Bio Brief
My ongoing research projects are listed here. Recent works and publications are available here.
2013-2014
Lazer Lab Postdoc
I have recently accepted a position as a postdoctoral researcher in computational social science
with David Lazer’s network lab in Boston, MA.
My post, starting in Fall 2013, has a dual affiliation with:
- The College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University
- The Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University
2008-2013
USC Annenberg Ph.D.
Received a Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, USC.
Doctoral thesis: “Intermedia agenda setting in an era of fragmentation: Applications of network science in the study of mass communication.”
Research Assistant:
(Affiliated Research Centers, Annenberg School)
- Annenberg Networks Network (ANN).
PIs: Peter Monge, Manuel Castells - Metamorphosis / MetaConnects / Alhambra Source
PI: Sandra Ball-Rokeach - Center for the Digital Future.
PIs: Jeffrey Cole, Michael Suman - FCC Study: Critical Information Needs of the US Public.
PIs: Lewis A. Friedland, Philip Napoli, Ernest J. Wilson III
Teaching Assistant:
(Communication Program, Annenberg School)
- COMM 200 – Communication as a Social Science
- COMM 201 – Communication as Liberal Art
- COMM 306 – The Communication Revolution and the Arts
- COMM 310 – Media and Society
- COMM 400 – Communication Networks (Senior seminar + labs)
- COMM 645 – Communication Networks (PhD seminar + labs)
Course Instructor:
(Online Communities Program, Annenberg School)
- CMGT 540 – Uses of Communication Research (Syllabus)
Graduate level class on research design and methodology.
1999-2013
Fellowships & Scholarships
- Consortium on Media Policy Studies DC Fellowship with the FCC (2012)
- Oxford Internet Institute Summer Doctoral Program (2011)
- USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship (2007-2012)
- Academic Excellence Scholarship, Sofia University (1999-2002)
1999-2013
Education
2013: PhD. in Communication from the University of Southern California.
Dissertation Title: Intermedia agenda setting in an era of fragmentation:
Applications of network science in the study of mass communication
Committee Members: Sandra Ball-Rokeach (Chair), Peter Monge, Geneva Overholser, Ann Crigler
2010: M.A. in Communication from the University of Southern California.
Degree awarded after Ph.D. level comprehensive examinations in four concentration areas:
media studies, network theory and methodology, online participation and civic engagement,
and state control over digital communications.
Committee members: Sandra Ball-Rokeach (Chair), Peter Monge, Manuel Castells,
Henry Jenkins, Geneva Overholser.
2006: M.A. in Virtual Culture from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
2004: B.Sc. in Computer Science from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
2000-2007
Professional Experience
In 2000, I started work at Economedia, the largest business media group in Bulgaria (at that time part of Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt). I spent close to seven years with Capital Weekly‘s wonderful team of journalists, designers, IT specialists, and new media experts.
My responsibilities as a journalist included observing trends in emerging technologies, online business and society, as well as performing research and analysis of telecom regulation and Internet governance. In 2006-2007, exciting new tasks – visual editing and data representation – were added to the list.
Capital Weekly
Selected publications from that period are available on Reuters/Factiva.
Interviews conducted for Economedia include:
- Everything is Online – Interview with John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems.
- Of Google, the Internet, and Outer Space – Interview with Vinton Cerf, VP and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google.
- Don’t Shut Down the Internet, Prosecute the Criminals – Interview with Lawrence Lessig, professor of law at Harvard Law School.
- The Need for 3G is Debatable – Interview with Sebastiano Tevarotto, VP & GM of Communications, HP.
- Not Every New Technology is a New Market – Interview with Georg Serentschy, CEO of RTR-GmbH, the Austrian Broadcasting and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
Interview – Vinton Cerf
Additional experience:
Reporter for the Bulgarian National Television (2001-2002) and Radio Tangra (2002-2003).
Consultant/analyst in the areas of IT, telecom regulation and new media. Worked on a number of projects, including the e-Bulgaria 2005 & 2006 reports and FISTERA Technology and Innovation Foresight for Bulgaria and Romania (ForeTech).
