Dr Armbruster has a Ph.D. in Physics (Universität Tübingen) with a postdoc in a Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Department (Cornell), and had faculty positions in Mathematics (Arizona State University) and Systems Engineering (Technical University of Eindhoven). He was Chair in Mathematics, Graduate Director in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, and Director of a Center for Social Complexity and Dynamics.
Dr Armbruster’s research interests started in dynamical systems and applications to physics and biology. Mid-career they drifted into Operations Research, dynamics on networks and general mathematical modeling. Recently they focused on mathematical modeling of complex systems in biology, physical and social and business systems.
Dr Armbruster is fascinated with the current explosion of Data Science and its application into Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
The tools developed in these fields show huge promises in the Sciences (Climate, Cell Biology, Astronomy), Engineering (Material Science, Power Systems, Smart Cities)
and Medical and Social Sciences. They also present enormous challenges for the functioning of a diverse, equitable and inclusive democratic society through
the expansion of fake news, of the evolution and activities of bots, through control of information, and via the erosion of privacy and many other social, economic and political issues.