Instructor: Mark Newman
Office: 322 West Hall
Office hours: Wednesdays 1:30-3:30pm
Email: mejn@umich.edu
This course will introduce and develop the mathematical theory of networks, particularly social and technological networks, with applications to network-driven phenomena in the Internet, search engines, network resilience, epidemiology, and many other areas.
Topics to be covered will include experimental studies of social networks, the world wide web, information and biological networks; methods and computer algorithms for the analysis and interpretation of network data; graph theory; models of networks including random graphs, preferential attachment models, and the small-world model; network dynamics.
Students should have studied calculus and linear algebra before taking the course, and should in particular be comfortable with the solution of linear differential equations and with the calculation and properties of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices. In addition, a moderate portion of the course, perhaps three weeks, will deal with computer methods for studying networks. Although students will not be required to write computer programs, some experience with computer programming will be a great help in understanding this part of the course.
There will be weekly graded problem sets, consisting both of theory questions and of problems demonstrating applications of theory to example networks. There will be one mid-term and a final. The mid-term is currently scheduled for October 20, but be aware that this date could change; the final will (definitely) be on Friday, December 16 from 4pm till 6pm. Grade will be 35% on the homeworks, 30% on the mid-term, and 35% on the final.
There will be reading assignments for each lecture. The assignments are listed on the schedule below. Students are expected to do the reading for each lecture in a timely manner.
Textbook (required): Networks: An Introduction, M. E. J. Newman, Oxford University Press, Oxford (2010)
In addition to this required text, a list of other useful books is given below. None of them is required, but you may find them useful if you want a second opinion or more detail on certain topics.
General books on networks:
Books on specific networky topics:
Date | Topic | Reading | On-line resources | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tuesday, Sept. 6 | Introduction | Chapter 1 | ||
Thursday, Sept. 8 | Technological and social networks | Chapters 2 and 3 | ||
Tuesday, Sept. 13 | Information and biological networks | Chapters 4 and 5 | ||
Thursday, Sept. 15 | Basic mathematics of networks | 6.1-6.11 | Homework 1 | Homework 1 handed out |
Tuesday, Sept. 20 | Centrality | 7.1-7.7 | ||
Thursday, Sept. 22 | Transitivity, reciprocity, assortativity | 7.8-7.13 | Homework 2 | Homework 1 due, Homework 2 handed out |
Tuesday, Sept. 27 | Component structure and the small-world effect | 8.1-8.2 | ||
Thursday, Sept. 29 | Degree distributions | 8.3-8.6 | Homework 3 | Homework 2 due, Homework 3 handed out |
Tuesday, Oct. 4 | Computer algorithms and complexity | Chapter 9 | ||
Thursday, Oct. 6 | Shortest paths | 10.1-10.5 | Homework 4 | Homework 3 due, Homework 4 handed out |
Tuesday, Oct. 11 | Maximum flows and minimum cuts | 6.12 and 10.6 | ||
Thursday, Oct. 13 | Matrix algorithms and graph partitioning | Chapter 11 | Homework 4 due, no new homework this week | |
Tuesday, Oct. 18 | No class | Fall Break | ||
Thursday, Oct. 20 | Mid-term exam | In-class, usual time and place | ||
Tuesday, Oct. 25 | Random graphs 1 | 12.1-12.5 | ||
Thursday, Oct. 27 | Random graphs 2 | 12.6-12.8 | Homework 5 | Homework 5 handed out |
Tuesday, Nov. 1 | Configuration models 1 | 13.1-13.4 | ||
Thursday, Nov. 3 | Configuration models 2 | 13.5-13.8 | Homework 6 | Homework 5 due, Homework 6 handed out |
Tuesday, Nov. 8 | Configuration models 3 | 13.9-13.11 | ||
Thursday, Nov. 10 | Generative models 1 | 14.1-14.2 | Homework 7 | Homework 6 due, Homework 7 handed out |
Tuesday, Nov. 15 | Generative models 2 | 14.3 | ||
Thursday, Nov. 17 | Generative models 3 | 14.4-14.5 | Homework 8 | Homework 7 due, Homework 8 handed out, due Dec. 1 |
Tuesday, Nov. 22 | The small-world model | 15.1 | ||
Thursday, Nov. 24 | No class | Thanksgiving | ||
Tuesday, Nov. 29 | Percolation | Chapter 16 | ||
Thursday, Dec. 1 | Epidemics on networks | 17.1-17.8 | Homework 9 | Homework 8 due, Homework 9 handed out |
Tuesday, Dec. 6 | Network dynamics | Chapter 18 | ||
Thursday, Dec. 8 | Network search | Chapter 19 | Homework 9 due | |
Tuesday, Dec. 13 | Review | |||
Friday, Dec. 16 | Final Exam | Practice exam |