About Us

Image: 

The objective of the Yale Institute for Network Science (YINS) is to produce and disseminate knowledge related to network science, in all its forms and applications, and to make Yale a leader in the area.

Network phenomena are now studied in many disciplines, including engineering, computer science, sociology, economics, political science, biology, physics, medicine, public health, and management.  Hence, the study of networks is dramatically transforming scientific fields traversing Engineering and the Social and Natural Sciences.  Reflecting this diversity, YINS was created with support from the Provost’s office after a proposal from a working group spearheaded by Dan Spielman (Department of Computer Science), Sekhar Tatikonda (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), Dirk Bergemann (Department of Economics), and Julia Adams (Department of Sociology). The Institute was founded in 2013 under the leadership of Co-Directors Dan Spielman and Nicholas Christakis (Sociology).

Not surprisingly, YINS is home to researchers hailing from different disciplines and schools across Yale University. Affiliated faculty and other researchers share many common technical and scientific challenges. These include: developing statistical and computational tools for processing big data; developing new models for complex networks; understanding how networks dynamically change in time; developing techniques for learning and inference in networks; developing methodologies for the design of networks; understanding diffusion processes (of germs, information, behaviors, etc.,) in networks; and understanding emergent behavior (i.e., how local interactions can lead to global phenomena).  Hence, one goal of YINS is to expose researchers from across the university to the phenomena, measurements, methodologies, and challenges of diverse disciplines.