Knowledge, Networks, and the Productivity of Scientists and Engineers: Individual Research Histories and Social Capital

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Understanding scientific activity increasingly requires advancing understanding of the interactions of research teams, the dynamics of skill formation, research productivity, and the transmission of knowledge. This project creates and analyzes data on research histories of individual scientists. The particular focus is on the effect of research histories on productivity, and on the role of economic and social networks in six fields which account for the majority of scientific research: biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, medicine, and physics. Intellectual Merit: The proposal advances understanding in three areas. The first is the comparative role of individual research histories and social capital on knowledge creation by individual researchers, particularly focusing on mobility. The second is the factors contributing to the commercialization of academic computer science. The third concerns the role of social networks in the productivity of scientific institutions. In exploring changes in social networks, the work builds on new research and exploits the complementarity between networks and cyber infrastructure. Broader impacts: The research contributes to the science of science policy data infrastructure by making data available to researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research and at RPI. There is also a substantial component which addresses the training of student assistants and advanced students writing on social networks. Finally, the results of the research strengthen understanding of the changing practice of science and its interactions with public policy, especially policy towards information technology.