Ricardo Martínez-García receives international prize for research into complex systems

The Complex Systems Society (CSS) has honoured Dr Ricardo Martínez-García with the Junior Scientific Award 2023 at its annual conference. The physicist received the award for his outstanding scientific work on organisational dynamics. Martínez-García currently heads a junior research group at the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding CASUS at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). He is also an associated researcher at the Südamerican Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR) at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the State University of Süo Paulo (IFT-UNESP).

What do vehicle traffic, the brain, our society and the microbiome have in common? They are all examples of complex systems that are made up of numerous elements that interact with each other in many different ways. As a result of these interactions, such systems often exhibit new, unique characteristics that are very different from the sum of the properties of their individual components. Research into complex systems makes it possible to bridge the gap between traditional scientific fields.

This is also a characteristic feature of Martínez-García's work. He deals with a variety of different systems, from the microbial community of biofilm to arid and semi-arid ecosystems in steppe landscapes. Within these different systems, his research focuses on one goal: to understand how different organisms, whether plant species in a steppe or bacteria in a biofilm, interact with each other and how these interactions affect the functionality of the system as a whole. With the help of the complex systems approach, the Görlitz researcher wants to determine the extent to which different ecological systems are subject to a minimum set of rules, which will help to better influence and hopefully preserve them.

Selection committee highlights Martínez-García's work on organisational dynamics
The Complex Systems Society has been promoting research into complex systems since it was founded as an international society in 2006. The CSS Young Investigator Award recognises excellent scientific achievements by young research talents who have completed their doctorate within ten years. It is awarded once a year to a maximum of two people. The award decision is made by a selection committee appointed by the CSS Executive Committee. In its citation for the award, the selection committee referred to Martínez-García's theoretical work on evolutionary, organisational and ecological collective dynamics.

Martínez-García's interest in complex ecological systems began with his love of the outdoors and observing natural processes: „When I learned at school that physics and mathematics could be used to understand the rules behind the natural phenomena I was so passionate about, it was immediately clear to me that I wanted to explore this interface in more detail.“ He also emphasises how much the exchange with other science enthusiasts over the years has helped to shape his research programme: „One of the things I value most about my work is talking to people from different scientific disciplines and learning how they think about questions and problems that I also find interesting.“

„A fantastic profession“
The researcher adds that the award encourages him to continue working tirelessly. A recommendation he gives to all students who are interested in a scientific career - a career that is as exciting as it is challenging: "It is very gratifying to learn that other professionals in my field recognise the relevance of my work and consider it valuable. I think we often focus too much on rejection and the downsides of a scientific career, when it is generally a fantastic profession.

Martínez-García holds a PhD in Statistical Physics and Complex Systems from the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, a joint research centre of the Spanish National Research Council and the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. In his dissertation, he combined approaches from physics and computer science to investigate various ecological problems such as animal movements and the emergence of regular vegetation patterns in arid areas. He then received a grant from the Life Science Research Foundation for a postdoctoral stay in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University (USA). There he investigated the interplay between ecology, evolution and self-organised multicellularity of microbial communities. Before joining CASUS, Martínez-García worked at the ICTP-SAIFR, which is based at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the State University of São Paulo (UNESP). There he was a São Paulo Research Foundation Young Investigator and Assistant Professor of Biological Physics.

Another Young Investigator Award this year went to Giulia Menichetti (Harvard Medical School & Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, USA), who is researching the overall chemical complexity of the human diet and developing quantitative methods to determine the effects of these chemicals on our health. The most prestigious CSS award („Senior Award“) was presented this year by the CSS selection committee to Melanie Mitchell (Santa Fe Institute, USA) for her contributions to adaptive computing, biologically inspired computing and machine learning, among others.

&about the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding
CASUS was founded in G¨itz in 2019 and conducts digital interdisciplinary systems research in various fields such as earth systems research, systems biology and materials research. Innovative research methods from mathematics, theoretical systems research, simulation, data and computer science are used with the aim of modelling complex systems with unprecedented realism and thus contributing to solving pressing social issues. The founding partners are the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ), the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden (MPI-CBG), the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) and the University of Wrocław (UWr). The centre is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) and is run as an institute of the HZDR.

&about the ICTP-SAIFR
The Südamerican Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR) is an international centre in São Paulo, Brazil, which is funded in collaboration with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP);Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, the Institute of Theoretical Physics (IFT) of the National University of São Paulo (UNESP) and the São Paulo Research Funding Agency (FAPESP). Its activities include research in the field of theoretical physics and its applications, as well as postgraduate education. The ICTP-SAIFR also promotes public relations work with awareness-raising and educational measures for teachers and pupils at upper secondary level as well as for the general public.

&about the IFT-UNESP
The Institute of Theoretical Physics (IFT) is a graduate physics department of the National University of São Paulo (UNESP) in the centre of São Paulo. The IFT-UNESP was founded in 1951 as a private foundation and was incorporated into the UNESP in 1987. It has around 20 professors and 70 doctoral students in physics and has received top marks from the national funding agency since 2011.

Source: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf In: idw from 25.10.2023