Hello there!

I am an Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science in the Division of Social Science at New York University Abu Dhabi. Before joining NYUAD, I was a Postdoctoral Associate at Princeton University’s Office of Population Research.

In my research, I apply and develop quantitative and computational methods to study fundamental sociological questions in new ways and gain insights across a variety of research fields. My work examines how friendship, family, and political dynamics shape individual life chances and broader patterns of inequality. I am particularly interested in how individuals’ selection into and interactions within these environments collectively generate emergent dynamics of social stratification. Methodologically, my expertise spans causal inference, relational dynamics, multilevel modeling, and the analysis of group heterogeneity. Discover more about me and my research in this interview.

My research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, published in the Annual Review of Sociology, and is currently under revise-and-resubmit at the American Sociological Review and Political Analysis.

I hold a PhD in Sociology with a minor in Computer Science from Cornell University, where I was advised by Michael Macy (Cornell Sociology and Information Science), Filiz Garip (Princeton Sociology), Felix Elwert (UW-Madison Sociology and Statistics), Eleonora Patacchini (Cornell Economics), and Lillian Lee (Cornell Computer Science). I also earned dual MSc degrees in Methods & Statistics and Sociology & Social Research from Utrecht University, and a BA in Sociology with a minor in Economics from the University of Mannheim.

Research focus

Computational Social Science – Quantitative Methods – Stratification/Inequality – Social Networks – Family Demography – Educational Sociology – Political Sociology

News

• In October 2025, I presented my paper, “Social Closure in U.S. High Schools? Patterns and Determinants of Socioeconomic Segregation in Adolescent Friendship Networks,” at Meta Research.
• In September 2025, I joined the Social Research and Public Policy program at New York University Abu Dhabi as an Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science.
• I was a visiting researcher at the Hertie School of Public Policy in Berlin, Germany. (June-July 2024).
• I was a speaker at the 2024 Lecture Series on Network Inequality at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Austria.
• Together with Alison Schultz, I lead the project “The precious networks of the rich: How the wealthiest prevent progressive tax reforms.” at the 2024 Wealth Data Science Summer School in Bremen, Germany.
• My paper “Social Closure in U.S. High Schools? Patterns and Determinants of Socioeconomic Segregation in Adolescent Friendship Networks.” won the 2024 Best Paper Award from the Mathematical Sociology section and the section on Decision-making, Social Networks, and Society Section of the American Sociological Association as well as the 2023 Robin M. Williams Jr. Best Paper Award from the Department of Sociology at Cornell University.

Contact

benrosche at nyu dot edu