[SICSS-SG] Prasanta Bhattacharya: Modeling the Dynamics of Social Networks & Behavior

Our collective experience with COVID-19 continues to remind us about the growing importance and role of social networks in affecting nearly every facet of our lives. The field of network science continues to enrich our understanding of social relationships and human behavior, and is now a frontline discipline driving the computational analysis and understanding of complex relationships, social influence, contagion, and community engagement. This talk will introduce participants to some important concepts, methods and studies that can help us better understand and model the dynamic nature of social networks and behavior. Drawing on the speaker’s recent investigations of peer influence in large online social networks, the talk will illustrate key findings, open problems, and untapped opportunities in this space.

Dr. Prasanta Bhattacharya is a Research Scientist and Innovation Lead with the Social and Cognitive Computing Dept. at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), A*STAR Singapore, where he works on network science and behavioral analytics. Prasanta holds a Ph.D in Information Systems from the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, National University of Singapore, where he studied network science with a special focus on predictive and inferential methods in large social networks. His current research agenda aims at understanding the role of big data in emerging social and business applications from finance, education and healthcare. Prasanta actively collaborates with major industry partners from around the world, and has presented his research in leading computer science, information systems and marketing science venues.