People

Prof. Alejandro Tejedor obtained his Ph.D. in Physics (2011) from the University of Zaragoza. Afterward, he pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Minnesota, the University of California, Irvine, and the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems. He later joined Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi as an Assistant Professor of Physics in 2020. In 2023, he returned to Spain as a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, under the Maria Zambrano fellowship. His research focuses on Complex Systems, Network Science, and Earth-Surface Processes, with an emphasis on river deltas, landscape evolution, and nonlinear dynamics. His work has contributed to advancing the understanding of connectivity in geomorphic and socio-environmental systems, introducing novel methodologies based on graph theory and information theory. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles, including publications in high-impact journals such as PNAS, Science Advances, Physical Review X, and Nature Communications. He has been invited as a guest speaker at numerous institutions, including Utrecht University, Tulane University, and Nanyang Technological University, as well as national and international conferences such as CS3 and the AGU Fall Meeting. He has over 50 contributions presented at international conferences and has played a key role in organizing workshops and scientific sessions at AGU and other major events. Additionally, he has actively contributed to international research projects funded by NSF and the Belmont Forum and has served as a reviewer for more than 15 scientific journals. He has a strong commitment to academic mentorship, having co-supervised Ph.D. and undergraduate students whose work has resulted in publications in renowned journals. His teaching experience spans undergraduate and graduate levels, and he holds the Profesor Titular de Universidad accreditation from Spain’s National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA).

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Dr. Alberto Aleta is a data and network scientist currently based at the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, where he holds a Ramón y Cajal fellowship. His research integrates theoretical modeling with data-driven approaches to investigate complex systems, with a focus on network science, epidemic dynamics, and collective behavior. He holds a BSc in Physics (2014), an MSc in Physics and Physical Technologies (2015), and a PhD in Physics (2019, International Mention and Extraordinary Award) from the University of Zaragoza. After completing his PhD as an FPI fellow, he joined the Institute for Scientific Interchange (ISI) in Turin, Italy, as a postdoctoral associate. There, he worked on the application of multilayer network science to explore the interconnections between agriculture, food, culture, and health. During this period, he also held an adjunct professor position at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), where he taught in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in Data Science. In 2023, he returned to the University of Zaragoza as a Ramón y Cajal fellow to continue developing interdisciplinary and data-driven approaches to complex systems. Dr. Alberto Aleta has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented his work at over 30 international conferences. He has built an extensive global network of collaborators across 15 countries and has played an active role in the organization of several international conferences and workshops. In addition to his academic work, he is committed to public engagement and science outreach, having participated in events such as Pint of Science and the European Researchers’ Night, and appeared in media including national television, radio, and documentaries. A passionate educator and science communicator, he has delivered lectures in academic programs in Spain, Italy, and Portugal. He currently teaches Differential Equations and Computational Physics at the University of Zaragoza. Since 2023, he also coordinates a summer course titled Introduction to Data Science in Jaca, Spain, and leads a teaching innovation project focused on integrating modern programming practices into science education. Additionally, he serves as a tutor for third-year Physics undergraduates, offering academic guidance, career advice, and support throughout their university experience.

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Dr. Henrique Ferraz de Arruda holds a Ph.D. and MSc. in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics from ICMC (University of São Paulo), Brazil, and a BSc. in Computer Science from São Paulo State University. He is currently an ARAID researcher at BIFI-Unizar. He received the Best Final Project Award in his undergraduate course (2012) and the CAPES Thesis Award for the best Ph.D. thesis in Computer Science in Brazil (2020). His research interests focus on complex networks, artificial intelligence (data representation, machine learning, and natural language processing), computational social sciences, and food composition data analysis. During his academic career, Dr. Arruda has also worked on image processing, parallel programming, and neural networks. His Ph.D. research combined text representation as networks for machine learning tasks and knowledge acquisition dynamics in citation networks. He was a visiting scholar at Indiana University, studying innovation in science. After receiving his Ph.D., he held positions at IFSC-USP (Brazil), University of Zaragoza (Spain), ISI Foundation (Italy), CENTAI Institute (Italy), and George Mason University (USA). His work has covered network-based data representation, opinion dynamics models, food composition data analysis, computational social sciences, and geospatial data science.

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Dr. Carlos Gracia Lázaro obtained his BS in Physics from the National Distance Education University of Spain in 2006, followed by an MSc in Physics and Physical Technologies and a PhD in Physics (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Zaragoza (2012). His doctoral research, at the Department of Condensed Matter Physics, focused on the dynamics and collective phenomena of social systems. After his PhD, he joined the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI) at the University of Zaragoza, where he worked as a research fellow at the COSNET Lab. Currently, he is a faculty member at Universidad San Jorge, where he teaches Mathematics, Physics, and Evolutionary Computing while continuing his collaboration with the COSNET Lab as an external researcher. His research interests remain centered on Evolutionary Game Theory, Social Dynamics, and Complex Networks, applying Physics and Mathematics to Social and Biological Sciences, including theoretical and experimental studies on cooperation in human society. He has published several papers in top international journals (Nature Communications, PNAS, Scientific Reports, Physical Review E, Science Advances, PLoS ONE, etc.) and presented his work at various international conferences and workshops.