Duncan J. Watts

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

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. He is author of the book Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age and Everything is Obvious Once You Know the Answer.

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." 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. 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. (1998). "Collective dynamics of 'small-world' networks". Nature. 393 (6684): 440–442. Bibcode:1998Natur.393..440W. doi:10.1038/30918. PMID 9623998. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Watts, D.J. (1999). "Networks, Dynamics, and the Small-World Phenomenon". AJS. 105 (2): 493–527. doi:10.1086/210318.
• Watts, Duncan (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. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• 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.
• Dodds, Peter (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. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• 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.
• Dodds, P.S. (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. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Watts, D.J. (2005). "Multiscale, resurgent epidemics in a hierarchical metapopulation model" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (32): 11157–11162. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10211157W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0501226102. PMC 1183543. PMID 16055564. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• [1] Home page of Duncan Watts at Yahoo Research
• Clive Thompson (2008-02). "Is the Tipping Point Toast?". Fast Company. Retrieved 2008-02-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Duncan Watts (2003-02). Six Degrees: The Science of the Connected Age. Retrieved 2008-07-29. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)