We are thrilled to announce Professor Jeff Hemsley as the new Director of the Center for Computational and Data Science! Professor Hemsley is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Studies here at Syracuse University. He is co-author of the book Going Viral, which explains what virality is, how it works technologically and socially, and draws out the implications of this process for social change. He is a founding member of the Behavior, Information, Technology and Society Laboratory (BITS lab) here at the Syracuse iSchool.
Professor Hemsley will play a key role in advancing the goals and interests of CCDS within the School of Information Studies and Syracuse University as a whole. Hemsley will do this through championing research, organizing relevant events, and collaborating with and supporting affiliates.
Hemsley says, “Being the Director of the Center is exciting to me because I believe that the Center holds great potential for our affiliates. I think we can do a lot to call attention to the work our affiliates do, as well as create new opportunities for them. One of the ways I’d like to work to create these opportunities is by hosting events and facilitating new connections. In this way we can create spaces where ideas can flow and collaborations can be born.”
The Center for Computational and Data Science (CCDS) is committed to advancing important and practical research in the social sciences, using advanced computational approaches. The Center builds on the iSchool’s historic strengths in Human Language Technologies, such as Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning, and the School’s current emphasis on Data Science research. CCDS researchers work to advance the science of data collection, retrieval, curation, analysis, and archiving and apply those techniques to important social problems.