What science isn't being done?
Visiting speaker
Sam Zhang
Applied Complexity Postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute
Past Talk
Hybrid
Friday
Dec 6, 2024
Watch video
11:00 am
EST
Virtual
177 Huntington Ave.
11th floor
Devon House
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
Online
Register here

A central component of the scientific record is the output of university professors publishing research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. But what research isn't being done due to the current inefficiencies of the scientific ecosystem? We apply a diverse array of computational and mathematical methods to begin to answer this question. First, we show how hierarchies in faculty hiring and retention shape the US academic ecosystem, quantifying the stark inequalities in faculty production, prestige, retention and gender across PhD-granting institutions in every field. Then, we will show the consequences of these inequalities on demographic diversity and knowledge production, examining why working at a more prestigious environment leads faculty to become more productive. Lastly, we present a model for scientific productivity based on a random walk, drawing from the results to suggest simple policy interventions to potentially foster more creative and risky science.

About the speaker
About the speaker
Sam Zhang is an Applied Complexity Postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute, working with Professor Cris Moore. In Fall 2025, he will be joining the Complex Systems Institute at the University of Vermont as an Assistant Professor of Statistics. Previously, he has worked as a researcher with the Microsoft Research NYC Computational Social Science group and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. He received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Sam Zhang is an Applied Complexity Postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute, working with Professor Cris Moore. In Fall 2025, he will be joining the Complex Systems Institute at the University of Vermont as an Assistant Professor of Statistics. Previously, he has worked as a researcher with the Microsoft Research NYC Computational Social Science group and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. He received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder.