About the Chair
Learn more about the Chair of Complexity Science and the work that we are conducting.
The Chair in Complexity Science was established at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 2024. Professor Markus Luczak-Roesch is the inaugural holder of the Chair.
Our purpose
In the year 2000, Stephen Hawking said that the twenty-first century would be "the century of complexity". He meant that discoveries in our current time would not be defined by one traditional discipline—instead, we must look to a new, post-disciplinary field.
The Chair in Complexity Science contributes to the advancement of complexity science by connecting knowledge and methods from computer science, physics, mathematics, cognitive science, social science, and the humanities.
The purpose of the Chair is to spark collaborative enquiry and lead to the development of appropriate methods and tools for the problems of our time.
By examining the relationships that establish and develop in complex systems, we gain new perspectives on a wide range of domains, including the machinery of government, climate, the economy, cities, mobility, health and disease, cultural evolution, the biosphere, and the infosphere.
Read more about complexity on our Research page.
Our modelling and analysis approach enables a data-driven exploration of:
- how complex systems come about
- how they will respond to change
- whether they will resist or collapse under disruption
- what interventions can direct these systems to a state that is better for Aoteaora New Zealand and the world.
Complexity and Connection Science Lab
The Chair in Complexity Science hosts the Complexity and Connection Science Lab. This lab extends the core group of students and researchers that are affiliated with the Chair to collaborators and guest researchers that want to be part of the collaborative, stimulating, and safe environment we provide to bring complexity science into their work and fields.
Learn more about the Complexity and Connection Science Lab.