Duncan J. Watts

Duncan J. Watts
Nationality	Australian
Fields	Physics Sociology Complex systems
Institutions	Columbia University Yahoo! Research Santa Fe Institute
Alma mater	University of New South Wales Cornell University

Duncan J. Watts (born 1971) is an Australian researcher and a principal research scientist at Yahoo! Research, where he directs the Human Social Dynamics group. He is also a past external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute and a former professor of sociology at Columbia University, where he headed the Collective Dynamics Group.^[1] He is author of the book Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age^[2] and Everything is Obvious * Once You Know the Answer: How Common Sense Fails Us (ISBN 978-0385531689).^[3]

Life and work

Duncan Watts was born in 1971. He received a B.Sc. in physics from the University of New South Wales and a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University. He describes his research as exploring the "role that network structure plays in determining or constraining system behavior, focusing on a few broad problem areas in social science such as information contagion, financial risk management, and organizational design."^[4] Among his many published works he is particularly known for his 1998 paper with Steven Strogatz in which the two presented a mathematical theory of the small world phenomenon.^[5] More recently he has attracted attention for his modern-day replication of Stanley Milgram's small world experiment using email messages and for his studies of popularity and fads in on-line and other communities.

See also

• Complex network
• Social network
• Small-world network
• Small world experiment
• Clustering coefficient
• Steven Strogatz
• Watts and Strogatz model

Bibliography

Selected works:

• Watts, D.J.; Strogatz, S.H. (1998). "Collective dynamics of 'small-world' networks". Nature 393 (6684): 440–442. Bibcode 1998Natur.393..440W. doi:10.1038/30918. PMID 9623998. 
• Watts, D.J. (1999). "Networks, Dynamics, and the Small-World Phenomenon". AJS 105 (2): 493–527. doi:10.1086/210318. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/resolve?AJSv105p493PDF. 
• Watts, Duncan; Dodds, Peter; Newman, M. E. .J. (2002). "Identity and Search in Social Networks". Science 296 (5571): 1302–1305. arXiv:cond-mat/0205383. Bibcode 2002Sci...296.1302W. doi:10.1126/science.1070120. PMID 12016312. 
• Watts, Duncan (2002). "A simple model of global cascades on random networks". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99 (9): 5766–5771. Bibcode 2002PNAS...99.5766W. doi:10.1073/pnas.082090499. PMC 122850. PMID 16578874. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=122850. 
• Dodds, Peter; Muhamad, Roby; Watts, Duncan (2003). "An Experimental Study of Search in Global Social Networks". Science 301 (5634): 827–829. Bibcode 2003Sci...301..827D. doi:10.1126/science.1081058. PMID 12907800. 
• Watts, Duncan (2003). Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393041425. 
• Watts, D.J. (21 April 2004). "The New science of networks". Annual review of sociology 30: 243–270. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16005763. 
• Dodds, P.S.; Watts, D.J. (2004). "Universal Behavior in a Generalized Model of Contagion". Physical Review Letters 92 (21): 218701. arXiv:cond-mat/0403699. Bibcode 2004PhRvL..92u8701D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.218701. PMID 15245323. 
• Watts, D.J.; Muhamad, R.; Medina, D.C.; Dodds, P.S. (2005). "Multiscale, resurgent epidemics in a hierarchical metapopulation model". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102 (32): 11157–11162. Bibcode 2005PNAS..10211157W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0501226102. PMC 1183543. PMID 16055564. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0501226102v1.pdf. 

References

1. ^ CDG Collective Dynamics Group
2. ^ Watts, Duncan (2003). Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393041425. 
3. ^ Christakis, Nicholas (24 June 2011). "The Trouble With Common Sense". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/books/review/book-review-everything-is-obvious-once-you-know-the-answer-by-duncan-j-watts.html. 
4. ^ Home page of Duncan Watts at Yahoo Research
5. ^ Watts, D.J.; Strogatz, S.H. (1998). "Collective dynamics of 'small-world' networks". Nature 393 (6684): 440–442. Bibcode 1998Natur.393..440W. doi:10.1038/30918. PMID 9623998. 

External links

• [1] Home page of Duncan Watts at Yahoo Research
• Clive Thompson (2008-02). "Is the Tipping Point Toast?". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html. Retrieved 2008-02-25. 
• Duncan Watts (2003-02). Six Degrees: The Science of the Connected Age. http://www.media.mit.edu/events/movies/video.php?id=watts-2003-02-12. Retrieved 2008-07-29. 

Persondata
Name	Watts, Duncan
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Date of birth	1971
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