• Crisis resilience
• Crisis & disaster response
• Information management
• Collective Intelligence
• Rigorous development of empirically-embedded ABMs, SDMs, and multi-models
• Model-based policy support
• Participatory multi-modeling

Key research interests are how to build models of complex human behaviour.
My PhD research project was focussed on building a model of the process by which people develop the propensity to commit acts of crime or terrorism, from which came a computer simulation of the radicalisation process.
My current research interest is on creating models of cyber threats.

How to model it: Ecological models, in particular simulation models, often seem to be formulated ad hoc and only poorly analysed. I am therefore interested in strategies and methods for making ecological modelling more coherent and efficient. The ultimate aim is to develop preditive models that provide mechanstic understanding of ecological systems and that are transparent and structurally realistic enough to support environmental decision making.

Pattern-oriented modelling: This is a general strategy of using multiple patterns observed in real systems as multiple criteria for chosing model structure, selecting among alternative submodels, and inversely determining entire sets of unknown model parameters.

Individual-based and agent-based modelling: For many, if not most, ecological questions individual-level aspects can be decisive for explaining system-level behavior. IBM/ABMs allow to represent individual heterogeneity, local interactions, and/or adaptive behaviour

Ecological theory and concepts: I am particularly interested in exploring stability properties like resilience and persistence.

Modelling for ecological applications: Pattern-oriented modelling allows to develop structurally realistic models, which can be used to support decision making and the management of biodiversity and natural resources. Currently, I am involved in the EU project CREAM, where a suite of population models is developed for pesticide risk assessment.

Standards for model communication and formulation: In 2006, we published a general protocol for describing individual- and agent-based models, called the ODD protocol (Overview, Design concepts, details). ODD turned out to be more useful (and needed) than we expected.

Currently I develop ABM models to follow up issues raised in my previous research on trade between hunting groups and long-distance trade, territoriality and migration patterns.

Dissertation: Narrative Generation for Agent-Based Models

Abstract: This dissertation proposes a four-level framework for thinking about having agent-based models (ABM) generate narrative describing their behavior, and then provides examples of models that generate narrative at each of those levels. In addition, “interesting” agents are identified in order to direct the attention of researchers to the narratives most likely to be worth spending their time reviewing. The focus is on developing techniques for generating narrative based on agent actions and behavior, on techniques for generating narrative describing aggregate model behavior, and on techniques for identifying “interesting” agents. Examples of each of these techniques are provided in two different ABMs, Zero-Intelligence Traders (Gode & Sunder, 1993, 1997) and Sugarscape (Epstein & Axtell, 1996).

My research focuses pn the intersection between game theory, social networks, and multi-agent simulations. The objectives of this scientific endeavor are to inform policy makers, generate new technological applications, and bring new insight into human and non-human social behavior. My research focus is on the transformation of cultural conventions, such as signaling and lexical forms, and on many cell models models of stem cell derived clonal colony.

Because the models I analyze are formally defined using game theory and network theory, I am able to approach them with different methods that range from stochastic process analysis to multi-agent simulations.

Didier’s Research:
are related to interoperability and conflation models in geospatial analysis and integrated modelling applications, particularly in the context of spatial data infrastructures such as GEOSS. This translates to a focus on geospatial statistics, geospatial patterns, outbreak detection and geospatial data mining in general, but also to data quality and uncertainty propagation principles in relation to geoworkflows connected to/using web services. Didier’s research centres on environmental agro-ecological geospatial models, and public health and spatial epidemiology applications. (see website)

Analyzing economic dynamics through game theory and agent based evolutionary models. My research topics go from dynamics of organizations to industrial dynamics, macroeconomic dynamics and economic policy analysis.

I am working on agent-based modeling, and more precisely on the development of tools to help people (in particular non computer scientists) to develop their own models. I am one of the main developer of the GAMA platform.