Thursday, September 18, 2014

SNA All-Star: Stanley Wasserman

Stanley Wasserman is currently teaching at University of Indiana as a professor of Statistics, Psychology and Sociology. His research topics range from social networks to mathematical sociology and applied statistics. Wasserman is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and an honorary fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advance of Science.

Wassermans’ diverse expertise led him to set a milestone in the works of social networks. Having researched on methodology for social networks for over forty years, Professor Wasserman is known for his work on statistical models for social networks. In particular, Wasserman contributed to advancing the exponential random graph models (ERGMs).

With his partner Philippa Pattison, Stanley Wasserman expanded on the existing work of Frank and Strauss (1986) to improve the Markov Graph model. Initial probability models (p1) had been restricted to assuming dyadic independence of actors. Generally referred to as p* model, Wasserman and Pattison developed a more general formula which permitted the model to include a wider array of networks.

Wasserman co-authored a book with Katherine Faust, “Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications”. It has been considered a comprehensive introductory book on the topic and currently they are in preparation of publishing its second edition. Professor Wasserman’s most recent articles include “Social networks and violent behavior”. 



No comments: