Social and Organizational Informatics

Social and Organizational Informatics (SOI) is a confederation of faculty and graduate students aimed at studying the ways in which social, cultural, political, economic, and organizational structures impact and are impacted by information technologies. We are a highly interdisciplinary team drawing from several academic fields, such as information science, business, philosophy, social sciences, planning, development studies, and sociology, to answer our questions.

Our research begins with the needs of people and communities. We seek to understand and potentially solve socio-technical problems. People lead our research, not technological opportunities. Our research is critical. Technologies advantage and disadvantage populations. Our research seeks to affect change. Our research begins with the assumption that technologies are not neutral tools. They are political, have unintended consequences, and carry embedded values. SOI develops both scientific understanding and practical tools to help communities and institutions.

Research-Active Faculty
Photo of Mahir Akgun

Assistant Teaching Professor

Learning Analytics; Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL); Epistemic Agency

Photo of Guoray Cai

Associate Professor

Geographical information science; Visual analytics; Online democracy and deliberation

Photo of Kelley Cotter

Assistant Professor

Critical Algorithm Studies; Algorithmic Literacy; Platform Governance

Photo of Fred Fonseca

Associate Professor

Data Science; Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Technology

Photo of David Fusco

Associate Teaching Professor

Photo of Chris Gamrat

Assistant Teaching Professor

Photo of Nicklaus A. Giacobe

Associate Teaching Professor

Cybersecurity Education; Cybersecurity; Situation Awareness

Photo of Edward J. Glantz

Teaching Professor

Cybersecurity; Risk Analysis; Risk Identification

Photo of Sharon Huang

Professor

Biomedical Image Data Analysis; Computer Vision; Machine Learning

Photo of Johnson Kinyua

Associate Teaching Professor

Cybersecurity; Building Secure Software Systems; RFID

Photo of Priya Kumar

Assistant Professor

Privacy and agency; Digital childhood/parenting; Datafication/data power

Photo of Cindy Lin

Assistant Professor

Feminist Science and Technology Studies; Critical Data Studies; Postcolonial Studies

Photo of Peng Liu

Raymond G. Tronzo, MD Professor of Cybersecurity

Computer Security; Building Secure Software Systems; Secure Internet of Things

Photo of Carleen Maitland

Professor

Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD); Social Informatics; Organizational Informatics

Photo of William Parquette

Professor of Practice

Strategic Deception; National Intelligence; National Security

Default directory image

Professor

Cognitive Modelling and learning; Cognitive Architecture; Human-Computer Interaction

Photo of Mary Beth Rosson

Professor

Human-Centered Design; Technology-Mediated Education; Online Communities

Photo of Don Shemanski

Professor of Practice

Photo of Daniel Susser

Assistant Professor

Technology Ethics and Policy; Privacy; Philosophy of Technology

Photo of Andrea Tapia

Associate Dean for Research

Crisis Informatics; Social Data Analytics; Social Theories and Methods of Information

Photo of Urja Vora

Associate Teaching Professor

Multidisciplinary Engineering; IoT; Software Architecture

Suhang Wang

Assistant Professor

Data Mining; Social Media Mining; Machine Learning

Photo of Aiping Xiong

Assistant Professor

Human Factors; Cybersecurity and Privacy; Human Perception and Action

Photo of Lynette (Kvasny) Yarger

Professor

Social Informatics; Future of Work; Critical Theory

Photo of Xiang Zhang

Associate Professor

Data Mining; Machine Learning; Big Data Analytics

Recent News

College of IST awards seed grants to 8 projects

March 7, 2023

The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology recently announced eight projects that will receive funding from the college’s seed grant program.

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Information Sciences and Technology faculty, staff recognized with annual awards

February 8, 2023

Faculty and staff in the College of Information Sciences and Technology were recognized at the college’s annual awards event this week. Recipients were nominated by their IST colleagues and selected by a review committee for their excellence in teaching, research and service.

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On the Bridge — December 2022

November 30, 2022

A compilation of recent news, highlights, and achievements from the College of Information Sciences and Technology community.

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NSF grant to help reimagine first-year experiences through diverse lens

November 2, 2022

A Penn State research team aims to meet the unique needs of increasingly diverse student bodies by reimagining first-year learning experiences in technology-related degree programs at U.S. universities, thanks to a new $296,804 grant from the National Science Foundation.  

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Office of Research

411 Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub
State College, PA 16801

researchadmin@ist.psu.edu
(814) 863-6801