentation, whether technological or genetic, have created more data about these systems than ever before. The CBES
lab considers questions related to the modeling, analysis, and control of these systems.

Economic and business systems, such as retail, real estate, and capital markets, have become highly instrumented in recent years. As a result, there is a
tremendous amount of data available, yet the complexity of such systems has made them difficult to effectively model and control. The Computational
Economics Financial Systems Laboratory (CEFS) develops methods for using accessible data to compute operational policies, such as pricing, promotion,
inventory management, portfolio optimization, etc. These policies are then tested on novel learning platforms developed at IDeA Labs, such as our Retail
Laboratory and Tour de France virtual fund management system.

Laboratory Platforms:         Retail Laboratory        Tour de Finance

Optimization, and the design and analysis of engineered systems, are particularly challenging and important examples of making decisions from data.
Whether optimizing scheduling policies in a factory, controlling the growth of nanoscale films, improving traffic systems, stabilizing lasers, designing
chemical process controls, or maneuvering walking/rolling/flying robots, these systems are everywhere. The ORES lab investigates computational
requirements and algorithm development related to the design, control, and optimization of such systems. Working with the CEFS Lab, supply chains,
inventory control, logistics, and distribution systems, etc. are also relevant to the ORES Lab’s focus. Working with the CBES Lab, drug, molecular,
and genetic design are also applicable, while working with the PSHS Lab, health services, urban planning, emergency response, and human security
systems are fitting targets for our analysis.

Human interaction forms some of the most dynamic and intriguing examples of complex systems. Whether governmental policies; electoral procedures;
legal systems; conflict situations; education processes; or language, media, and cultural dynamics, the ways we behave and interact define human
procedures for making decisions from data. Sometimes we characterize these procedures as intelligent, just, or effective, while other times we criticize
their performance. This lab explores the way information is processed by these systems and seeks to define better modes of interaction to achieve
various purposes. By focusing on decision processes in these inherently multi-agent systems, a number of abstract concepts such as competition,
cooperation, persuasion, and deception can be rigorously analyzed..