SFI External Professor Mark Newman (University of Michigan) has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Society announced on May 10, 2022.
Newman conducts research in statistical physics and the theory of complex networks and has applied his ideas to topics as diverse as how diseases spread in humans and viruses in computers, the food webs that describe energy flows in ecosystems, and the social networks of people and animals. He is the author of Networks, now in its second edition, published by Oxford University Press, as well as six other books and is also the inventor of a map projection that has helped add nuance to demographics and election results, among other things.
The Royal Society writes that Newman “has made foundational contributions to the study of networked systems such as technological, social and biological networks, using mathematical and computational methods adapted from theoretical physics.”
Newman is among 61 new members named to the Royal Society as Fellows this year, each “selected for their outstanding contributions to science.” Previous awardees include External Faculty member Mark Pagel, former Science Board member Lord Martin Rees, and the late Lord Robert May, former Chair of the Science Board.
"I'm truly honored by this fantastic recognition, which I share with all the incredible students and other colleagues I've worked with, including the many wonderful collaborators I've met throughout my 25 years as part of the SFI community," says Newman.
The Royal Society, founded in 1660, is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Its goals are to “expand the frontiers of knowledge by championing the development and use of science, mathematics, engineering, and medicine for the benefit of humanity and the good of the planet.”