In network epidemiology he published both on formal results, particularly concerning the connection between the SIR model and percolation, as well as practical applications to infections such as SARS, pneumonia, and group B strep.
In later work he has focused on spectral graph theory and random matrices, belief propagation methods, and network reconstruction, among other things.
[3] Outside of physics he has published papers in mathematics, computer science, biology, ecology, epidemiology, paleontology, and sociology.
He has worked particularly on so-called power-law distributions, which govern the statistics of a wide range of systems from human populations and earthquakes to spoken languages and solar flares.
[8] In 2021 Newman was named a Clarivate Citation Laureate, a distinction that recognizes scientists who have had "research influence comparable to that of Nobel Prize recipients".