Bei Yan

I am an assistant professor at the School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology. 

I study technology-supported collaboration and influence processes of groups, ranging from small teams interacting with intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) to large online crowdsourcing communities.  I conduct experiments (online and offline) and analyze big behavioral trace data of online groups using computational methods. I am currently developing a social network approach to measure valence in texts with James Danowski. 

The core question that underlies my research is how collective intelligence and structures emerge in groups that communicate via or with technology. My work lies at the intersection of communication, social psychology and human-computer interaction. 

Prior to joining Stevens, I worked as a project scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I received my PhD degree from the Annenberg  School for Communication, University of Southern California. I hold a double master’s degree in Global Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California. I graduated from Renmin University of China with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.