Yuanzhao Zhang (章元肇)

I am a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Physics at Northwestern University, advised by Adilson E. Motter. I study networks, which is the science of interactions. When microscopic entities interact, they can often coordinate with each other and achieve a macroscopic impact. Think of birds flocking together to confuse predators, cardiac pacemakers beating synchronously to create rhythmic impulses, and the decisions of millions of investors confluence to drive the financial market. My research aims to understand the underlying mechanisms behind such collective behaviors. From power grids and circadian clocks to cluster synchronization and chimera states, we have much to learn when it comes to relations between a network’s structure, dynamics, and function. I draw techniques from dynamical systems, graph theory, statistical mechanics, and collaborate with experimental colleagues to help uncover these relations and better harness the potential of our increasingly interconnected world.