Dirk Helbing
Encyclopedia
Dirk Helbing is a physicist, and professor of sociology, in particular for modelling and simulation.
methods, and complex systems theory. In 1996, he completed further studies on traffic dynamics and optimization.
In 1998 he became Managing Director of the Institute for Transport and Economics at Dresden University of Technology
, and in 2000, became a full professor
. In 2008, Helbing was elected as a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He heads the ETH Zurich
Competence Center "Coping with Crises in Complex Socio-Economic Systems" and the "Physics of Socio-Economic Systems" Division of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
(German Physical Society).
, in particular its application to self-organising phenomena in pedestrian crowds. Besides the slower-is-faster effect, he introduced the freezing-by-heating effect and the phase diagram of congested traffic
states. Helbing also proposed a microscopic foundation of evolutionary game theory
and has studied self-organized behavioral conventions. Recent work applies principles of collective intelligence
and self-organized control to the optimization of urban and freeway traffic. His current research activities focus on norms and conflict, the role of success-driven motion for the establishment of cooperation among selfish individuals, the science of science, socio-inspired technology and techno-social systems, disaster spreading and crisis management.
Biography
Dirk Helbing studied physics and mathematics at the University of Göttingen. He completed his doctoral thesis at Stuttgart University, on modeling social processes by means of game-theoretical approaches, stochasticStochastic
Stochastic refers to systems whose behaviour is intrinsically non-deterministic. A stochastic process is one whose behavior is non-deterministic, in that a system's subsequent state is determined both by the process's predictable actions and by a random element. However, according to M. Kac and E...
methods, and complex systems theory. In 1996, he completed further studies on traffic dynamics and optimization.
In 1998 he became Managing Director of the Institute for Transport and Economics at Dresden University of Technology
Dresden University of Technology
The Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
, and in 2000, became a full professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. In 2008, Helbing was elected as a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He heads the ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
Competence Center "Coping with Crises in Complex Socio-Economic Systems" and the "Physics of Socio-Economic Systems" Division of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft is the world's largest organization of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,000, as of 2011...
(German Physical Society).
Research activities
Dirk Helbing is known for the social force modelSocial Force Model
A social force model is a microscopic, continuous time, continuous space, phenomenological computer simulation model of the movement of pedestrians....
, in particular its application to self-organising phenomena in pedestrian crowds. Besides the slower-is-faster effect, he introduced the freezing-by-heating effect and the phase diagram of congested traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
states. Helbing also proposed a microscopic foundation of evolutionary game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
and has studied self-organized behavioral conventions. Recent work applies principles of collective intelligence
Collective intelligence
Collective intelligence is a shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making in bacteria, animals, humans and computer networks....
and self-organized control to the optimization of urban and freeway traffic. His current research activities focus on norms and conflict, the role of success-driven motion for the establishment of cooperation among selfish individuals, the science of science, socio-inspired technology and techno-social systems, disaster spreading and crisis management.