Damon Centola named 2026 Guggenheim Fellow | Penn Today
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:15
Damon Centola named 2026 Guggenheim Fellow | Penn Today
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As director of the Network Dynamics Group and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Centola’s research centers on social networks and behavior change.
(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)
Damon Centola
of the
Annenberg School for Communication
,
School of Engineering and Applied Science
, and
School of Arts & Sciences
has been named a
2026 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow
. He is among 223 people working across 55 disciplines chosen from nearly 5,000 applicants in this 101st class of
Guggenheim Fellows
, and he is one of just three awardees to receive the Fellowship in the category of sociology.
The Elihu Katz Professor of Communication, Sociology and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is director of the
Network Dynamics Group
and a senior fellow at the
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
, Centola’s research centers on social networks and behavior change. His work has received numerous scientific awards, including the Goodman Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Sociological Methodology in 2011; the James Coleman Award for Outstanding Research in Rationality and Society in 2017; and the Harrison White Award for Outstanding Scholarly Book in 2019.
He was a developer of the NetLogo agent-based modeling environment and was awarded a U.S. patent for inventing a method to promote diffusion in online networks. He is a member of the Sci Foo community and fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is a series editor for Princeton University Press and the author of “
How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions
” and “
Change: How to Make Big Things Happen.
” His new book, "
Goodthink: The New Science of Collective Intelligence
," is due out in October.
Founded in 1925, the Guggenheim Fellowship was created by Simon and Olga Guggenheim in memory of their son John Simon. The award is designed to support a project lasting six to 12 months and to allow fellows to pursue independent work at the highest level under the “freest possible conditions,” according to the foundation.
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Skip to Content
Skip to Content
News from
University of Pennsylvania
Try Advanced Search
View large image
As director of the Network Dynamics Group and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Centola’s research centers on social networks and behavior change.
(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)
Damon Centola
of the
Annenberg School for Communication
,
School of Engineering and Applied Science
, and
School of Arts & Sciences
has been named a
2026 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow
. He is among 223 people working across 55 disciplines chosen from nearly 5,000 applicants in this 101st class of
Guggenheim Fellows
, and he is one of just three awardees to receive the Fellowship in the category of sociology.
The Elihu Katz Professor of Communication, Sociology and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is director of the
Network Dynamics Group
and a senior fellow at the
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
, Centola’s research centers on social networks and behavior change. His work has received numerous scientific awards, including the Goodman Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Sociological Methodology in 2011; the James Coleman Award for Outstanding Research in Rationality and Society in 2017; and the Harrison White Award for Outstanding Scholarly Book in 2019.
He was a developer of the NetLogo agent-based modeling environment and was awarded a U.S. patent for inventing a method to promote diffusion in online networks. He is a member of the Sci Foo community and fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is a series editor for Princeton University Press and the author of “
How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions
” and “
Change: How to Make Big Things Happen.
” His new book, "
Goodthink: The New Science of Collective Intelligence
," is due out in October.
Founded in 1925, the Guggenheim Fellowship was created by Simon and Olga Guggenheim in memory of their son John Simon. The award is designed to support a project lasting six to 12 months and to allow fellows to pursue independent work at the highest level under the “freest possible conditions,” according to the foundation.
Share this article
Threads
Credits
Media Contacts
Dan Shortridge
More from
Annenberg School for Communication
School of Arts & Sciences
School of Engineering & Applied Science
Awards
Faculty
Sociology
Communications
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
Health & Medicine
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell investigates the use of a lettuce-based, plant-encapsulated delivery platform as a new oral delivery of two GLP-1 drugs previously approved by the FDA in injectable form.
No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
Image: Sciepro/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
Natural Sciences
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Research led by Penn neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley and collaborators finds that hypothalamic neurons are essential for translating physical exertion into endurance, potentially opening the door to exercise-mimicking therapies.
Studying Shakespeare through the lens of love
In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
nocred
Arts & Humanities
Studying Shakespeare through the lens of love
In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
Beating the heat: Designing cooling for bodies in motion
nocred
Technology
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Dorit Aviv, director of Weitzman’s Thermal Architecture Lab, studies how humans, technology, and design intersect, paving the way for the development of novel approaches to cooling people efficiently.