Dresden professor receives international prize for innovative science communication

Dresden professor receives international prize for innovative science communication

Professor Dirk Brockmann, director of the Center Synergy of Systems (SynoSys) at the Technical University of Dresden, was awarded the Education and Outreach Award by the International Society for Artificial Life (ISAL). He received this honor for his project “Complexity Explorables”, an interactive online platform that serves to clearly illustrate phenomena in complexity research. The award ceremony took place as part of the ALIFE 2025 conference in Kyoto.

The “Complexity Explorables” project includes nearly 50 models from various scientific areas such as biology, physics, mathematics, epidemiology, and social and neurosciences. The website allows users to start dynamic simulations and actively control the models. This allows complex phenomena such as swarm behavior and filter bubbles in social networks to be experienced in an easy-to-understand way. Brockmann's goal is to make scientific concepts accessible to a broad public without mathematical hurdles.

An internationally used tool for science communication

Since its launch in 2017, Complexity Explorables has enjoyed great popularity worldwide and is used at renowned institutions such as the Santa Fe Institute in the USA and the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna. The platform is also used in school lessons and in popular science formats, which underlines the importance of the practicality and comprehensibility of science.

The ISAL jury praised the website for its interesting and professional design, which offers valuable teaching materials. Brockmann's involvement at SynoSys is directly related to innovative science communication. Founded in 2023, SynoSys pursues transdisciplinary approaches in areas such as network science, data science, digital science and citizen science, with a focus on dynamic topics such as pandemics, chronic diseases and mental health.

Promoting science communication

The role of science communication is becoming increasingly important. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) recently published funding guidelines that aim to improve the understanding of processes in science communication. As part of the #FactoryWisskomm strategy process, interdisciplinary research was identified as a central field of action and is intended to contribute to the professionalization of this area.

The funding guidelines, which were published in the Federal Gazette on September 14, 2022, aim to increase the visibility of research in science communication and promote understanding among the population. From the turn of the year 2023/2024, eleven projects will be funded that, among other things, deal with topics such as artificial intelligence, dealing with scientific uncertainties and science communication in a political context. These initiatives reflect the exchange process between science and society and their often complex effects.

Overall, Professor Brockmann's award and the BMBF's initiatives show how important effective science communication is today. Both are a call to reduce fear of contact and to promote understanding of scientific processes among the general public.