Vicky C Yang

Thanks @mitsloan for covering our recent paper on function diversity across complex systems mitsloan.mit.edu/press/new-stud…

Thanks @sfiscience for an accessible coverage of our paper! @hyejin_youn

Through modeling the growth process and empirically estimating key parameters, we find that while systems differ in how they add new functions, once a function is introduced, its growth follows a common sublinear preferential attachment process.

New paper in PNAS: We find Heaps' law, empirical regularity first identified in how diversity of vocabulary scales in books, also describes function diversity in cells and many human organizations (with cities being a notable exception). w/ @sfiscience pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

PhD applications at @MITSloan are live! 🎓 Deadline is Dec 1. If you’re excited about social system modeling research and want to work with me or our other fantastic faculty, we’d love to see your application to the system dynamics group! mitsloan.mit.edu/programs/phd/a…

Collaborate with researchers from around the world. Chart your own transdisciplinary path. Applications for the 2026 Santa Fe Institute Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships are open! With competitive salary, collaborative and discretionary funds, a generous benefits package including paid leave, the SFI Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowship offers early-career scholars the opportunity to become leaders in the field of transdisciplinary research. Deadline: October 1, 2025 Requirements & application: santafe.edu/sfifellowship

@mingzhen_lu @JSMF Wow. Did we start this project from a *remote* conference?? @TylerMarghetis

Has been a learning journey itself, @JSMF-SFI santafe.edu/news-center/ne…

How do we enter and exit moments of deep engagement? How do multiple episodes of flow-like deep engagement weave into the joys and pains, downs and ups of skill mastery? A formula for a life of learning? nature.com/articles/s4426… @VickyCYang @TylerMarghetis

Mastering a skill can take decades, but the learning process unfolds across multiple timescales, from mere moments to days. A new paper by three former SFI postdoctoral fellows presents a theoretical model of nested timescales of learning, offering a unified, multi-scale account of skill acquisition. The study grew from a conversation between co-authors @mingzhen_lu, @VickyCYang, and @TylerMarghetis during SFI's 2020 Postdocs in Complexity conference. santafe.edu/news-center/ne…

Excited to share our new paper in @Nature_NPJ Complexity! We propose a unified, multiscale model of skill acquisition—linking moments to decades. Ideated at the @sfiscience -@JSMF conference research jam, and years (many revisions) later, it’s finally out. nature.com/articles/s4426…

Big thanks to Faye Flam and @Bloomberg for the thoughtful interview and excellent article on polarization. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

The Santa Fe Institute is hiring full-time resident faculty! We’re looking for applicants with outstanding academic accomplishments in their own field who also engage other disciplines in deep ways. Our faculty are broad, creative, and catalytic thinkers who are willing to take risks. They excel at communication and collaboration and are looking to break new ground in addressing some of science and society’s most challenging problems. Apply by Friday, March 28, 2025. santafe.edu/about/jobs/res…

Microsoft's Computational Social Science group may have the opportunity to hire one researcher Senior: 0-3 yrs post PhD jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/job/… Principal: 3+ yrs post PhD jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/job/… Please note: our ability to hire this season is not certain

Thanks SFI for doing a nice re-cap of our paper!

We hope this motivates rethinking of urban scaling models to integrate global & local effects. Paper (w/ @JakeJJacksonRI & Chris Kempes) at @PNASNexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/arti…

New paper on urban scaling & global connections. We show global connectivity (through multinational firms), plays a significant role in GDP. After accounting for global connectivity, effect of population is no longer distinguishable from linear.

1.5 week left to apply for the PhD program at MIT Sloan in System Dynamics! Deadline Dec 1. More info/apply here: mitsloan.mit.edu/programs/phd/a…

The structure at Sloan is different from the lab structure at most engineering schools---students are not tied to/funded by any particular faculty. So students have unparalleled freedom to choose who they want to work with and bring in their own project ideas.

PhD student opening at MIT Sloan System Dynamics! Seeking aspiring social system modelers (esp. dynamical system), wanting to take the social sciences seriously. Generous fellowship funding, free to work with me or any of our talented SD faculty. mitsloan.mit.edu/programs/phd/e…

Interested students should apply directly on the Sloan link included in the 1st post (please select system dynamics). Deadline is Dec 1. Individual faculty (like myself) is not able to evaluate applications on our own.

🎓 Exciting News! Our symposium, "Toward a General Theory of the Organization: From Cells to Societies," is selected as a showcase symposium at #AOM2024 Join us 🗓️ Tue, Aug 13 ⏰ 11:30AM - 1:00PM📍 Swissotel Zurich C cdmcd.co/XKpkDj