Managing the risk of catastrophic failure in complex systems

Overview

The Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies (CCRS) together with the Cambridge Complex Systems Consortium and the Centre for Science and Policy presents a conference on Managing the Risk of Catastrophic Failure in Complex Systems which takes place on Thursday 10 December 2009 at Judge Business School in the University of Cambridge.

Catastrophic failure in complex systems is difficult to predict but is managed across a wide range of applications including:

• Telecoms industry (utility and communications networks)
• Business (supply chains commerce stock markets)
• Society (disease disruption and group interaction)
• Financial services (insurance risk of extreme events)

Understanding the threats of high-impact low-probability events is the area of catastrophe science. It is notoriously difficult because precedents are few and historical observational data contains few signals of the threat of extreme volatility. Shocks to the system are often after the event described as unpredictable.

This workshop will examine the phenomenon of catastrophe and challenge the assumptions of unpredictability. Wide ranges of potential causes of extreme disruption for society and the economy as well as the approaches to quantifying and comparing different threats will be explored.

Speakers include:

• Dr David Cleevely (keynote speaker) Founding Director Centre for Science and Policy University of Cambridge;
• Professor Jon Crowcroft Marconi Professor of Networked Systems in the Computer Laboratory University of Cambridge;
• Hemant Shah President & Chief Executive Officer Risk Management Solutions;
• Professor Jim Norton independent director policy adviser and public speaker Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST);
• Rowan Douglas Chairman Willis Research Network.

Support

This event is sponsored by Lockheed Martin RMS and the Centre for Science and Policy.

This event will be recorded and filmed by Absolute Audio Visual Solutions and will be available to view on the Judge Business School website in January 2010.