ECE 60270 - Structure and Dynamics of Large-Scale Networks

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3

Counts as:

Normally Offered:

Each Spring

Campus/Online:

On-campus only

Requisites:

ECE 30200, MA 26500 or 26200 or equivalents

Requisites by Topic:

Undergraduate probability and linear algebra

Catalog Description:

Large-scale networks are prevalent in both engineered systems (e.g., the Internet, the power grid, industrial control networks, large robotic swarms and sensor networks) and in natural systems (e.g., genetic networks, ecological networks, social and economic networks). While the specific details of such networks will depend on the application, the last few decades have seen the emergence of an underlying "science'' of networks, comprised of a common language (graph theory) for representing large-scale networks, along with mathematical models and analytical techniques for studying structure and dynamics. This course will provide a detailed introduction to the field of network science. It will develop common mathematical representations of networks, metrics for identifying important features of networks, generative mechanisms for networks (including both random-graph and strategic network formation perspectives), and tools for studying dynamical processes on networks (such as information cascades, opinion dynamics and interconnected dynamical systems).

Required Text(s):

None.

Recommended Text(s):

  1. Complex Graphs and Networks , F. Chung and L. Lu , American Mathematical Society , 2006
  2. Epidemics and Rumours in Complex Networks , M. Draief and L. Massoulie , The London Mathematical Society , 2009 , ISBN No. 978-0521734431
  3. Graphical Evolution: An Introduction to the Theory of Random Graphs , E. M. Palmer , Wiley & Sons , 1985 , ISBN No. 978-0471815778
  4. Networks, Crowds and Markets , D. Easley and J. Kleinberg , Cambridge University Press, , 2010 , ISBN No. 978-0521195331
  5. Networks: An Introduction , M. E. J. Newman , Oxford University Press , 2010 , ISBN No. 978-0199206650
  6. Social and Economic Networks , M. O. Jackson , Princeton University Press , 2008 , ISBN No. 978-0691148205

Lecture Outline:

Week(s) Lecture Topics
1 Introduction, examples of large-scale networks and networked systems
1 Mathematics of networks: matrix representations, graph theory, network classifications
1 Network metrics: node centralities, PageRank, degree distributions
3 Random graph models for large networks: Erdos-Renyi graphs, power-law graphs, small world graphs, phase transitions
2 Strategic/game-theoretic models for large networks: distance-based utilities, pairwise stability
3 Dynamical processes on networks: contagion and cascades, bootstrap percolation, viral marketing and epidemic processes, opinion dynamics
2 Networked dynamical systems: connective stability, structural controllability and observability
2 Project Presentations

Assessment Method:

Homework, exams, project