Patent ID: 8543648

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for finding collaborations in a network, comprising: under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions, obtaining first collaboration data for a plurality of nodes; receiving a request to locate at least one collaboration from a user; optimizing a graph of the collaboration data by condensing multiple paths from a set of the graph nodes at a first level of the graph to a same graph node at a second level of the graph to a single path to the same graph node; generating an adjacency list of adjacent nodes in the graph; generating a search tree starting by determining a source node of the collaboration data, the search tree including at least two levels, and expanding the search tree until at least one target node is located that corresponds to a solution for the request; searching the adjacency list to locate at least one shortest path from the source node to the target node; and generating second collaboration data that is associated with the at least one shortest path from the source node to the target node.