Computational Social Science
Lab at Penn

CSS unites computer science, statistics, and social science to solve challenging real-world problems using digital data and platforms. Through mass collaboration with industry, government, and civil society, our research generates insights that advance basic science in the service of practical applications.

Example visualization from the YouTube Politics Dashboard

FEATURED

Radicalization at a Glance: PennMAP Launches Interactive Data Dashboard

The new dashboard is designed to make the Lab’s research on YouTube radicalization accessible and engaging to the general public — and, in the process, forms the first step towards revolutionizing research communication.

Computational Social Science Lab at Penn

CSS unites computer science, statistics, and social science to solve challenging real-world problems using novel theories. Through our mass collaboration with industry, government, and civil society, our path-breaking research generates solutions which are both innovative and practical.

News

Applications open: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science 2023
Applications open: Summer Institute in Computational Social Science 2023

The Penn Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS-Penn) is open for applications! SICSS-Penn brings together early-career researchers and provides opportunities for networking with Computational Social Science colleagues, interdisciplinary research collaborations, and guest lectures.

Researcher Spotlight: Jorge Barreras Cortes
Researcher Spotlight: Jorge Barreras Cortes

Having just earned his Ph.D. in applied math in December, Jorge “Paco” Barreras Cortes kicks off 2023 as a fully fledged post-doctoral researcher at the CSSLab. He has driven the Lab’s work on epidemic modeling since 2020, grappling with the types of data, machine learning, and network science quandaries that underpin the toughest challenges in the field. Read on to learn more about his research journey in this month’s Researcher Spotlight.

Over the past 100 years, social science has generated a tremendous number of theories on the topics of individual and collective human behaviour. However, it has been much less successful at reconciling the innumerable inconsistencies and contradictions among these competing explanations.

Duncan Watts
CSSLab Founder

Over the past 100 years, social science has generated a tremendous number of theories on the topics of individual and collective human behaviour. However, it has been much less successful at reconciling the innumerable inconsistencies and contradictions among these competing explanations.

Duncan Watts
CSS Lab Founder

Researchers & Staff

Meet the CSSLab