Christopher J. Rozell has been named as one of six international recipients of the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative Scholar Award in Studying Complex Systems.

Many processes across the life, physical, and social sciences are thought of as dynamic complex systems, where sophisticated and unpredictable behavior arises from interactions between connected components. Despite the apparent complexity, these systems often have a hidden underlying structure that can provide a much simpler description for their behavior if it is accurately captured.

Rozell and his research team are developing fundamental mathematical analyses and algorithms for using complex systems data to learn about basic building blocks for this structure in a given system and to track how this structure changes in time. While there are many potential applications of this work, Rozell and his group currently focus on neuroscience, with an emphasis on how information is represented in sensory and motor neural systems. They also study social networks and collaborative filtering, with an emphasis on personalized learning, and they examine interactions in the physical world, with an emphasis on the physics of both solid body and fluid motion.

An associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) since 2008, Rozell is the second faculty member from ECE and the fourth faculty member from Georgia Tech to receive this honor. Past recipients include Robert J. Butera (ECE, 2000), Joshua S. Weitz (School of Biology, 2008), and Martha A. Grover (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2011).