I believe that the most important problems facing us today are social problems.  Understanding key social issues and developing effective policy requires domain-specific knowledge as well as the resouces to analyze this knowledge.  My goal as a research technology consultant at IQSS is to empower Harvard's world-class social scientists to utilize cutting-edge technology.  The right computational resources can not only save time, but  unlock previously unavailable research methods.

My background in computational neuroscience gave me a wide array of opportunities to learn and develop new technologies and apply them to real data.  My previous research used simulation techniques to investigate error in cell counting, density-uniformizing maps (cartograms) to understand the neural representation of the visual field and machine learning tools to predict natural movements from brain signals.  I hope to draw from these experiences to support a wide array of social science research.

I would be delighted to consult with you on your research questions and brainstorm ways to use new computational techniques to extend them.  For more information, please e-mail dataquest@help.hmdc.harvard.edu

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Alex earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University and has bachelors degrees in Cognitive Science, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) from UC Berkeley.  Prior to joining IQSS, Alex studied computational models of biological vision and used brain signals to predict natural movements.  Alex is excited about using statistical tools to empower social scientists, work towards social justice and understand the inner workings of the Red Sox.  In his spare time, he enjoys vegetarian cooking, writing and listening to music, and slow pitch softball.