Shizhen Chen

Shizhen Chen is an Information Systems & Operations Management PhD student at Goizueta Business School. He will be on the 2025/2026 academic job market.

His research focuses on online communities, with particular interest in open collaboration, crowdsourcing, and collective action under high temporal dynamics. He applies computational and statistical methods (e.g., computer vision, survival modeling) to analyze unstructured trace data in r/place social experiment and uncover how dispersed individuals mobilize toward shared goals in digital environments.

Looking ahead, he envisions a future where advances in AI and digital technologies further expand the possibilities of online collective action. As tools for coordination, visualization, and intelligent assistance become increasingly accessible, large-scale collaborations (from to scientific computing projects like Folding@home to humanitarian mapping efforts such as OpenStreetMap) can generate even greater social and economic value. His ongoing work aims to understand what drives some of these initiatives to thrive while others struggle, offering insights into how technology, motivation, and community structure jointly determine the success and sustainability of collective endeavors.