Research

Welcome to the Science and Humanity Lab at the Vermont Complex Systems Institute, where we model the human side of science. We mean this in both senses of the word: our group builds models to understand science as a complex social system, and we aim to model (i.e., demonstrate by example) how scientists can engage fiercely and objectively on humanitarian questions that affect us all.

The human side of science

Our lab studies the human infrastructure that conducts experiments, writes and reviews papers, applies for funding, and teaches classes. We have worked on topics such as peer review at elite journals (Science Advances), the importance of randomness in scientific careers (To appear, npj Complexity), the role of labor in driving productivity (Science Advances), how reputation shapes faculty hiring (Nature), and how even experts can be misled by common statistical graphics (PNAS).

Quantitative human rights, justice, and policy

Our lab applies our mathematical and computational skills to make contributions to humanitarian questions, broadly, which includes human rights, criminal justice, and environmental policy. We have worked on Bayesian methods for forensics human rights estimation (HRDAG blog post), developed a novel statistical approach to study indignenous land rights and reforestation (Nature Communications), and are co-organizing a working group at the Santa Fe Institute on the historical evolution of human rights in December.