ESOL Seminars Series

Using Network Science
to Evaluate and Stimulate Scientific Collaboration
Christopher McCarty - University of Florida

Chair: Raffaele Vacca - University of Milan

12 February 2024, h.10.30
Room A - NASP Graduate School
Via Pace, 10 - Milan 

Abstract

The Network Science Program at the University of Florida is funded by a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the U.S. National Institutes of Health with the goal of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. This talk will describe the evolution of this program over the past decade from an internal focus to paths for collaboration between universities. I will demonstrate how different network lenses can be used to describe existing collaboration, and how the networks can be used to design collaborative interventions both within and between universities. I will describe various data sources and different approaches to creating networks, including natural language processing for creating networks based on topical overlap. The talk will also describe some of the challenges of getting administrators to use these results to guide hiring and program development.

Christopher McCarty is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida, where he also serves as Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. He is a world-leading scholar in social network analysis and personal network research, which he has applied to different substantive topics and fields for over thirty years – from public health to culture, disaster resilience, and scientific collaboration. He has made essential contributions to the integration between social network studies and survey research, methods for studying hard-to-reach populations, and the development of network analysis software. In his current role, he brings this scientific expertise to his work as Cognizant Associate Dean for Artificial Intelligence, cognitive science, and the social sciences in one of the largest public universities in the United States.

This seminar is part of the ESOL International Seminars Series 2024.

Contact Raffaele Vacca ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) for the Teams link to participate online.