Title: Topology driven methods for complex systems modeling, an alternative approach to machine learning. Theory and some examples. Abstract: Many complex systems are characterized by multi-level properties that make the study of their dynamics and of their emerging phenomena a daunting task. The huge amount of data available in modern sciences can be expected to support great progress in these studies, even though the nature of the data varies. Given that, it is crucial to extract as much as possible features from data, including qualitative (topological) ones. The goal of TOPDRIM project has been to provide methods driven by the topology of data for describing the dynamics of multi-level complex systems. To this end, the project has developed new mathematical and computational formalisms accounting for topological effects. To pursue these objectives, the project brought together scientists from many diverse fields including as topology and geometry, statistical physics and information theory, computer science and biology. The proposed methods, obtained through concerted efforts, covered different aspects of the science of complexity ranging from foundations, to simulations through modelling and analysis, and constituted the building blocks for a new generalized theory of complexity. This seminar introduces the fundamentals behind the topological data analysis and through some applications developed both in the biomedical and financial field, presents the TOPDRIM methodology for going beyond the concept of networks by considering simplicial complexes instead. Speakers: Prof. Emanuela Merelli and Dr. Marco Piangerelli (University of Camerino, Computer Science Division) Host: Prof. Andrea Danani (IDSIA) Short bios of the speakers: Emanuela Merelli is a full professor of Computer Science at the University of Camerino. She founded the BioShape & Big Data laboratory conceived for young researchers with multidisciplinary interests in developing formal and computational methods to understand the complex behaviour of biological systems. She has been the coordinator of the TOPDRIM FP7-FET project and the partner of LITBIO (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Technologies in Bioinformatics) Italian FIRB project. Currently, she is collaborating with Mario Rasetti for launching a new program on topological field theory of data with the aim to pave the way for automata synthesis as recognizers of data languages hidden in a given topological data space. Emanuela published many papers in refereed international journals and is continuously involved in the organization of events with an interdisciplinary character. Marco Piangerelli is a biomedical engineer, received his doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Camerino, under the supervision of Prof. Emanuela Merelli. He is currently a post-doc and contract professor at the same university where he deals with machine learning and topological data analysis. When: Friday, 15th February, 12:00-13:00 Location: Manno, Galleria 1, 2nd floor, room G1-201 Doodle registration: Pizza and drinks will be offered at the end of the talk. If you plan to attend, please register in a timely fashion at the following link so that we will have no shortage of food. https://doodle.com/poll/xx3zbunaehgm287u