Chen Tian

Chen is a Ph.D. Candidate in Information Systems at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University. He will be on the 2025/2026 academic job market.

Chen's research uses causal inference methodologies to examine the socio-economic and environmental implications of artificial intelligence (AI), with a particular emphasis on the physical infrastructure that enables it—namely, data centers.

Currently, his research centers on two complementary streams. The first investigates the location strategies of data centers in the United States, tracing their evolution over the past two decades and examining how their presence generates externalities and welfare effects for local communities. The second adopts a global perspective, exploring how the rise of national data localization policies influences data center growth worldwide and how these dynamics shape AI innovation, competitiveness, and geopolitical outcomes.