Research Group of Sean Cornelius

Sean Cornelius
Associate Professor
cornelius@torontomu.ca
Office: KHE 329E

We study how networks and dynamical systems behave when their structure or evolution becomes hard to predict. Here, we explore control problems on temporal networks, cascading failures, chaotic dynamics, and how machine learning handles forecasting or replicating these systems. Complex systems rarely sit still long enough for a fixed plan to work, so the interventions that curb bad outcomes have to adapt as the system does. We develop actionable, dynamic interventions for emergent behaviours in complex systems.

Recently, our lab has shown that networks with time-varying links can be controlled with less energy and less human-led decision-making than static ones, letting us stabilize dynamic behaviours on networks. We've built control strategies that account for the nonlinear dynamics of real systems in food webs, letting us remove invasive species without targeting them directly. Nonlinear systems like these are often chaotic, and predicting how they respond to a given intervention is one of the hardest parts of the problem. That's why we test the limits of machine learning models for forecasting chaos, and study how artificial neural networks behave near the boundary between order and chaos.

The lab is computational: simulation, analysis by hand, and large datasets, with real attention paid to how results get visualized and communicated.

Interested in joining? Get in touch.

Recent Publications from Group

Google Scholar for Sean Cornelius (external link)

How more data can hurt: Instability and regularization in next-generation reservoir computing. Yuanzhao Zhang, Edmilson Roque dos Santos, Huixin Zhang, and Sean P. Cornelius. Chaos. 35: 073102 (2025). Journal link. (external link)
SEEDNet: Covariate-free multi-country settlement-level epidemiological estimates datasets for network analysis. Amir Hossein Darooneh, Jean-Luc Kortenaar, Céline M Goulart, Katie McLaughlin, Sean P Cornelius, Diego G Bassani. Scientific Data. 12: 975 (2025). Journal link. (external link)
Mitochondrial network branching enables rapid protein spread with slower mitochondrial dynamics. Prabha Chuphal, Jordan D Lanctot, Sean P Cornelius, Aidan I Brown. PRX Life. 2: 043005 (2024). Journal link. (external link)
Dynamics of collective cooperation under personalised strategy updates. Yao Meng, Sean P Cornelius, Yang-Yu Liu, Aming Li. Nature Communications. 15: 3125 (2024). Journal link. (external link)
Mastering percolation-like games with deep learning. Michael M Danziger, Omkar R Gojala, Sean P Cornelius. Physical Review Research. 6: 013067 (2024). Journal link. (external link)
Catch-22s of reservoir computing. Yuanzhao Zhang, Sean P Cornelius. Physical Review Research. 5: 033213 (2023). Journal link. (external link)
Temporality-induced chaos in the Kuramoto model. Keanu Mason Rock, Hamza Dirie, Sean P Cornelius. Northeast Journal of Complex Systems. 5: 3 (2023). Journal link. (external link)
Fragmentation of outage clusters during the recovery of power distribution grids. Hao Wu, Xiangyi Meng, Michael M Danziger, Sean P Cornelius, Hui Tian, Albert-László Barabási. Nature Communications. 13: 7372 (2022). Journal link. (external link)
Sharpening the universality of network resilience patterns using motifs. Huixin Zhang, Sean P Cornelius. Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2207: 012010 (2022). Journal link. (external link)
High-resolution human mobility data reveal race and wealth disparities in disaster evacuation patterns. Hengfang Deng, Daniel P Aldrich, Michael M Danziger, Jianxi Gao, Nolan E Phillips, Sean P Cornelius, Qi Ryan Wang. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 8: 144 (2021). Journal link. (external link)
Evolution of cooperation on temporal networks. Aming Li, Lei Zhou, Qi Su, Sean P Cornelius, Yang-Yu Liu, Long Wang, Simon A Levin. Nature communications. 11: 2259 (2020). Journal link. (external link)

Graduate students in Group

Mason Rock
PhD student

Jordan Lanctot
PhD student

Eric Conenna
MSc student

Mattia Altomare
MSc student