Math Modeling Seminar: Bounded-Confidence Models of Opinion Dynamics on Networks

Math Modeling Seminar
Bounded-Confidence Models of Opinion Dynamics on Networks

Mason Porter
Professor, Department of Mathematics
University of California, Los Angeles

You may attend this lecture in person at 2300 Gosnell Hall or virtually via Zoom.
If you’d like to attend virtually, you may register here for Zoom link.

Abstract:
I will discuss the modeling of opinion dynamics on various types of networks. After introducing some general questions and ideas in the field, I will focus on bounded-confidence models (BCMs), in which nodes have continuous-valued opinions and update those opinions when they interact with nodes with sufficiently similar opinions. I will discuss various generalizations of BCMs and examine how they affect consensus, polarization, and fragmentation of opinions on BCMs.

Speaker Bio:
Mason A. Porter is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA. He earned his B.S. in Applied Mathematics at Caltech in 1998 and his Ph.D. from the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University in 2002. After postdoctoral positions at Georgia Tech, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, and Caltech, Mason joined the faculty in the Mathematical Institute at University of Oxford in 2007. He moved to UCLA in 2016. Mason studies many topics in complex systems, networks, and nonlinear systems. Twenty-five PhD students have completed their doctorates under Mason's mentorship, and he has also mentored many postdoctoral scholars and undergraduate students. In 2017, Mason received the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Faculty Mentoring Award (Advanced Career Category) in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division. Mason is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, American Physical Society, and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Read more here.

Intended Audience:
Undergraduates, graduates, and experts. Those with interest in the topic.

The Math Modeling Seminar will recur each week throughout the semester on the same day and time. Find out more about upcoming speakers on the Mathematical Modeling Seminar Series webpage.
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