Complexity Science Hub

25/02/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?

A new study by the Complexity Science Hub, in collaboration with Harvard's Growth Lab, points to one key factor: industrial research labs.

These labs reshaped who invented, where innovations happened, and how breakthroughs were achieved. And today, the story feels eerily familiar – at a time when a handful of research labs within major tech giants are driving the rapid advancement of AI.

Frank Neffke and his team analyzed a remarkable dataset: hundreds of thousands of historical documents covering 1.6 million patents by millions of inventors between 1856 and 2000.

𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦

↗️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿: The US’s transition to a leading economy was not gradual; it happened abruptly in the early 1920s.

🤝 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀: Companies began hiring teams of specialized engineers and scientists. The industrial research lab—originally a German idea—sparked collaboration and unleashed an explosion of innovation.

🥼 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿: Engineers made up just 0.7% of the US population but accounted for 25% of all patents by 1945.

❌ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲: Women and immigrants were largely shut out of the new system.

🤖 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗲𝗿𝗮: This provides a new perspective on today’s AI breakthroughs, which are being driven by a revival of R&D labs at tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon.

The study was conducted by Matte Hartog, Andres Gomez-Lievano, Ricardo Hausmann, and Frank Neffke from the Complexity Science Hub, Harvard's Growth Lab, and Interdisciplinary Transformation University, and funded by FFG Forschung wirkt.

🔗 Learn more:

It's a small number of research labs inside tech giants that are driving the rapid rise of AI today. But this is not the first time such labs have taken center stage, a new study shows.

25/02/2026

What can complexity science offer to modern governance? It was a great pleasure to welcome Sepp Schellhorn, State Secretary for European and International Affairs of Austria, and Stefan Gara, Member of the City Council at Stadt Wien, to the Complexity Science Hub for a conversation with CSH President Stefan Thurner and Secretary General Philipp Marxgut about one of the most consequential questions of our time: how can data and digitalization help us to better understand – and govern – complex societies more effectively?

Among the topics:

🏥 𝗢𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵: Medical records, treatment pathways, and prescription data, linked and analyzed at scale, reveal patterns invisible to individual clinicians or institutions. We therefore need to combine our healthcare data to make information actionable, support causal insight, and, especially when paired with AI, improve diagnosis and prognosis. At the system level, integrated data use strengthens planning and financial sustainability.

🏭 𝗢𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀: New technologies and AI are transforming supply chain visibility across Europe. By leveraging granular VAT data – collected transaction by transaction – we can now map entire supply networks in real time, identifying hidden dependencies, monitoring risks, and tracking diversification. This is a game changer for strengthening Europe's open strategic autonomy.

🔒 𝗢𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲: What once sounded like science fiction is fast becoming operational reality. CSH is collaborating with Bavarian authorities to trace crypto flows and map financial networks – surfacing hidden connections at a scale and speed that traditional investigative methods simply cannot match.

🌍 𝗢𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: A data-driven monitor could dynamically show how demographic change affects sectors such as housing, education, health, and labor markets, providing evidence-based analysis where policymakers need it most.

These are just a few examples of a broader imperative: most policy-relevant questions rarely live within a single domain. Connected, cross-sector data are what make them answerable – whether the question is how migration reshapes local economies, or how early childhood health shapes labor market outcomes a decade later.

Many thanks to State Secretary Schellhorn and Stefan Gara for their visit. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

24/02/2026

👋 Welcome to the Complexity Science Hub, Johann Stockinger, who recently joined us as a new PhD candidate in our research group led by Bernhard Haslhofer!

Johann brings over a decade of hands-on experience in information security to CSH – including leadership roles at Deutsche Telekom Security, where he headed the Digital Forensics & Incident Response as well as the Threat Hunting & Intelligence teams.

At CSH, he will focus on digital forensics and the development of novel automation and detection mechanisms, applying the rigor of complexity science to some of today's most pressing security challenges.

We are looking forward to the fresh perspectives and deep industry expertise he brings to our research community. Welcome aboard, Johann! 🚀

https://csh.ac.at/johann-stockinger/

24/02/2026

🌱 Europe aims for climate neutrality by 2050. But do we actually know how far industry has progressed so far? A new study by researchers at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), published in , finds that there is little hard data on how quickly companies are switching to climate-neutral energy sources.

To close this gap, Johannes Stangl, Stefan Thurner, and Andras Borsos, Ph.D. developed a monitor that tracks company-level progress toward low-carbon energy. The tool has already been applied in one country: Hungary.

𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗔𝗧 𝗔 𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘:

⚡ 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹: Europe aims to be climate-neutral by 2050, but economic progress so far has been barely measurable.

🏭 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: The CSH Monitor is the first objective method to measure the energy transition at the company level.

🇭🇺 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆: Researchers analyzed the energy consumption of 25,000 companies between 2020 and 2024.

🔄 𝗨𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: Around half of firms increased their share of low-carbon energy, while the other half did not.

📉 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: If trends continue, the low-carbon energy share could reach only about 20% by 2050.

📈 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹: If companies followed the strategies of sector frontrunners, up to 70% would be achievable.

🌐 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Keeping the 2050 target within reach will require comparable monitoring systems across Europe.

Company-level data helps identify the levers that can actually drive the energy transition.

🔗 Read the full story: https://csh.ac.at/news/can-europe-be-climate-neutral-by-2050-new-monitor-tracks-the-pace-of-the-energy-transition/
🔗 Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69358-4

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This research was supported through the project REMASS, funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF.

19/02/2026

Cameras were rolling today! 🎥 We hosted a film crew for the ARTE series 42 – 𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀 (42 – The Answer to Nearly Everything). Our president, Stefan Thurner, sat down with journalist Roland Schenke to explore some big questions: What do physics and economics really have in common? And is price truly enough — can a single variable capture and steer something as complex as an entire economic system?

The episode airs later this year. Follow the series here so you don’t miss it: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/RC-021159/42-die-antwort-auf-fast-alles/

17/02/2026

Ever wondered how complex ideas and massive datasets can be made clear and engaging for everyone? A big part of the answer is people like Yi Zhe Ang – the newest member of our Data Visualization team, where he'll be working with Liuhuaying Yang.

Yi Zhe is passionate about building transformative tools and creating new mediums for storytelling, journalism, and education. He previously worked in newsrooms such as The Straits Times and the South China Morning Post, where he developed interactive and computational storytelling experiences that blend data science, computer graphics, and creative coding.

His work has earned international recognition, including a Silver Award at the Information Is Beautiful Awards (2022), and a Gold Award for Best Data Visualization at the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Asia (2024).

We’re excited to have him on board — welcome to the team at the Complexity Science Hub, Yi Zhe!

🔗 https://csh.ac.at/yi-zhe-ang/

16/02/2026

👋 Today we welcome Elise Cutts as our new Journalist in Residence at the Complexity Science Hub. Over the next four months, she will be joining us through the FRONTIERS program funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Elise is a freelance science journalist whose work appears in Quanta Magazine, Scientific American, Science News, New Scientist, and more. She also runs the blog 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘰 where she dives into open questions at the frontiers of science.

At CSH, she will focus on a project on the foundations of complex systems, while also exploring the diverse strands of research across the CSH.

Elise is the second journalist, after Will Grimond, to join CSH through the ERC FRONTIERS Science Journalist in Residence program.

🔗 More about the project and her stay: https://csh.ac.at/news/csh-welcomes-frontiers-science-journalist-in-residence-elise-cutts/
🔗 Her blog 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘰: https://www.reviewertoo.com/
🔗 ERC FRONTIERS program: https://frontiers.media/

14/02/2026

⭐ Curious about the stories behind the data?
Our CSH brings you fascinating stories and facts from complexity science — from global challenges to local innovations. Plus, we’ll keep you posted on upcoming events and other highlights from our campus.

Subscribe now and keep up with us! 📩
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12/02/2026

Half of our Operations Team (apparently born models in a former life 😇) representing a much larger, truly amazing team behind the scenes at the Complexity Science Hub.

A small thank-you, meant simply as that: a sign of appreciation for the people who keep things running, every single day.

And for those wondering where complexity actually is… here’s the answer.

09/02/2026

🍄 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 on March 12th 🍄 –– Invisible yet everywhere, fungi quietly shape our world. And perhaps that’s what makes them so fascinating. So it's time to put these underground architects in the spotlight in our next edition of Art & Science at the Complexity Science Hub.

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻: https://csh.ac.at/events/art-science-with-bernd-koller-joseph-strauss-mycelium/

This event brings together art and science, exploring fungi from mycelial networks to molecular mechanisms of growth, diversity, and function.

🎨 Artist 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 presents 𝘔𝘺𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘶𝘮: a body of work of graphics and ceramic objects that explore growth, transformation, and material intelligence. The pieces unfold like fungal networks themselves — layered, interconnected, and shifting between surface and space, print and object.

🔬 Scientist 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 from BOKU University shares the scientific perspective. His research focuses on molecular genetics and functional genomics of filamentous fungi, including transcriptional regulation, chromatin and epigenetic control, secondary metabolism, and the ecological and agricultural roles of fungi.

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This program is made possible thanks to the City of Vienna.

04/02/2026

What drives us to constantly rethink the world? 🤔 This is one of the core questions of Helga Nowotny’s new book, 𝗭𝘂𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗳𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗶𝘁 (𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮), which she presented last week at the Complexity Science Hub.

📖 Read the interview: https://csh.ac.at/news/wisdom-is-what-our-future-needs/

Nowotny, also Chair of the CSH Advisory Board, is one of Europe’s most influential researchers in science and technology studies. In her scientific memoir, she shows that research is more than facts – it’s an adventure full of curiosity, courage, and the thrill of the unknown.

The book is a personal reflection on a life spent crossing disciplinary, institutional, and political boundaries, and on what it takes to navigate uncertainty without losing direction. From breaking into a male-dominated academic field to shaping the European Research Council (ERC), she combines scientific insight with personal experience.

03/02/2026

Scientists naturally talk a lot about science – with other scientists, perhaps with their families, and sometimes with the media. But the opportunity to share it with school kids (even though incredibly important) doesn’t come around every day.

That’s why we were especially excited to welcome a class from the Vienna European School to CSH for a hands-on workshop on cities. 🏙️ How would they plan a city? 🌎 What happens when a city grows (knowing that by 2050, around 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas)? 🌟 And how can complexity science support data-driven urban planning?

The students built cities, discussed their ideas, and optimized them afterward. They simulated population growth and corresponding urban development under different political assumptions, presenting their reasoning along the way.

We hope the students learned something from us. But we know for sure that we learned a lot by talking to a very different audience – from their perspectives, creativity, and ways of thinking. It was a real pleasure!

Huge thanks to Andrea Vismara, Guillermo Prieto Viertel, Jiaqi Liang, and Carsten Källner from the Complexity Science Hub for taking the time and effort to bring your science directly into class, and thanks to Rafael Prieto-Curiel, whose support made this possible.