Introduction to System Dynamics

Catalog description

This unit introduces the science of systems modeling, as practiced in the field of system dynamics. Students will learn how to apply causal feedback analysis in order to describe problems and challenges in sustainability using the language and tools of system dynamics. Students will learn how to develop and evaluate a dynamic hypothesis for the dynamic behavior of a system over time, with applications taken from fisheries, farming practices, economics and climate change. Students will also be introduced to stock and flow modeling as a method for accounting for system states, inertia and delays in system behavior.