Welcome to HSS
Events
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Social Sciences History Seminar
- Professor of Economics
Marina Agranov
There are good reasons to do experiments. Applying theories in the real world before testing them, and ruining someone’s real life, seems too high a cost."
- Assistant Professor of Political Science
Gabriel Lopez-Moctezuma
Caltech pioneered the use of mathematical models to explain political behavior, including voting and bargaining. The research I do would not be possible without these early contributions."
- Assistant Professor of Economics
Yi Xin
Data are powerful. Understanding human behavior with real-world data provides important insights into policy design aimed at improving consumer welfare and market efficiency."
- Eli and Edythe Broad Professor of English
Cindy Weinstein
Caltech is a wonderful place to pursue original research; it lets your interests determine the work you do. There is both a tremendous amount of freedom and an extremely high level of expectation, and these two combine to create a terrific intellectual environment that helps scholars generate their best work."
- Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and History, Emeritus
Philip T. Hoffman
Caltech is the one place where you really can do interdisciplinary work, whether you are a professor or a student. You never stop learning—or advancing the frontiers of knowledge."
- Edie and Lew Wasserman Professor of Social Science History; Ronald and Maxine Linde Leadership Chair, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Caltech
Tracy Dennison
Our memories for epidemics are very short. We keep hearing that things will never be the same again, but that's not what the history tells us. Some things may change, but the kind of profound social reorganization one might expect is unlikely."
- Kay Sugahara Professor of Social Sciences and Statistics
Jonathan N. Katz
Money is very important in politics, but all the previous studies about campaign finance were restricted to relatively large donors, leading to a skewed picture of this important political activity. Given changes in technology, smaller donors are becoming both more numerous and important."
- Professor of Philosophy
Charles T. "Chip" Sebens
When students start learning philosophy, they often feel like the scenarios that philosophers discuss are outlandish and not worth taking seriously. An analysis of science fiction allows students to put these concerns aside and ultimately realize that philosophy is relevant to their lives and to other fields of academic inquiry."
- Professor of Economics; William H. Hurt Scholar
Kirby Nielsen
Experiments are starting to get incorporated into mainstream economics but are still a relatively new tool. Caltech has been a powerhouse in experimental economics from the beginning, and it's so exciting to join the tradition."
- Professor of English
Kristine Haugen
The unique intellectual freedom of Caltech has inspired me to transform my research completely. I know many of my colleagues might say the same!"
- PhD '18, Social Sciences
Lucas Núñez
The mix and interactions between multiple social science disciplines at HSS make it a uniquely enriching place to study."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
Peter Doe
After speaking with one of the students in the social sciences PhD program, I saw Caltech as a place where the faculty would invest in me as a student, rather than try to get things out of me."
- PhD '24, Social Sciences
Shunto Kobayashi
Because the number of graduate students is relatively small, we all know each other well. I think this encourages us to discuss research frequently and support each other's endeavors."
- Social and Decision Neuroscience Graduate Student
Sneha Reddy Aenugu
The drive to understand the nature of intelligence is what brought me to Caltech. Only with a vision of merging the disciplines of humanities, neuroscience, and AI, will we be able to build and deploy artificial intelligence in a safe and sustainable manner—and that happens to be my vision."
- PhD '23, Social Sciences
Claudia Kann
I originally came to Caltech for mechanical engineering before realizing that that’s not where my passion lay. I’m really excited to use what I already know to new and exciting problems within the social sciences."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
Ke Shi
I came to Caltech because I was drawn to its unique and rigorous social sciences program. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful campus and the tight-knit community after I arrived."
- PhD '20, Social Sciences
Alejandro Robinson-Cortés
Caltech is a unique place. Characterized by its focus on theoretical reasoning and rigorous methods. And located at the heart of the lovely and multicultural San Gabriel Valley. It’s a tough combination to beat."
- Social and Decision Neuroscience Graduate Student
Qianying Wu
Here in HSS, I'm able to apply multidisciplinary approaches to my research—to understand typical and atypical human social behaviors with functional neuroimaging, and to characterize those behaviors using computational models."
- Senior Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Neuroscience (2015–24)
Jeffrey A. Cockburn
Science and education isn't about filling buckets, it's about lighting fires. If you bring the gasoline, HSS will hand you the match."
- Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Affective Neuroscience (2020–23)
Sarah M. Tashjian
Caltech is unique because it fosters creativity. Being at Caltech allows me to push the boundaries of my research and to tackle questions of how the human brain functions from new angles."
- Howard E. and Susanne C. Jessen Postdoctoral Instructor in Philosophy of Physics (2019–22)
Mario Hubert
Caltech not only nourishes curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking among students and faculty but also a community of solidarity and humility."
- Linde Postdoctoral Scholar in Economic and Management Sciences (2017–19)
Teddy Mekonnen
We economic theorists come up with problems that are real and relevant, but some of our solutions are impractical, with implicit assumptions of infinite time, resources, or data. When you use computer science to approach economic questions, such as matching problems related to apps for ride-sharing or dating, those assumptions matter."
- Linde Postdoctoral Scholar in Economics (2020–21)
Joseph Root
The faculty and the research environment at Caltech are unique. It’s a place where people tackle the most challenging problems, crossing the traditional boundaries between disciplines to do so."
- Jessen Postdoctoral Instructor in the Humanities (2017–19)
Melanie Masterton Sherazi
I have found that the humanities are integrated seamlessly into Caltech’s curriculum. My students have expanded my own ideas about literature with their original interpretations, driven by their interests and areas of expertise."
- Linde Institute Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Economics (2021–22)
Alexander Bloedel
HSS is a remarkable place, especially for young scholars with broad interests in economic theory. It has a rich history as—and continues to be—a home to some of the most exciting developments in theoretical social science, including foundational work on social choice and political economy, the incorporation of social networks into economic analysis, and a range of recent advances in information economics."
- Ahmanson Postdoctoral Instructor in History of Biology (2020–23)
Charles A. Kollmer
I enjoy working with Caltech undergraduates to deepen their engagement with the history of science. Doing this at Caltech is doubly exciting because Caltech itself has been the site of so much fascinating research in the life sciences."
- Fletcher Jones Foundation Postdoctoral Instructor in Contemporary Literature (2020–21)
Julia Hori
I think coming from a different discipline or background, the questions that emerge are just different. Also, perhaps the students are a little bit less afraid to ask certain grounding questions that a student with a major in English might not ask. And these questions actually help to facilitate the conversation tremendously."
- Linde Institute Postdoctoral Instructor in Economics (2020–2023)
Fedor Sandomirskiy
HSS is home to exceptional talents, distinct methods, and diverse tastes. This dissimilarity, along with an openness to ideas of others, makes HSS unique. Witnessing the magic of interdisciplinary work in action and, moreover, being a part of it is amazing."
