“Dynamics of Social Networks Modeled as Networks of Interacting Communities”

Location: LTS Auditorium, 8080 Greenmead Drive

Speaker:
Eyad Abed
UMD Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Institute for Systems Research

Abstract:
Contagion dynamics in large populations is a topic of direct relevance in a variety of important applications, including infectious disease propagation; the spread of ideas, opinions and rumors in social networks; and the propagation of computer viruses.

This subject, which has received significant attention over the years, was originally aimed at understanding epidemic outbreaks of infectious disease. These models can consist of fine-grained approaches in which every individual in the population is modeled explicitly, or can employ aggregate models in which simple dynamical models are used.

In this talk, some important developments in this theory will be highlighted, followed by a presentation and analysis of a new dynamic model. This approach yields a dynamical model for contagion that is of moderate size and reflects both heterogeneous and homogeneous features of a large population. The model includes continuous models of a finite number of homogeneous communities, and a backbone network structure that connects these communities. It can be used to obtain conditions for epidemic outbreak and considers control problems for influencing the strength of a contagion.

Bio:
Eyad Abed in a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMD.

His research focuses on system and control theory. Abed has made contributions to several applications, including power systems, power electronics, Internet congestion control, and more.

Abed has served as vice president for financial activities of the IEEE Control Systems Society. He is an IEEE Fellow, and a recipient of several awards, including the Presidential Young Investigator Award, the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award, a Senior Fulbright Scholar Award, and the Alan Berman Research Publication Award .

Abed is also a program director in the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems at the National Science Foundation.

He received his doctoral degree from University of California, Berkeley in electrical engineering.