Stefan Thurner
Science Steering Committee, External Professor
Stefan is full professor for Science of Complex Systems at the Medical University of Vienna, where he chairs Section for Science of Complex Systems. Since 2015 he serves as the president of the Complexity Science Hub Vienna, an Institution dedicated to the science of complex systems in Europe.
Stefan obtained a PhD in theoretical physics from the Technical University of Vienna and a PhD in economics from the University of Vienna. He held postdoc positions at Humboldt University of Berlin and Boston University before joining the faculty of the University of Vienna and later Medical University. Stefan started his career with contributions to theoretical particle physics and gradually shifted his research focus to the understanding of complex systems.
Stefan has published more than 200 scientific articles in theoretical physics (topological excitations in quantum field theories, statistics and entropy of complex systems), applied mathematics (wavelet statistics, fractal harmonic analysis, anomalous diffusion), network theory, evolutionary dynamics, life sciences (network medicine, gene regulatory networks, bioinformatics, heart beat dynamics, cell motility), economics and finance (price formation, regulation, systemic risk) and in social sciences (opinion formation, bureaucratic inefficiency, collective human behavior, efficiency of healthcare systems). He holds two patents.
His work has been covered by media such as the New York Times, BBC world, Nature, New Scientist, Physics World, and is featured in more than 500 newspaper, radio and television reports. Stefan was elected Austrian “scientist of the year” in 2018.
Apart from science, Stefan has been active in consulting for various institutions and continues to play the clarinet enthusiastically.
Topics of Interest: Agent-based Modeling - Economics - Evolution - Finance - Health - Network Theory - Risk & Uncertainty - Scaling - Strategy/Decision Making
Other Affiliations and Institutions: Complexity Science Hub, Vienna (President)
How SFI changes your mind: by listening to SFI researchers
When and how you first got involved with SFI: 1999, following an invitation by Geoffrey West
Favorite Film: Most of Fellini