ABOUT
We are pleased to invite you to the Complexity of Life Conference 2026 taking place at the University of Graz from 7th to 11th of September 2026. Understanding the relations between the different dynamical and structural levels coexisting in complex systems is key to understanding their functioning, but also represents a formidable challenge. Nowhere is this challenge more evident than in our attempts to understand life. Addressing it will require a collective, creative, and necessarily interdisciplinary effort, brought together by the participants of the Complexity of Life Conference.
KEY SPEAKERS (confirmed)
Andrea Baronchelli | City St George's University of London
Douglas Guilbeault | Stanford Graduate School of Business
Rudolf Hanel | Complexity Science Hub & Medical University of Vienna
Ilona Otto | University of Graz
CONFERENCE TOPIC 2026
The study of life is inherently a study of transitions. Across scales and scientific disciplines, life is shaped by many qualitative changes, such as developmental transitions, ecological regime shifts, innovative disruptions, and social transformations, among many others. This year’s theme, Transitions: From Fundamental Principles to Global Challenges, encourages contributions that study how our systems of life transition, reorganize, and transform. Addressing it will require a collective, creative, and necessarily interdisciplinary effort, brought together by the participants of the Complexity of Life Conference 2026.
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Beyond the Key notes and public lecture, participants can engage through contributed talks and dedicated poster sessions designed to foster deep scientific exchange and professional networking. We welcome submissions for contributions across all areas of complexity of life research, including (but not limited to):
Fundamentals of Transitions
- Critical transitions, tipping points, and regime shifts
- Self-organization, emergence, and pattern formation
- Phase transition and resilience in complex systems
- Computational and data-driven approaches to transitions
- Transition prediction, and early warning signal analysis
- Multi-level dynamics and cross-scale interactions
Major Transitions & Global Challenges
- Evolutionary and developmental transitions
- Cognitive, behavioral, and social transitions
- Ecological regime shifts
- Innovative disruptions in economy
- Transformations of socio-economic systems and windows of opportunity
- Applications in sustainability, economy, health, technology, and innovation