Welcome to the CAS Lab


Western's Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) Lab is a network hub where researchers, staff, students, and collaborators studying complex adaptive systems can easily find one another across faculties and departments, learn from one another, and build upon one each other's work. Interdisciplinarity is at our core: we aim to foster new research activity that reimagines the traditional dividing lines of academic disciplines.

The CAS Lab is a grassroots research development initiative, organized in collaboration with Western Research.

Making Connections

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Next Conference

The next Western Complex Systems Conference will be held virtually on Thursday, March 26, 2026, 9AM-4PM EST. If you are interested in presenting your research through a complexity lens, please send a brief abstract and expression of interest to caslab@uwo.ca.

The purpose of the Western Complex Systems Conference is foster interdisciplinary collaboration as we explore the application of complexity theory and systems thinking across disciplines. Over vast diversity in academic fields, methodologies, and domain expertise, our common thread is curiosity about the ways that nonlinear dynamics and systemic thinking invite us to understand and respond to our world.

The biennial Western Complex Systems Conference is typically held on the last Thursday of March, every other year. See videos of past conference presentations below.

Past Conference Videos

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Network Actor Map

Use this interactive map to explore the research connections between Western University faculty members in the CAS Lab.

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