About the Lab

The Scientific Computing Laboratory (SCL) is one of the eight research laboratories under the Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines Diliman, which is founded in 2009, and focuses on mathematical and computational modeling of various systems.

Currently, it has four regular members, actively participating in five special interest groups on modeling various complex systems, such as biological, physical and social systems, among others. It is currently headed by Dr. Adrian Roy L. Valdez, PhD.

In response to the broad multidisciplinary nature of the problems that the laboratory is interested in, SCL is actively consulting and collaborating with local academic and governmental institutions, and partnering with foreign universities and research institutes to create a more comprehensive and sound solution to emerging problems.

Furthermore, another effort of the laboratory is to create an active community of practice in scientific computing, which stimulates the culture of research discourse inside and outside the university.

Complex systems are characterized by a certain pattern, at the collective level, which is driven by a multitude of interacting components that are then affected by the collective dynamics. These systems are often derived from evolutionary processes, with stochastic and nontrivial interaction structure, and exhibit intricate structure and dynamic phenomena. These are commonly observed in nature at various scales, from the subcellular reactions to the social influence, and from the subatomic collisions to the dynamics of the universe.

Interestingly, various complex systems are commonly governed by similar set of rules. Fully understanding and modeling these systems may provide insights to various fields of study.

In the intersection of the fields of physics, biology, ecology, and social sciences, complex systems are studied through increasingly large quantities of data, stimulating new and unconventional results, as well as posing fundamental theoretical questions across the abovementioned domains. Ultimately, complex systems modeling will bridge the fields of natural and social sciences, and thus provide solutions to scientific and social needs of the current century.

The faculty members of SCL have a strong focus on mathematical and computational modeling, with applications in systems biology, transportation engineering, finance and spatiotemporal ecological dynamics, among others.

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