Katherine Ognyanova on Life, the Universe, and Networked Media   RSS Feed

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:

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)

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

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

Capital Weekly

Selected publications from that period are available on Reuters/Factiva.
Interviews conducted for Economedia include:

  • 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.
  • 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

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).

Born in Bulgaria, 1981.