Past Meetings

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Playing Games With Social Networking

@ vtSDA Offices

Meeting Details

For this month's Lunch & Learn we have a presentation regarding the proposed study of social networking using games at The University of Vermont.

Peter, Josh and Judy believe that understanding how large social groups function is one of the most important goals of fundamental science, and that Web-based experiments provide a powerful instrument for doing so. By observing global patterns and recording individual microbehavior in controlled contexts, they can begin to properly formulate models and theories of how macrobehavior arises in social systems.

Proposed goals of their research include:

• Build a unified and sophisticated Web-based experiment platform.
• Base it on an open infrastructure where new experiments can be easily generated.
• Develop and execute multiscale online games to investigate complex social and psychological phenomena using the platform. 
• Facilitate the scientific research of investigators from institutions world-wide.
• Have the platform become the premier location for studying collective behavior through the Web.

Their research focus marks a new focal area for Vermont.  Come learn more about this fascinating experiment from an unusual combination of diverse talents!

Speaker Bios

Peter Dodds
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
The University of Vermont
e: Email
p: 802.656.3089

Peter Dodds is a scientist at the University of Vermont working on large-scale, system-level problems in many fields including sociology, geomorphology, biology, and ecology. His overriding interest is in complex systems and networks. Dodds is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics which is part of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at UVM.  He is part of the Complex Systems Center at UVM (CSC), and a visiting faculty fellow at the Vermont Advanced Computing Center (VACC).

Dodds's background is a mixture of the physical and social sciences.  He was a Research Scientist and before that a Postdoc at Columbia University, first within the Columbia Earth Institute and later as part of the Collective Dynamics Group, which is housed within the Institute for Social & Economic Research and Policy (ISERP).

Dodds earned his PhD at MIT where he was a member of Dan Rothman's group in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) and a graduate student in the Applied Math Program in the Mathematics His undergraduate training was in Science (physics and mathematics) and Electrical Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Josh Bongard
Ph.D., University of Zurich
329 Votey
The University of Vermont
e: Email
p: 802.656.4665

Josh Bongard received his Bachelors degree in Computer Science from McMaster University, Canada, his Masters degree from the University of Sussex, UK, and his PhD from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He served as a postdoctoral associate under Hod Lipson in the Computational Synthesis Laboratory at Cornell University from 2003 to 2006. He is the co-author of the popular science book entitled "How the Body Shapes the Way They Think: A New View of Intelligence," MIT Press, November 2006 (with Rolf Pfeifer).

Currently, he is an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Vermont. His research interests include embodied cognition and evolutionary computation, and he was named both a Microsoft Research New Faculty Fellow in 2006, as well as a member of the TR35: MIT Technology Review's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.

Judith Van Houten
George H. Perkins Professor
Vermont State EPSCoR Director and
Director of the Vermont Genetics Network

Dr. Judith Van Houten, George H. Perkins Professor of Biology at the University of Vermont (UVM) and State Director of the Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VT EPSCoR).  In September 2008, she was inducted into the Vermont Academy of Science and Engineering (VASE) as a Full Member. The Academy was chartered by the State of Vermont to honor scientists and engineers for their achievements, promote the interests of science and engineering within the State, educate Vermont citizens about the importance of science and engineering, and to help the State of Vermont with regard to problems in science and engineering. 

Appointed as the EPSCoR State Director in 2005, Dr. Van Houten also serves as the program's Principal Investigator.  The EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) award, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), builds science and engineering infrastructure in Vermont and promotes collaborative research at UVM and beyond. 

Dr. Van Houten also serves as the Director of the Vermont Genetics Network (VGN), a $16.5M program awarded in 2005 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  This remains as the largest single investigator grant ever received at UVM.  VGN is funded by a five year award from the National Center for Research Resources, and is part of the NIH initiative called IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research (INBRE). VGN is a collaboration among the University of Vermont, and five baccalaureate colleges throughout the state of Vermont to build critical mass and infrastructure in the broad area of genetics. 

In addition, Dr. Van Houten is the Director of the HELiX (Hughes Endeavor for Life Science Excellence) Program, which supports undergraduate research at the University of Vermont. HELiX strives to encourage students to stay in science and consider careers in the sciences by involving them in research projects and informing and exposing them to as many opportunities as possible in the sciences. 

Dr. Van Houten's style of management is inclusive. In 2006 she received the Jackie M. Gribbons Leadership award from the Vermont Women in Higher Education. This award is presented to a woman who has demonstrated leadership ability, served as a model and mentor, developed innovative programs, and contributed significantly to the institution and profession.

Dr. Van Houten received a BS from Pacific Lutheran University and her PhD from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  Her research investigates the molecular mechanisms of how cells detect chemicals, and she uses organisms as simple as Paramecium and as complex as mice.  Her work provides insights into the sense of smell.