Long-Term Research Goal:
My overarching research objective is twofold: (1) to deepen the understanding of online user behavior and to develop responsible AI systems capable of accurately simulating and predicting such behavior, and (2) to create novel AI methodologies—either algorithmically or from a human-computer interaction (HCI) perspective—that can positively influence and modify user behavior. This could be applied, for example, through recommender systems aimed at encouraging healthier news consumption or dietary habits.
Approach:
My research methodology is positioned at the intersection of qualitative and quantitative research, grounded in robust theoretical frameworks from disciplines such as economics, psychology, physics, and medicine. I employ a diverse range of empirical approaches, from small- to large-scale offline studies, simulations, and living lab experiments, to large-scale online experiments leveraging crowd-sourced data. This multi-faceted approach enables the discovery of new patterns, the validation of algorithms, models or interfaces, and the testing of theoretically grounded hypotheses and research questions.
Application:
The applications of my research span multiple domains, particularly those involving large-scale user interactions, where millions of users directly or indirectly engage with one another. In these contexts, my work focuses on analyzing, modeling, predicting, and, where necessary, positively influencing collective cognitive behaviors.
Grants
2024: Agenda Vestland - Reynir: Combatting misinformation with joined forces. Amount: 10,000,000NOK (2 years) CO-PI.
2021: National Research Council Norway - The Double-edged Sword of News Recommenders’ Impact on Democracy (NEWSREC). Amount: 8,000,000NOK (4 years) CO-PI.
2020: National Research Council Norway - MediaFutures: Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation. Amount: 26,000,000EUR (8 years) PI.
2020: Alpro Foundation - Communicating the environmental impact of plant based recipes. Amount: 49,000EUR (1 year) PI.
2020: National Research Council Norway - RE-AIMED: Readjusted responses by use of AI in medical calls. Amount: 15,975,000NOK (4 years) PI.
2019: European Union - Interdisciplinary connectivity: Understanding and managing complex systems using connectivity science. Amount: 4,030,279EUR (4 years) Co-Investigator.
2018: National Research Council Norway - ITS for sustainable TRANSport: In-vehicle FEEDback on eco-driving and external costs. Amount: 6,700,000NOK (4 years) Co-Investigator.
2018: National Research Council Norway - Investigating the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Journalism's Social Contract - Issues of Machine Ethics in Modern Journalism. Amount: 297,000NOK (1 year) Co-Investigator.
2017: Austrian Research Promotion Agency – EcoMove - Knowledge-based platform for predicting mobility bottlenecks and promoting sustainable behavioral change. Amount: 345,424EUR (2 years) Proposal Coordinator & Co-Investigator I was responsible for the coordination of the project proposal and for describing the WP dedicated to predictive modeling and recommender systems.
2017: European Union, ReTV - Enhancing and Repurposing TV Content. Amount: 3,100,000EUR (4 years), Co-Investigator I helped to shape the recommender systems and predictive modeling part of the proposal.
2015: European Union, AFEL - Analytics for Everyday Learning. Amount: 2,581,940EUR (4 years), PI I was re-sponsible for coordinating the project from the KC side and for describing the WPs dedicated to visual analytics and social network analysis.
2014: Austrian Research Promotion Agency – K1 Research Center Grant. Amount: 20,000,000EUR (8 years) Co-PI This grant proposal was written to extend the funding period (supported by the national science fund FFG) of the Know-Center for the next 8 years. I contributed significantly to this proposal by setting up a detailed strategic research & financial plan with according industry partners for the newly created research area social computing – one out of four research areas at the center.
2014: Austrian Research Promotion Agency – 6 COMET funded industry projects. Amount: ~500,000EUR (1 year) PI I co-acquired 6 scientific industry projects supported with grants by the national science fund (FFG) in the area of Social Computing; one of the project partners is one of the largest media companies in central Europe; an other one is an young German company winning the European start-up competition prize in Amsterdam.
2014: European Union - Marie Curie ERCIM – Alain Benssousan Fellowship. Amount: 50,000EUR (1 year) PI This proposal was written to conduct individual in-depth research on the problem of predictive modeling in big data with colleagues at NTNU in Norway. This research is supported by ERCIM - the European Research Consortium of Informatics and Mathematics – acceptance rate 19/186
2013: Austrian Research Promotion Agency – 3 COMET funded industry projects. Amount: ~250,000EUR (1 year) PI I co-acquired three industry projects supported with grants by the national science fund (FFG) in the area of Social Computing.
2012: Austrian Research Promotion Agency – Innovation Check Grant . Amount: 5,000EUR (1 year) PI This grant proposal was written to conduct in-depth research on the problem of social recommender systems on multi-dimensional data. The research was conducted together with an Austrian start-up with the goal to develop a prototypical social recommender system approach for a virtual marketplace.
2012: Marshall Plan - Visiting Scholar Fellowship. Amount: 7,500USD (5 months) PI This proposal was written to conduct individual in-depth research on the topic of efficient information access in social systems.
2011: Austrian Research Promotion Agency - Dissertation Fellowship. Amount: 100,000EUR (2 years) PI This proposal was written together with my PhD advisor Denis Helic to conduct individual in-depth research on the topic of tag-based information access in social systems. I contributed significantly to the ideas, the study planning, and the overall research plan.
Awards
2020: ACM Senior Member for technical leadership, and technical or professional contributions.
2020: Momentum Stipend at UiB. Momentum is UiB’s flagship development programme for early stage researchers - postdocs, forsker or førsteamanuensis – who wish to pursue an academic career at a research university. Amount: 100,000NOK
2018: Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) Prize for our proposal on "A predicative Facebook advertising model for the Austrian food retail trade".
2017: On the list of the Annual Best of Computing in ACM Computing Reviews for our work on "VizRec: recommending personalized visualizations" published in ACM TiiS.
2017: Best Paper Award Honorable Mention at the World Wide Web Conference (WWW’17), Perth, Australia.
2014: Best Poster Award at the ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media (HT’14), Santiago de Chile, Chile.
2013: Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Social Eco Informatics (SOTICS’13), Barcelona, Spain.
2013: Second Best Poster Award at the ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci’13), Paris, France.
2012: Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Technologies (I-Know’12), Graz, Austria.
2012: Douglas Engelbert Best Paper Nomination at the ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media (HT’12), Milwaukee, USA.
2012: ACM Student Travel Award to attend the ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media (HT’12), Milwaukee, USA.
2011: Young Scholar Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Information Technology Interfaces (ITI’11), Cavtat, Croatia.
2010: SFG & OFG International Travel Award from the Austrian Science Funds SFG & OFG.