Dr. Damon Centola

Biography

Damon Centola is the Elihu Katz Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Communication, Sociology, and Engineering. As the Director of the Network Dynamics Group and a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, his research focuses on social networks and behavior change, covering areas such as social epidemiology, the diffusion of innovations, cultural norms, and the mobilization of social movements. Centola's work has received several prestigious awards, including the Goodman Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Sociological Methodology and the Harrison White Award for Outstanding Scholarly Book. He has developed the NetLogo agent-based modeling environment and has been awarded a U.S. Patent for inventing a method to promote diffusion in online networks. His research has been widely funded by major institutions, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Centola is also a sought-after speaker and consultant, with clients such as Amazon and the U.S. Army. He is the author of notable works including 'Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions' and 'Change: Make Big Things Happen.'

Research Interests