Samuel Arbesman

Sam Arbesman, PhD, is a senior scholar in Research and Policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Arbesman was a research fellow in the HNL where he used network science and applied mathematics to study innovation, scientific discovery, and prosocial behavior.

In addition to his research, Arbesman writes for popular audiences, and his work has appeared in such places as The Atlantic, New York Times, Boston Globe, as well as Wired, where he maintains a blog. He currently is working on a book about how knowledge changes over time, titled The Half-Life of Facts.

Arbesman earned a BA in computer science and biology from Brandeis University and a PhD in computational biology from Cornell University.

Recent Publications

• “Dynamic Social Networks Promote Cooperation in Experiments with Humans,” PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov 2011
• “Leadership Insularity: A New Measure of Connectivity Between Central Nodes in Networks,” Connections, Jun 2010
• “Scaling of Prosocial Behavior in Cities,” Physica A, Jun 2011