Samuel Arbesman

I am a doctoral candidate pursuing a PhD in computational biology at Cornell University, with my expected graduation in the summer of 2008. From 2004 to 2006, I was an IGERT Fellow in Nonlinear Systems. My advisor is Steve Strogatz. Here's my CV.

I graduated in 2004 from Brandeis University with a degree in computer science and biology (as well as a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies).

Research

My research interests lie within the field of complex systems, mainly within computational social science. I am interested in applying computational and mathematical models, often biologically-inspired, to systems with large numbers of interacting components. Often this takes the form of examining social interactions within management or political structures, such as corporations, cities, and governments. More specifically, I am interested in the formation and behavior of organizations, both planned and spontaneous. My research within this area includes the examination of the nature of productivity and innovation within cities, and the interplay between collaboration and innovation within academia. In addition, I have explored the connections between the structure of linguistic networks and how language is processed in the brain.

I am also interested in the applications of evolutionary biology to the social sciences. For example, I am examining the similarities between the way world records are made and broken (in sports and otherwise) and the pace of evolutionary change.

Publications & Press

Arbesman, S, and S. Strogatz. A Journey to Baseball's Alternate Universe. New York Times, March 30, 2008: WK12.

Arbesman, S, L Enthoven, A Monteiro (2003) Ancient Wings: animating the evolution of butterfly wings patterns. BioSystems 71: 289-295. (available online)

The Wall Street Journal article (June 11, 2008): Why Chipper Jones Is Such a Long Shot for .400

The Wall Street Journal article (April 3, 2008): In Defense of Joe DiMaggio (about A Journey to Baseball's Alternate Universe)

Wired News article (December 1, 2006): Every Old Meme is New Again (mentions the Memespread Project near the end)

Wired News article (May 7, 2004): How the Word Gets Around (about the Memespread Project)

Nature Science Update article (October 27, 2003): Ancient wings unfurled (about Ancient Wings) [archived at this site]

Writing

Outside of my academic pursuits, I also do some writing. Here are some recent pieces:

– How to Get Your Own Scientific Eponym, and Introducing the Arbesman Limit, Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 3.

– Human Anatomy Terms That Sound Like Things You Would Go See on a Vacation, Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 3.

I was also a film critic for the Cornell Daily Sun for about a year. You can find most of my articles for the Sun here.

In addition, I write a blog called The Biourbanist, which is devoted to the exploration of the science of cities, loosely defined, from the perspective of a computational biologist. That means there will be lots of things here about complex systems, traffic patterns, the metabolism of cities, urban life, and so on. Check it out.

How to Contact Me

Email:	sam dot arbesman at cornell dot edu
Phone:	607-255-4195
Office:	Center for Applied Mathematics 657 Rhodes Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 map