With support from the Translational Data Analytics Institute, TDAI affiliates Skyler Cranmer and Janet Box-Steffensmeier from the Department of Political Science, along with Alison Craig, hosted colleagues from nearly 70 institutions at the 10th Annual Political Networks Workshops and Conference in June. The gathering was the conference’s most well-attended in the eight years for which attendance records have been maintained.
The conference’s goals were to provide participants with an increased understanding of current research methods in network science, provide presenters with feedback on their work from both substantive and technical experts in their field, and improve connections among scholars with aligned research interests. The conference also highlighted network science research at Ohio State, with faculty and students from the university presenting 12 papers and Ohio State Professor of Communication William Eveland giving the keynote address.
TDAI sponsored a poster reception in which largely graduate students presented 36 posters on a wide range of topics, from “Conceptualizing and Measuring Political Information Using Topic Modeling and Exponential Random Graph Models for Two-mode Networks” to “Network Topology and the Democratic Peace.” Two participants received awards for their posters: Matthew Denny at Pennsylvania State University for “Systemic Risk and the Structure of International Lending” and Ashlie Denton of Portland State University for “Local/Global Power in Pacific Islands Climate Change Governance Networks.”
In addition to the poster session, the conference featured workshops covering topics in network analysis, myriad panel presentations, and formal and informal networking events including morning runs along the Olentangy River.