When: 3:00-4:00pm on July 29, 2025 (Tuesday)

Where: CSF-1203, ECE Boardroom, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

Seminar Title: Topological Significance Meets Machine Learning: Pinpointing Influential Nodes in Complex Networks

Seminar Abstract:

What connects data packets moving on the Internet, search engine rankings, online social networks, disease spread, chemical reactions, financial markets, and research collaborations? The answer lies in network science, which studies how these diverse systems are structured and evolve. This talk reviews how network thinking shifts research from studying isolated parts to understanding interconnected wholes. A central question in this domain is how to identify the most critical nodes in a network, whether for stopping epidemics, optimizing information flow, or preventing cyberattacks. We examine localized heuristic approaches and machine learning techniques to pinpoint these key players and understand their impact on network stability and efficiency.

Biography of the Speaker:

YUANZHU CHEN received the B.Sc. degree from Peking University in 1999, and the Ph.D. degree from Simon Fraser University in 2004. He has been a Professor of computing science since 2005 and is currently affiliated with School of Computing, Queen's University. From 2004 to 2005, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher with Simon Fraser University. In 2005, Dr. Chen joined Memorial University as Assistant Professor. While at Memorial, he was the Deputy Head for Undergraduate Studies and for Graduate Studies from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2019, respectively, and Department Head from 2019 to 2021. He then joined Queen's School of Computing in 2021. Dr. Chen's research interests include complex networks, computer networking, online social networks, mobile computing, graph theory, and evolutionary computation, with funding from national agencies and various university programs and awards. He was a recipient of the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2018, and is an IEEE Senior Member.