Faculty Profile :: Zoltan Toroczkai

Dr. Zoltan Toroczkai, an Associate Professor of Physics, is a young and very prominent researcher in the area of network science and its applications to social and biological sciences. Before arriving at Notre Dame in June 2006, he was the Deputy Director for the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the premier institutions in interdisciplinary research.

Dr. Toroczkai's research recently has focused on the fundamental understanding of networks and their applications to the spread of viruses and biological agents of major importance for bioterrorism. His papers are published by the most prestigious scientific journals, like Nature and Science, and he has edited a book on Complex Networks.

In addition, he is a skilled organizer. As the deputy director of CNLS, he oversaw a very exciting research program involving about 25 postdoctoral associates and a yearly graduate research program (about 20 students), a visitor program involving over 200 visitors a year, a conference and outreach program with about 10 workshops/year and one annual conference. In addition to his previous CNLS duties, he was the PI of a major laboratory directed research program on Infrastructure Networks for 2 years, which involved a funding of $4.5 million and approximately 16 laboratory research staff members.

His presence at Notre Dame will not only strengthen the network biology program, which is currently the most cited research program at Notre Dame, but his wide interests will also create synergies between physics, biology, biochemistry and computer science. Among his research and teaching responsibilities, he is coordinating an International Workshop and Conference on Network Science to take place at the New York Hall of Science on May 20-25, 2007 (http://www.nd.edu/~netsci/).

Zoltan Toroczkai has been appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, a publication for multi-disciplinary research addressing foundational and computational aspects of interaction and coordination of economic agents. This appointment is especially noteworthy because a physicist has been appointed to an economy journal board, a reflection of his standing in this new important field. His area of network research has many potential applications from understanding the spread of disease to the interaction of auctions and many other applications.

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Prof. Toroczkai's research highlights