James Bagrow

Research Teaching Publications Blog

Associate Professor

Mathematics & Statistics and Vermont Complex Systems Center,
Innovation E426, University of Vermont
james.bagrow [at] uvm.edu    Curriculum Vitae
Mastodon

News

July 2025: Our paper on Recommendations for sharing network data and materials received a 2025 SIPS Commendation from The Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science.

Working with network data

June 2024: Data scientists working with networks! Network scientists working with data! At long last, my new textbook, Working with Network Data is out. Available now from Cambridge University Press.
Find out more.

May 2022: Our study on the interplay between travel and sleep is the cover article of the May 2022 issue of Nature Human Behaviour!

All news

Research

Communities
Human mobility
Robust networks
Dynamics

I'm interested in the underlying rules and organizing principles of complex physical and social systems. My work combines mathematical models with large-scale data analysis to better understand these systems, with a particular emphasis on network science and human dynamics.   Github.com/bagrow

Teaching

Publications

Google Scholar Profile     ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-4614-0792

  1. Vertex addition to a ball graph with application to reliability and area coverage in autonomous swarms,
    C. Buchanan, P. Rombach, J. Bagrow and H. R. Ossareh, Preprint (2025)
  2. Multi-Exit Kolmogorov–Arnold Networks: enhancing accuracy and parsimony,
    J. Bagrow and J. Bongard, Preprint (2025)
  3. Recommendations for sharing network data and materials,
    Z. P. Neal, Z. W. Almquist, J. Bagrow, A. Clauset, J. Diesner, E. Lazega, J. Lovato, J. Moody, T. P. Peixoto, Z. Steinert-Threlkeld, and A. S. Teixeira, Network Science 12(4), pp. 404-417 (2024)

    SIPS 2025 Commendation.

  4. Measuring centralization of online platforms through size and interconnection of communities,
    M. Z. Trujillo, L. Hébert-Dufresne and J. Bagrow, Online Social Networks and Media 43-44, 100292 (2024)
  5. Evolving Form and Function: Dual-Objective Optimization in Neural Symbolic Regression Networks,
    A. Bertschinger, J. Bagrow and J. Bongard, In Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO '24) (2024)
  6. Revisiting Stylized Facts for Modern Stock Markets,
    E. Ratliff-Crain, C. M. Van Oort, J. Bagrow, M. T. K. Koehler and B. F. Tivnan, In, 2023 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (BigData) (2023)
  7. The Metric is the Message: Benchmarking Challenges for Neural Symbolic Regression,
    A. Bertschinger, Q. T. Davis, J. Bagrow and J. Bongard, In Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases: Research Track. (ECML PKDD 2023) (2023)
  8. Node Placement to Maximize Reliability of a Communication Network with Application to Satellite Swarms,
    C. Buchanan, J. Bagrow, P. Rombach and H. Ossareh, In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 3466-3473 (2023)
  9. Hierarchical team structure and multidimensional localization (or siloing) on networks,
    L. Hébert-Dufresne, G. St-Onge, J. Meluso, J. Bagrow, and A. Allard, J. Phys. Complex. 4 035002 (2023)
  10. Using fast and slow data to unfold city dynamics,
    J. Bagrow, Nature Computational Science (News & views) 3, 578–579 (2023)
  11. Network Cards: concise, readable summaries of network data,
    J. Bagrow and Y.-Y. Ahn, Applied Network Science 7:84 (2022)
  12. The penumbra of open source: projects outside of centralized platforms are longer maintained, more academic and more collaborative,
    M. Z. Trujillo, L. Hébert-Dufresne and J. Bagrow, EPJ Data Science 11:31 (2022)
  13. Accurate inference of crowdsourcing properties when using efficient allocation strategies,
    A. Hotaling and J. Bagrow, Nature Scientific Reports 12, 6849 (2022)
  14. A Review and Framework for Modeling Complex Engineered System Development Processes,
    J. Meluso, J. Austin-Breneman, J. P. Bagrow and L. Hébert-Dufresne, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems (2022)
  15. Contrasting social and non-social sources of predictability in human mobility,
    Z. Chen, S. Kelty, A. G. Evsukoff, B. Foucault Welles, J. Bagrow, R. Menezes and G. Ghoshal, Nature Communications 13, 1922 (2022)
  16. Sleep during travel balances individual sleep needs,
    S. S. Jonasdottir, J. Bagrow, and S. Lehmann, Nature Human Behaviour 5, 691-699 (2022)
  17. The OCEAN mailing list data set: Network analysis spanning mailing lists and code repositories,
    M. Warrick, S. F. Rosenblatt, J.-G. Young, A. Casari, L. Hébert-Dufresne, and J. Bagrow, 2022 IEEE/ACM 19th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR), Data/Tool Showcase (2022)
  18. Recovering lost and absent information in temporal networks,
    J. P. Bagrow and S. Lehmann, Preprint (2021)
  19. Flexible Environments for Hybrid Collaboration: Redesigning Virtual Work Through the Four Orders of Design,
    J. Meluso, S. Johnson and J. P. Bagrow, Design Issues 38(1): 55–69. (2022)
  20. Masculinity Contest Cultures and Inclusive Cultures: Insights From an Agent-Based Model of Organizational Socialization and Promotion,
    J. Meluso, L. Hébert-Dufresne, J. P. Bagrow and R. Razzante, The Future of Diversity & Inclusion, E.B. King, Q.M. Roberson, and M. Hebl, eds., vol. 3 of Research on Social Issues in Management, Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, NC, USA (2022)
  21. Which contributions count? Analysis of attribution in open source,
    J.-G. Young, A. Casari, K. Mclaughlin, M. Z. Trujillo, L. Hébert-Dufresne and J. P. Bagrow, 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)

    FOSS Impact paper award.

  22. The sociospatial factors of death: Analyzing effects of geospatially-distributed variables in a Bayesian mortality model for Hong Kong,
    T. Alshaabi, D. R. Dewhurst, J. P. Bagrow, P. S. Dodds and C. M. Danforth, PLOS ONE 16(3): e0247795 (2021)
  23. TL;DR: how well do machines summarize our work? (correspondence),
    J. P. Bagrow, Nature, 590: 36 (2021)
  24. Open Source Ecosystems Need Equitable Credit across Contributions,
    A. Casari, K. McLaughlin, M. Z. Trujillo, J.-G. Young, J. P. Bagrow and L. Hébert-Dufresne, Nature Computational Science, 1 (1): 2—2 (2021)
  25. Efficient crowdsourcing of crowd-generated microtasks,
    A. Hotaling and J. P. Bagrow, PLOS ONE, 15 (12): e0244245 (2020)
  26. Creativity in temporal social networks: how divergent thinking is impacted by one’s choice of peers,
    R. A. Baten, D. Bagley, A. Tenesaca, F. Clark, J. P. Bagrow, G. Ghoshal, and M. E. Hoque, J. R. Soc. Interface, 17:20200667 (2020)
  27. Democratizing AI: Non-expert design of prediction tasks,
    J. P. Bagrow, PeerJ Computer Science 6:e296 (2020)
  28. Complex contagion features without social reinforcement in a model of social information flow,
    T. Pond, S. Magsarjav, T. South, L. Mitchell, and J. P. Bagrow, Entropy, 22 (3): 265 (2020)
  29. An information-theoretic, all-scales approach to comparing networks,
    J. P. Bagrow and E. M. Bollt, Applied Network Science, 4 (1): 45 (2019)
  30. Inferring the size of the causal universe: features and fusion of causal attribution networks,
    D. Berenberg and J. P. Bagrow, Preprint (2018)
  31. Autocompletion interfaces make crowd workers slower, but their use promotes response diversity,
    X. Liu and J. P. Bagrow, Human Computation 6:1:42-55 (2019)
  32. Information flow reveals prediction limits in online social activity,
    J. P. Bagrow, X. Liu, and L. Mitchell, Nature Human Behaviour 3: 122-128 (2019)
  33. Efficient Crowd Exploration of Large Networks: The Case of Causal Attribution,
    D. Berenberg and J. P. Bagrow, In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. (CSCW'18) (2018)

    Best Paper honorable mention.

  34. Neural language representations predict outcomes of scientific research,
    J. P. Bagrow, D. Berenberg, and J. Bongard, Preprint (2018)
  35. Crowdsourcing Predictors of Residential Electric Energy Usage,
    M. D. Wagy, J. C. Bongard, J. P. Bagrow, and P. D. H. Hines, IEEE Systems Journal, 12 (4): 3151-3160 (2018)
  36. The quoter model: a paradigmatic model of the social flow of written information,
    J. P. Bagrow and L. Mitchell, Chaos, 28 (7): 075304 (2018)
  37. Information spreading during emergencies and anomalous events,
    J. P. Bagrow, In S. Lehmann & Y.-Y. Ahn (Eds.), Complex Spreading Phenomena in Social Systems (pp. 269-286). Springer (2018)
  38. Predicting an Effect Event from a New Cause Event Using a Semantic Web Based Abstraction Tree of Past Cause-Effect Event Pairs,
    P. Shrestha, B. S. Lee, and J. P. Bagrow, Proceedings of the 4th Annual International Symposium on Information Management and Big Data (SIMBig) (2017)
  39. Which friends are more popular than you? Contact strength and the friendship paradox in social networks,
    J. P. Bagrow, C. M. Danforth, and L. Mitchell, 2017 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM) (2017)
  40. Reply & Supply: Efficient crowdsourcing when workers do more than answer questions,
    T. C. McAndrew, E. A. Guseva, and J. P. Bagrow, PLOS ONE, 12 (8): e0182662 (2017)
  41. Reducing Cascading Failure Risk by Increasing Infrastructure Network Interdependence,
    M. Korkali, J. G. Veneman, B. F. Tivnan, J. P. Bagrow and P. D. H. Hines, Nature Scientific Reports, 7: 44499 (2017)
  42. What we write about when we write about causality: Features of causal statements across large-scale social discourse,
    T. C. McAndrew, J. C. Bongard, C. M. Danforth, P. S. Dodds, P. D. H. Hines, and J. P. Bagrow, 2016 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM) (2016)
  43. Transitions in climate and energy discourse between Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy,
    E. M. Cody, J. C. Stephens, J. P. Bagrow, P. S. Dodds, and C. M. Danforth, J. Environ. Stud. Sci: 1-15 (2016)
  44. Understanding the group dynamics and success of teams,
    M. Klug and J. P. Bagrow, R. Soc. open sci 3: 160007 (2016)
  45. Zipf’s law is a consequence of coherent language production,
    J. R. Williams, J. P. Bagrow, A. J. Reagan, S. E. Alajajian, C. M. Danforth, and P. S. Dodds, Preprint (2016)
  46. Identifying missing dictionary entries with frequency-conserving context models,
    J. R. Williams, E. M. Clark, J. P. Bagrow, C. M. Danforth, and P. S. Dodds, Phys. Rev. E 92 (4): 042808 (2015)
  47. Zipf's law holds for phrases, not words,
    J. R. Williams, P. R. Lessard, E. M. Clark, S. Desu, J. P. Bagrow, C. M. Danforth, and P. S. Dodds, Nature Scientific Reports, 5: 12209 (2015)
  48. Robustness and modular structure in networks,
    J. P. Bagrow, S. Lehmann and Y.-Y. Ahn, Network Science, 3 (4): 509-525 (2015)
  49. Reply to Garcia et al.: Common mistakes in measuring frequency-dependent word characteristics,
    P. S. Dodds, E. M. Clark, S. Desu, M. R. Frank, A. J. Reagan, J. R. Williams, L. Mitchell, K. D. Harris, I. M. Kloumann, J. P. Bagrow, K. Megerdoomian, M. T. McMahon, B. F. Tivnan, and C. M.Danforth, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., (2015)
  50. Text mixing shapes the anatomy of rank-frequency distributions: A modern Zipfian mechanics for natural language,
    J. R. Williams, J. P. Bagrow, C. M. Danforth, P. S. Dodds, Phys. Rev. E 91 (5): 052811 (2015)
  51. Robustness of Spatial Micronetworks,
    T. C. McAndrew, C. M. Danforth, and J. P. Bagrow, Phys. Rev. E, 91: 042813 (2015)
  52. Human language reveals a universal positivity bias,
    P. S. Dodds, E. M. Clark, S. Desu, M. R. Frank, A. J. Reagan, J. R. Williams, L. Mitchell, K. D. Harris, I. M. Kloumann, J. P. Bagrow, K. Megerdoomian, M. T. McMahon, B. F. Tivnan, and C. M.Danforth, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112 (8): 2389-2394, (2015)
  53. PTSD Symptoms, Disability, and Social Support in the Acute Period after a Traumatic Injury: A Preliminary Investigation of Competing Hypotheses,
    M. Price, M. Evans, and J. P. Bagrow, J Trauma Stress Disor Treat 4:1, (2014)
  54. Constructing a taxonomy of fine-grained human movement and activity motifs through social media,
    M. R. Frank, J. R. Williams, L. Mitchell, J. P. Bagrow, P. S. Dodds, C. M. Danforth, In preparation. (2015)
  55. Social Networks in Emergency Response,
    D. Wang, Y.-R. Lin and J. P. Bagrow, Chapter in Encyclopedia of Social Network Analysis and Mining. (2014)
  56. Quantifying Information Flow During Emergencies,
    L. Gao, C. Song, Z. Gao, A.-L. Barabási, J. P. Bagrow, and D. Wang, Nature Scientific Reports, 4: 3997 (2014)
  57. Shadow networks: Discovering hidden nodes with models of information flow,
    J. P. Bagrow, S. Desu, M. R. Frank, N. Manukyan, L. Mitchell, A. Reagan, E. E. Bloedorn, L. B. Booker, L. K. Branting, M. J. Smith, B. F. Tivnan, C. M. Danforth, P. S. Dodds, and J. C. Bongard, In preparation. (2013)
  58. Robustness of skeletons and salient features in networks,
    L. M. Shekhtman, J. P. Bagrow, and D. Brockmann, Journal of Complex Networks 2 (2): 110-120, (2014)
  59. Eyjafjallajökull and 9/11: The Impact of Large-Scale Disasters on Worldwide Mobility,
    O. Woolley-Meza, D. Grady, C. Thiemann, J. Bagrow, and D. Brockmann, PLOS ONE, 8 (8): e69829 (2013)
  60. The role of caretakers in disease dynamics,
    C. Noble, J. P. Bagrow and D. Brockmann, J. Stat. Phys., 152 (4): 787–798 (2013)
  61. Natural emergence of clusters and bursts in network evolution,
    J. P. Bagrow and D. Brockmann, Phys. Rev. X, 3: 021016 (2013)
  62. Is coaching experience associated with effective use of timeouts in basketball?,
    S. Saavedra, S. Mukherjee and J. P. Bagrow, Nature Scientific Reports, 2: 676 (2012)
  63. Communities and bottlenecks: Trees and treelike networks have high modularity,
    J. P. Bagrow, Phys. Rev. E, 85: 066118 (2012)
  64. Mesoscopic Structure and Social Aspects of Human Mobility,
    J. P. Bagrow and Y.-R. Lin, PLOS ONE, 7 (5): e37676 (2012)
  65. Quantifying Bias in Social and Mainstream Media,
    Y.-R. Lin, J. P. Bagrow and D. Lazer, SIGWEB Newsletter (Summer) (2012)
  66. Flavor network and the principles of food pairing,
    Y.-Y. Ahn, S. E. Ahnert, J. P. Bagrow and A.-L. Barabási, Nature Scientific Reports, 1: 196 (2011)

    Note: This paper has been downloaded over 100 thousand times! During the first month it was the most accessed paper from all Nature journals, including Nature itself.

  67. Visualizing relations using the "Observable Representation",
    L. S. Schulman, J. P. Bagrow and B. Gaveau, Advances in Complex Systems, 14 (6): 829-851 (2011)
  68. More Voices than Ever? Quantifying Bias in Social and Mainstream Media,
    Y.-R. Lin, J. P. Bagrow and D. Lazer, In International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (2011)
  69. Collective Response of Human Populations to Large-Scale Emergencies,
    J. P. Bagrow, D. Wang and A.-L. Barabási, PLOS ONE, 6 (3): e17680 (2011)
  70. Link communities reveal multiscale complexity in networks,
    Y.-Y. Ahn, J. P. Bagrow and S. Lehmann, Nature, 466: 761-764 (2010)
  71. Investigating Bimodal Clustering in Human Mobility,
    J. P. Bagrow and T. Koren, International Conference on Computational Science and Engineering, 4: 944-947 (2009)
  72. Dynamic Computation of Network Statistics via Updating Schema,
    J. Sun, J. P. Bagrow, E. M. Bollt and J. D. Skufca, Phys. Rev. E, 79: 036116 (2009)
  73. Kleinberg navigation on anisotropic lattices,
    J. M. Campuzano, J. P. Bagrow and D. ben-Avraham, Research Letters in Physics, 2008 (2008)
  74. Phase transition in the rich-get-richer mechanism due to finite-size effects,
    J. P. Bagrow, J. Sun and D. ben-Avraham, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., 41: 185001 (2008)
  75. Evaluating Local Community Methods in Networks,
    J. P. Bagrow, J. Stat. Mech., 2008 (5): P05001 (2008)
  76. Portraits of Complex Networks,
    J. P. Bagrow, E. M. Bollt, J. D. Skufca and D. ben-Avraham, Europhysics Letters, 81: 68004 (2008)
  77. Network Structure Revealed by Short Cycles,
    J. P. Bagrow, E. M. Bollt and L. da F. Costa, (2006)
  78. On the Google-Fame of Scientists and Other Populations,
    J. P. Bagrow and D. ben-Avraham, In Proc. Am. Inst. of Physics Conf., pages 81-89 (2005)
  79. A Local Method for Detecting Communities,
    J. P. Bagrow and E. M. Bollt, Phys. Rev. E, 72: 046108 (2005)
  80. How Famous is a Scientist? -- Famous to Those Who Know Us,
    J. P. Bagrow, H. D. Rozenfeld, E. M. Bollt and D. ben-Avraham, Europhysics Letters, 67: 511 (2004)
  81. Photometric Separation of Physical Properties of Stars,
    M. K. Nordhaus, H. J. Newberg, J. P. Bagrow, C. Rider, D. Tucker, H. A. Rave and J. A. Smith., American Astronomical Society, 201st AAS Meeting, #16.12; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34: 1126 (2002)