Matthew R. Francisco, PhD Candidate
Department of Science and Technology Studies
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

February 2008 - Some about me stuff

I'm a PhD student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Science and Technology Studies. Broadly, my interests are in the design of learning environments. How are modern educational spaces put together? What role does technology play putting together a place to learn? What design insights or design themes can be developed from comparing learning environments in different cultures? Also, what designs themes can we learn from complexity science and computer science?

My NSF funded dissertation project is on how software engineers and scientists in the United States and Europe use computer simulation (agent-based simulation) to create a field for better understanding the complexity of human life. For this project, I a plan on conducting interviews and visiting labs over the summer and into the fall (2008). If you use agent-based modeling to study society or culture and would like to show me your work please contact me at francm at rpi.edu.

I currently live in Troy, NY. I'm originally from San Juan County in Northwestern New Mexico. Here's some pictures of New Mexico: 550 near Aztec and 550 past San Ysidro.

You can find me on flickr and on facebook.