Our Research

Our current work is focused on the structure and function of human social networks. We conduct both basic research directed at understanding networks and applied work aimed at improving public health and public policy including very large-scale field experiments both online and in developing world settings. 

“Since many vexing social problems affect us as a group, and not just as individuals, network science offers great promise for concretely addressing them. Amazing new capacities at the intersection of the computational, biological, and social sciences are enabling us to develop startling new insights into individual and collective human behavior. YINS seeks to deploy this emerging area of study to its full potential: driving fresh discoveries, applying novel methods of analysis, and developing more effective approaches to interventions.”
Nicholas A. Christakis, YINS Co-Director

 “We believe that researchers will benefit greatly from better understanding the approaches taken in other disciplines. YINS will achieve synergy by gathering faculty who analyze networks with those who use networks to make predictions and those who attempt to design and control network processes. A goal of YINS is to expose researchers to the phenomena, measurements, methodologies, and challenges of those from different disciplines so that, through cross-fertilization, new techniques and methodologies can be developed.”
Daniel Spielman, YINS Co-Director

“The launch of YINS is an incredibly exciting venture – for those of us involved, and for Yale and the entire academy. YINS is one of a small but growing number of interdisciplinary centers and institutes across the country that are devoted to network science. This young field is already showing its great potential to answer old questions and raise new ones in both the physical and social sciences. With the launch of YINS, and our stellar collection of faculty, postdocs, and students, Yale is poised to be a leader in the field of network science for years to come.”
Tom Keegan, YINS Executive Director