Cindy Hui, a CCICADA researcher and PhD Candidate in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic, has been selected to present at the DHS University Programs Summit in March, 2010.

Her research in modeling the dynamics of information diffusion in social networks, and her poster submission, which uses the 2007 San Diego firestorms as a framework, won her recognition at the 2010 DHS University Network Summit Poster Abstract Competition.

The title of the project, “Simulating the Diffusion of Warnings in Large Dynamic Networks”, seeks to understand the social communication network in communities during hazardous events. Under examination are questions concerning how these networks spread warnings to a larger audience and help ensure that people at risk act on the information they receive.

This work involves formulating an axiomatic framework for modeling the diffusion of warnings in dynamic social networks through the concept of trust. A network is dynamic when individuals may leave the network and disrupt the flow of information as warnings are being diffused. Social group structure, distribution of trust, and existence of weak ties affect the spread of evacuation warnings and are the subject of the modeling process.

By using multiple data sources relevant to an event, this project contributes to the area of emergency preparedness and response. The resulting simulation can serve as a tool for emergency response teams to gain insights on how demographics can influence and social communities and demographics may respond to various warning technologies.