Welcome to Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation!
Visit our "About' section for more information about the Institute. For more about complex systems in general, and how WICI core members are applying complex systems in their work, be sure to watch the short videos on our "What are complex systems" page.
If you haven't already, please subscribe to our mailing list to be notified directly about WICI’s events and news.
If you have any general inquiries, please contact us at wici@uwaterloo.ca and we will do our best to assist you or connect you with someone who can.
News
WICI cohosting AMMCS-ALIFE Congress Waterloo, August 2026
The Waterloo Institute for Complexity (WICI) is pleased to announce that we will cohost the premier International Conference on Artificial Life next year, 17-21 August 2026. The conference theme for ALIFE 2026 is "Living and Lifelike Complex Adaptive Systems".
The ALIFE meeting will be held jointly with the prestigious Applied Mathematics, Modeling and Computational Science (AMMCS) conference at Wilfrid Laurier University, as part of the AMMCS-ALIFE Congress.
From Particles to Markets: Complex Systems Across Disciplines
The Waterloo Institute for Complexity & Innovation (WICI) is pleased to host Complexity Day, a cross‑disciplinary gathering exploring how complex systems thinking connects mathematics, physics, and economics.
May 13, 2026 | PSE 7303
This special event will feature two distinguished speakers whose work spans theory, systems modeling, and real‑world implications of complexity:
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At 11:30 am, Dr. Carey King
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At 2:00 pm, Dr. Eric De Giuli
Together, these talks will offer complementary perspectives on how nonlinear dynamics, emergence, and constraints shape systems across scales—from physical matter to economies and infrastructures. Complexity Day is designed to foster dialogue across disciplines and highlight shared tools, questions, and insights within complexity science. The talks are accessible to a wide audience.
To join us, please register on each speaker's event page.
New WISIR Director Announcement
Dr. Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed Appointed Director of the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR)
The Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR) is pleased to announce that Dr. Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed has been appointed as its new Director.
Events
WICI Talk with Dr. Carey King
“Energy and Economic Complexity: Insights from Data and Macroeconomic Modeling”
Faculty Hall, PSE 7303 | May 13, 2026 | 11:30 am
WICI Talk with Dr. Eric De Giuli
"Complexity, noise, and control"
Faculty Hall, PSE 7303 | May 13, 2026 | 2:00 pm
ALiFE 2026
ALIFE 2026 will be held jointly with the AMMCS 2026 conference, giving participants the unique opportunity to attend sessions and talks across both events.
Visit the Conference webpage for more details.