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NICO

@nicoatnu.bsky.social
192 followers 48 following 36 posts

The Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) incubates innovative collaborations that leverage complexity, networks, and data science.

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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Announcing our Fall 2026 Wednesdays@NICO seminar series! What can complexity science tell us about AI, networks, and human behavior? Find out starting September 30, each Wednesday at 12 PM US Central. More info: bit.ly/WedatNICO #WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #AI
A flyer for the Wednesdays@NICO Fall 2026 Seminar Series, running from September 30 to November 11, 2026.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
What happens between a spark of an idea and a lasting scientific collaboration? A new Sloan Foundation-supported project at NICO will study how ideas emerge, evolve, and ultimately become research partnerships. Read more: bit.ly/4qRAi1D #ComplexSystems #TeamScience
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Award Will Let NICO Researchers Listen in on Scientific Brainstorms
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NUCATS Institute @nucatsinstitute.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
A team approach from NUCATS & NICO brought together faculty from across Northwestern to spark new collaborations—including one team whose idea was awarded $50,000 in seed funding. 🌱👥 @feinberg.northwestern.edu ⬇️
spr.ly
NUCATS x NICO Symposium Sparks Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Feinberg Home > NUCATS Home > About > News & Events > 2026 > NUCATS x NICO Symposium Sparks Multidisciplinary Collaboration A novel, team-focused approach is bringing together faculty from across Northwestern to identify previously unexplored collaboration opportunities.
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Science Magazine @science.org · 21/05/2026
"The critical question is not whether AI can 'do' science but whether science—as a social, evolutionary system that generates trustworthy knowledge—survives the way AI does it," write Julio M. Ottino and Brian Uzzi in a new #ScienceEditorial. scim.ag/4wDybRP
A quote on a black background reads, "These ... are not inefficiencies to be engineered away." It is attributed to Julio M. Ottino and Brian Uzzi from Northwestern University.
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Kellogg School of Management @kelloggschoolnu.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Level up your AI game. 🕹️ In this episode of The Insightful Leader podcast, Professors Brian Uzzi, Matt Groh and Julio Ottino break down three keys to using AI effectively. Listen now in KelloggInsight: kell.gg/6ad232
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Reese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
How much does it cost to buy your way onto a scientific paper? To answer this question (and better understand the global market for academic reputation manipulation), we compiled BuyTheBy, a massive dataset of thousands of advertisements from paper mills in seven different countries. Link below!
A boxplot with authorship slot (1st author through 5th author) on the x axis and price in USD on the y axis. Prices are split by paper mill of origin.
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Kellogg School of Management @kelloggschoolnu.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
To innovate, business leaders must build bridges between artists and engineers. But where can they start? At Kellogg Insight, Prof. Julio M. Ottino offers three tips to help organizations connect creative and systematic thinkers. kell.gg/a10a11
kell.gg
The Recipe for Innovation? An Alliance Between Art and Science.
Three tips to help organizations build bridges between creative and systematic thinkers.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
How do structural inequities across layers of social context drive HIV? This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @michellebirkett.bsky.social from the Feinberg School of Medicine, COMPASS, and @impactinstitute.bsky.social. 🗓️ Wed 4/22 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for the Wednesdays @ NICO Seminar Series, on 4/22 featuring Michelle Birkett from the Feinberg School of Medicine.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Does nature have a universal rhythm? In a new study published in PLOS Biology, NICO researchers Guy Amichay and Daniel Abrams find that communication signals across a wide range of species tend to repeat at about 2 hertz, or roughly two beats per second.
A field at night full of fireflies.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Announcing our spring seminar speakers! Starting April 8th, we are excited to host an interdisciplinary set of talks by researchers from Pitt, CMU, Northwestern, CVG, Leibniz Institute, and UPenn. Join us each Wed at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO #WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
An event flyer for the Wednesdays @ NICO spring seminar series, starting on April 8, 2026 through May 20, 2026.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Breaking down barriers between disciplines such as art and science is a key component to #innovation, says Julio M. Ottino in @kellogginsight.bsky.social. Business leaders play a role in this by fostering a culture of curiosity. insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/reci...
insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu
The Recipe for Innovation? An Alliance Between Art and Science.
Three tips to help organizations build bridges between creative and systematic thinkers.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Social media and large language models are reshaping scholarly communication. This Wednesday, NICO is excited to host Ágnes Horvát to discuss "The Academic Use of Social Media, LLMs and #AI Assisted Decision-Making". 🗓️ Wed 3/4 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for a Wednesdays@NICO seminar on March 4, 2026, with Ágnes Horvát from the Northwestern School of Communication.
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Dashun Wang @dashunwang.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
AI agents are "airplanes for the mind" - check out my latest piece in Nature. The question is not whether machines replace scientists, but what kind of scientist emerges when we learn to fly. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
AI agents are ‘aeroplanes for the mind’: five ways to ensure that scientists are responsible pilots
As artificial-intelligence systems take on more of the scientific workflow, the central goal should not be complete automation, but designing platforms that preserve creativity, responsibility and sur...
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Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
AI makes continuous reproducibility and robustness testing trivial. What happens to science under new levels of scrutiny and stress-testing by default? Some thoughts on how this could play out, informed by watching open science play out over the last decade.
open.substack.com
Living the metascience dream (or nightmare) with AI for science
What happens when we go from replication crisis to robustness extremes?
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
"Transforming Research and Innovation for Acutely Ill Children". This Wed, NICO is thrilled to host Dr. Todd Florin & Dr. Nelson Sanchez-Pinto, to discuss research collaboration between clinicians, engineers, computer scientists, and data scientists. 🗓️ Wed 2/25 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for Wednesdays at NICO on 2/25/26 with Todd Florin and Nelson Sanchez-Pinto from Lurie Children's Hospital.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Do human differences persist and scale when decisions are delegated to #AI agents? This Wednesday, NICO is excited to welcome @aleximas.bsky.social to discuss how the agentic economy can inherit, transform, and may even amplify, human heterogeneity. 🗓️ Wed 2/18 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 2/18/26 featuring Alex Imas from the University of Chicago. "Agentic Interactions"
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Matt Groh @mattgroh.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
🚨 New in @natmachintell.nature.com 🚨 We collected 9000+ annotations of empathic communication in convos from experts, crowds & LLMs across 4 NLP/comms/psych frameworks LLM judgment exceeds crowds' reliability & nearly matches experts Soft skills can now be reliably measured by LLMs 🧵
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
"Science in the Age of AI". This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @chenhaotan.bsky.social from U of Chicago to share recent advances in #AI enabled hypothesis generation and research evaluation. 🗓️ Wed 2/11 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 2/11/26 featuring Chenhao Tan of the University of Chicago.
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Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I wrote about what it means to keep writing when more language feels like the last thing we need--as a computer scientist, but also as a writer.
open.substack.com
Softly, effectively, in the age of AI
On dolphins and disobedience
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Announcing our winter seminar speakers! Starting February 4th, with talks by leading researchers from Yale, U of Chicago, Lurie Children's Hospital, and Northwestern. Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO #WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
An event flyer for the Wednesdays@NICO winter speaker series, starting February 4 and running through March 11, 2026.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
TONIGHT: We are kicking off the winter with our monthly #DataScience Nights, featuring a talk by Moh Hosseinioun on how #AI is reshaping the practice of science. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! 📅 1/29 at 5:30pm, Tech M416, Evanston 📷 bit.ly/nico-dsn
An event flyer for Data Science Nights on January 29, 2026, featuring Moh Hosseinioun discussing "AI Reshapes the Practice of Science: Evidence from Two Decades of Research Proposals".
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Dashun Wang @dashunwang.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Postdoc openings at Kellogg/Northwestern! Review begins Feb 15 (rolling until filled). Apply / details: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-re...
kellogg.northwestern.edu
Join the CSSI Team
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Matt Groh @mattgroh.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Happy 2026!!! In the spirit of reflecting on the past year as we begin a new one, I am sharing what our lab has been up to. Read on to learn about the q's we’re asking, find links to papers and media appearances, and see a pic of the lab at a Cubs game!
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
A new publication in Nature Human Behavior from Brian Uzzi, Dawei Wang and colleagues, explores a large-scale comparison of divergent creativity in humans and large language models. #AI www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fig. 1: Comparison of the divergent creativity scores between humans and LLMs. From: A large-scale comparison of divergent creativity in humans and large language models
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
"Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution". This Wed, NICO is honored to host @blaiseaguera.bsky.social from Google for our final talk of the fall quarter! Join us in Chambers Hall or online via Zoom. #AI #ComplexSystems 🗓️ Wed 11/12 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 11/12/25 featuring Blaise Agüera y Arcas of Google. "Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution"
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Scientific revolutions have revealed a world of uncertainty, emergence, and interconnection. This Wed, NICO is honored to host Julio M. Ottino to discuss: "The Complexity Revolution: How Scientific Breakthroughs Reshaped Reality and Our Place Within It". 🗓️ Wed 11/05 at 12pm CST 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 11/5/26 featuring Julio M. Ottino of Northwestern University.
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Kellogg School of Management @kelloggschoolnu.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
AI is booming. And so are the questions about it. Don’t miss this #KelloggInisght roundup of research from some of our faculty experts on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence. Read more: kell.gg/0aa4d8
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Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
A very reasonable take on AI in education
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
#AI is often framed as a story of replacement, but AI can help make our work more relational, effective, and deeply human. This Wed, NICO is thrilled to host Elizabeth Gerber to discuss "Human–AI Systems That Amplify Human Connection at Work". 🗓️ Wed 10/29 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
A flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 10/29/25 featuring Elizabeth Gerber of Northwestern University.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
It’s notoriously difficulty to evaluate interfaces intended to support creative work. This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @maxkreminski.bsky.social from Midjourney to discuss: "Tracing and Shaping Paths in Design Space". #WedatNICO #AI 🗓️ Wed 10/22 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
A speaker flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 10/22/25 featuring Max Kreminski of Midjourney.
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Kellogg School of Management @kelloggschoolnu.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
"Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and people's lives". @mattgroh.bsky.social, @dashunwang.bsky.social, and more Kellogg Faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next at Kellogg Insight. kell.gg/5hqk
kell.gg
Take 5: AI’s Past, Present, and Future
Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and labor. Kellogg faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Unconventional uses of data can stimulate creativity and innovation. This Wednesday, NICO is excited to host @patpark.bsky.social from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss: "Back to ‘Data' Science in the Age of AI". #datascience #ai 🗓️ Wed 10/15 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
A speaker flyer for Wednesdays@NICO on 10/15/25 featuring Patrick Park of Carnegie Mellon University.
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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Next was an amazing talk by @tomerullman.bsky.social on approximations in mental simulation and intuitive physics at @nicoatnu.bsky.social. Highly recommend www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlva... (4/9)
youtube.com
Wed@NICO - 10/8 - Tomer Ullman
YouTube video by Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
People handle the everyday physical world with remarkable ease, but how do we do it? This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @tomerullman.bsky.social, to discuss: "Good Enough: Approximations in Mental Simulation and Intuitive Physics". 🗓️ Wed 10/8 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for the Wednesdays@NICO Seminar Series, on October 8, 2025, featuring Tomer Ullman of Harvard University.
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NUCATS Institute @nucatsinstitute.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Changing the Way We Talk: How Science Communications Brings Research to the Masses — bit.ly/4mCl7WB
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
TONIGHT: We are kicking off our fall #DataScience Nights schedule with a meet and greet for all interested. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! 📅 9/25 at 5:30pm, Chambers Hall, Evanston 🔗 bit.ly/nico-dsn
A flyer for Data Science Nights, Fall Kick Off Meeting, on Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 5:30pm.
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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Next was a fascinating talk by Emma Alexander on information optimization in the visual cortex and the role of food on driving constrained processing at @nicoatnu.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/kXaF0OQ... (6/9)
youtube.com
Wed@NICO - 9/24 - Emma Alexander
YouTube video by Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Announcing our fall seminar speakers! Starting September 24th, with talks by leading researchers from Northwestern, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon University, Midjourney, and Google. Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO #WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
An event flyer for Wednesday @ NICO Fall 2025 seminars, September 24 to November 12, featuring talks by by Emma Alexander, Sébastien Martin, Tomer Ullman, Patrick Park, Max Kreminski, Elizabeth Gerber, Julio Ottino, and Blaise Agüera y Arcas.
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Socializing with Scientists @socwithsci.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
🎧 New episode with fascinating Northwestern biological anthropologist Katie Amato! @tgsatnu.bsky.social #scientist #science #biologicalanthropology #microbiome #microbes #juicing #interview #northwestern www.buzzsprout.com/2464891/epis...
buzzsprout.com
Katie Amato wonders what it means to be human (she's a biological anthropologist) - Socializing with Scientists
As a child, Katie thrived in her suburban Chicago backyard, reading The Boxcar Children and leading her little brother on adventures. A second grade unit on Jane Goodall cemented her curiosity about p...
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PNAS Nexus @pnasnexus.org · 09/07/2025
What links Filippo Brunelleschi and Niels Bohr? In a Perspective, Julio Ottino describes different types of creativity in the sciences and arts, explores possible limits to AI’s creativity, and differentiates a breakthrough from a “break-with.” In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Jean Metzinger, 1911–1912, La Femme au Cheval (Woman with a Horse), oil on canvas, Statens Museum for Kunst.
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Sonic Lab @sonic-nu.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
New research by Brian Uzzi, @noshir.bsky.social, Satyam Mukherjee, and Yun Huang shows teams are 1.6x more likely to win when they recruit from rival teams—not just for talent, but for insider knowledge. Read: The Upside of Recruiting Your Rivals insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/the-...
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
This Thursday! Join us at NICO for the final Data Science Night of the spring term. This month, we are hosting Reese Richardson of the Amaral Lab to discuss how #DataScience can help us understand the academic black market. bit.ly/nico-dsn
A flyer for Data Science Nights on Thursday, May 29, 2025 featuring Reese Richardson of the Amaral Lab.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Living systems exhibit surprising and beautiful self-organization at all scales. This Wed, @rosemarybraun.bsky.social discusses research that bridges the cellular and tissue/organism scales, presenting challenges and opportunities for the future. 🗓️ Wed 5/21 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
An event flyer for a Wednesdays@NICO talk on 5/21/25 featuring Rosemary Braun of Northwestern University.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to once again host Lightning Talks! This term we are lucky to have three amazing researchers from NICO, Kellogg, and McCormick Engineering. Join us at noon in Chambers Hall or online via Zoom. 🗓️ Wed 5/14 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Wednesdays@NICO flyer for 5/14/25 featuring three Lightning Talk speakers: Yessica Herrera, Aakriti Kumar, and Tingyu "Mark" Zhao.
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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Next was an excellent talk by @dgomezara.bsky.social on how all-female and female-led teams drive more breakthrough ideas in science and innovation at @nicoatnu.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWxo... (4/5)
youtube.com
Wed@NICO - 5/7/25 - Diego Gómez-Zará
YouTube video by Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Today! NICO is thrilled to host @dgomezara.bsky.social from the University of Notre Dame (and a @sonic-nu.bsky.social alumnus), to discuss how female-Led teams drive breakthrough ideas in science. Join us in the Kellogg Global Hub or online via Zoom. 🗓️ Wed 5/7 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Wednesdays@NICO flyer for 5/7/25 featuring Diego Gómez-Zará of the University of Notre Dame.
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Brian Uzzi Among Nine Northwestern Faculty Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/article...
mccormick.northwestern.edu
Uzzi Among Nine Northwestern Faculty Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Academy – one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies – recognizes leaders across disciplines, professions, and perspectives.
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Sonic Lab @sonic-nu.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Northwestern’s MS in Communication presents the Renaissance Leadership Retreat/ Certificate, a immersive experience in the heart of Tuscany. Designed to inspire, this retreat honors 4 decades of advancing communication leadership worldwide. 🗓️ April 27 – May 2 📍 Florence, Italy @noshir.bsky.social
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NICO @nicoatnu.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
This Wednesday! NICO is excited to host @nikiwoitowich.bsky.social from @nucatsinstitute.bsky.social to explore the biomedical research enterprise from a science of science perspective. Join us in person in Chambers Hall or online via Zoom. 🗓️ Wed 4/30 at 12pm US Central 🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Wednesdays at NICO flyer for 4/30/25 with Nicole Woitowich of the Feinberg School of Medicine.
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