Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) Professor Kevin Crowston will present “SoCS: Socially intelligent computing to support citizen science,” a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Crowston’s presentation is part of the Brown Bag Lecture Series and will take place at noon on Friday, Nov. 12, in the Katzer Room, 347 Hinds Hall.
Crowston’s project will investigate the capabilities and potential of social computational systems (SoCS) in the context of citizen science, that is, research projects involving “partnerships between volunteers and scientists that answer real-world questions.” The projects to be studied include a core of scientists and project leaders coordinating work of a large number of distributed volunteer contributors in a variety of scientific disciplines.
Whether it be volunteers playing a role in massive, distributed sensing networks exploring the migration of birds, or applying unique human perceptual skills to searching the skies, human motivation and performance are fundamental to SoCS system performance. To understand and address the unique challenges of undertaking science through SoCS, Crowston’s proposal presents a three-phase study of SoCS supporting scientific research, grounded in group theory and rooted empirically in case studies and action research.
Crowston earned an A.B. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University in 1984 and a Ph.D. in Information Technologies from MIT in 1991. His research examines new ways of organizing made possible by the use of information technology. In addition to the program outlined in the upcoming Brown Bag, He is currently a principal investigator on two other NSF-sponsored programs, including “VOSS: Theory and Design of Virtual Organizations for Citizen Science” and “Collaborative Research: CRI: CRD: Data and analysis archive for research on Free and Open Source Software and its Development.”
Website: http://ischool.syr.edu/newsroom/?recid=1017
The prestigious Hult Prize Foundation has selected Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars (LaunchPad) to host the Hult Prize Regional Summit. Hult Prize Impact Summits are hosted in 100 locations around the world, and this year Syracuse is one…
Dear Students and Families: Welcome to the first weekend of March! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been on campus for a full month. I hope that despite the unusual nature of this semester, you are finding ways to enjoy…
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: Today you received a message from University Trustees Richard Alexander and Jeffrey Scruggs, co-leads of the Board of Trustees Special Committee on University Climate, Diversity and Inclusion. The committee has completed its comprehensive review and…
Dear Members of the Syracuse University Community: We are writing today to share the final report of the Board of Trustees Special Committee on University Climate, Diversity and Inclusion. This committee was convened in December 2019 with the goal of…
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: There are very few things more uniquely Orange than attending an event at our iconic stadium. This is an experience many of us have been missing throughout the pandemic. For that reason, we are pleased…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
