California Exodus? A Network Model of Population Redistribution in the United States

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The California Exodus, where droves of population are leaving California and settling in other U.S. states, has recently received broad media coverage, but less attention in scientific research. In a recent paper published in Journal of Mathematical Sociology, NCASD researchers Peng Huang and Carter Butts analyze the population redistribution pattern in the United States. They […]

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Parameter estimation procedures for exponential-family random graph models on count-valued networks: A comparative simulation study

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The exponential-family random graph models (ERGMs) have emerged as an important framework for modeling a wide variety of relational types. ERGMs for valued networks are less well-developed than their unvalued counterparts, and pose particular computational challenges. Network data with edge values on the non-negative integers (count-valued networks) is an important such case, with examples ranging

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Probing Protein Adaptations in Extreme Environments

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Extremophiles are organisms that thrive, or at least tolerate, extreme environmental conditions, such as the high temps and pressures found near under-water hydrothermal vents, or the freezing temperatures of permafrost soils. To survive these uncomfortable climates, organisms have had to undergo adaptations, specifically molecular adaptations that change the behavior between their biomacromolecules to reflect the

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Network Analysis Uncovers Advantageous Adaptations in a Viral Enzyme

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A year’s worth of mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) were analyzed by NCASD member Elizabeth M. Diessner, in collaboration with Gemma R. Takahashi from the Martin Lab, to investigate how adaptations of the viral protein may contribute to the spread of the virus behind the Covid-19 pandemic. Published in Biochemistry, this paper details

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Network Hamiltonian Models Provide Access to Scalable Protein Aggregation Simulations

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Aggregation of γD-crystallin proteins in the eye lens are a known cause of both genetic and age-related cataract disease. Models of these aggregates are difficult to produce due to the size and complexity of traditional Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. In this paper, published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, NCASD member Liz Diessner and

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Summer Conferences with NCASD

This summer, NCASD members were honored to present at both the Sunbelt Networks Conference and the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Our members presented the following talks: Sunbelt Networks Conference “Changing the Subject: The Structure of Causal Narratives in Official COVID-19 Communications”, Speaker: Sabrina Mai. Section: Words and Networks “Affinity and Hierarchy of the International

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Peng Huang Profile

Lab member Peng Huang awarded prestigious Mathematical Sociology’s Geoffrey Tootell Mathematical Sociology Outstanding Dissertation-in-Progress Award

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Congratulation to current lab member Peng Huang, who has been awarded The Section on Mathematical Sociology’s Geoffrey Tootell Mathematical Sociology Outstanding Dissertation-in-Progress Award! From the American Sociological Association Mathematical Sociologist Newsletter (Summer 2022 Vol. 26 No. 1): “Huang demonstrates a strong and promising record as a junior researcher in the field of mathematical sociology. The

Lab member Peng Huang awarded prestigious Mathematical Sociology’s Geoffrey Tootell Mathematical Sociology Outstanding Dissertation-in-Progress Award Read More »

Alumni Zack Almquist Honored with NSF Career Award

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Zack Almquist, UCI Alumni and assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Washington, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project entitled, “CAREER: Measuring and Modeling the Multi-Modal Networks and Demographics of People Experiencing Homelessness”. The CAREER award is

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