Kaiping Chen

Biography

Dr. Kaiping Chen (PhD, Stanford University; MPA, Columbia University) is currently an Assistant Professor in Computational Communication from the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Chen is also faculty affiliate at Department of Political Science, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies. Dr. Chen’s research use data science and machine learning methods as well as interviews to study to what extent digital media and technologies hold politicians accountable for public well-being and how deliberative designs can improve the quality of public discourse and mitigate misinformation. Dr. Chen’s work is interdisciplinary and draw from theories in communication, political science, and computer sciences. Chen’s works in utilizing big data tools and community engagement methods have been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Her works were published in flagship journals across disciplines, including the American Political Science Review, Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Public Opinion Quarterly, Public Understanding of Science, Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, International Public Management Journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), among other peer-review journals. Dr. Chen is also a civic engagement practitioner, with her continued passion to help local governments and communities in US and China implement and analyze innovative practices of engaging citizens throughout policymaking. For information about her works, you can visit: https://www.kaipingchen.com or follow her @Kaiping_Chen on Twitter.