Sonic Lab at Northwestern University

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

The 2026 Lambert ANN SONIC NICO workshop was an incredible meeting of interdisciplinary scholars asking provocative questions, generating insights and future directions for scientists on how to reimagine human-centered computing research in the age of AI.

05/13/2026

The Kellogg Global Hub is a lively place this week as the 2026 Lambert ANN SONIC NICO Workshop: Reimagining Human-Centered Computing Research in the Age of AI gets underway, running May 12–14 in Rooms L-120 (Wednesday) and 5101 (Thursday) at 2211 Campus Drive, Evanston.

AI is changing how researchers ask questions, gather evidence, and build knowledge across computer science and the social sciences. Over three days, around 40 leading scholars and practitioners are coming together to explore what that means for human-centered computing — where the field is headed, what new research questions are emerging, and how cross-disciplinary collaborations can move things forward.

The program features talks, panels, and working discussions on AI's role in scientific inquiry, human-centered design, and evolving research methods, all focused on shaping the next chapter of human-AI collaboration in research.

This is the 12th gathering in the ANN-SONIC workshop series, co-hosted by SONIC at Northwestern and the Annenberg Networks Network at USC.

More info here: https://www.nico.northwestern.edu/lambert-ann-sonic-nico-workshop/

03/04/2026

We’re excited to spotlight Creative Agency in the Age of AI, happening Friday, March 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Frances Searle Building, Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design (Room 1-122), 2240 Campus Drive.

As AI tools become collaborators in writing, research, music, design, and movement, they are reshaping what it means to be creative. This event brings together researchers and artists to examine an important question: how can we ensure AI supports human creativity without diminishing human agency?

Throughout the day, participants will explore how AI can influence creative decision-making, teamwork, interface design, and the future of human-AI collaboration across the arts and beyond. The program will feature demos, panels, interdisciplinary discussion, and a speed-writing session focused on imagining more empowering futures for creative work. We’re especially proud to see this event organized by Duri Long, Noshir Contractor, and Karan Ahuja.

More info: https://www.hci.northwestern.edu/news-events/colloquia-special-events/hci-d-ai-symposia-2026/creative-agency-in-the-age-of-ai.html

02/17/2026

Proud to share that three Northwestern undergraduates—Shraeya Iyer, Jeffrey Tu, and Isabel Su—will be presenting at NetSciX (Feb 17–20, 2026) in New Zealand. Their paper is based on research supported by the Buffett Center and the Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs).

Talk: A Multiplex Lens on Influencer Performance, Group Synergy, and Network Centralization (https://openreview.net/pdf?id=fTdi2HJTxR)

Co-authors: Megan Chan, Noshir Contractor

Conference details: https://netscix2026.github.io/

Congratulations to Shraeya, Jeffrey, and Isabel on representing Northwestern and sharing their work with the network science community!

02/11/2026

Excited to share our new article in Research Policy with Noshir Contractor, Pamela Hinds, Aaron Schecter, and Elisa Mattarelli. We found that in open innovation communities, it's not just who gives you feedback — it's who they're connected to. Ideas that receive feedback from well-connected contributors gain visibility, legitimacy, and alignment that boost their innovation potential. We call this "secondhand social capital," and it turns out to be a stronger predictor of idea quality than traditional network measures.

Check it out:

02/03/2026

SIAM News just published new work by Diego Gómez Zará and Noshir Contractor on:

Can AI help build teams that are both more representative and more effective—without removing human choice?

They frame team formation as multi-objective optimization, balancing variety (skills/backgrounds) with familiarity (existing ties), using NSGA-II to generate a Pareto set of strong tradeoffs rather than a single “best” team.

In a large-scale MyDreamTeam experiment (380+ participants), creativity was highest when people retained agency in choosing teammates while the system provided representation-aware recommendations—positioning AI as a structured nudge that broadens collaboration rather than replacing human judgment.

Read Here: https://www.siam.org/publications/siam-news/articles/can-artificial-intelligence-help-build-better-more-representative-teams/

01/09/2026

New research challenges a common assumption about shared leadership: that two leaders are better than one.

In an in-press study by Leslie DeChurch, Alina Lungeanu, Megan Chan, and Noshir Contractor, researchers analyze data from NASA space analog teams and Ancient Rome (32 BCE–491 CE) to examine the stability of shared leadership over time.

The findings reveal a striking pattern: while single-leader structures and shared leadership among three or more leaders tend to persist, dyadic shared leadership (two leaders) is uniquely unstable—a phenomenon the authors term “dyadic instability.”

For organizations considering co-leadership models, the takeaway is clear: how leadership is structured matters.

Read the full article (in press): https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amd.2025.0028

12/11/2025

Kellogg Insight has just published a deep dive into groundbreaking research by Noshir Contractorand Leslie DeChurch on how to keep teams functioning effectively during long-duration space missions.

For nearly a decade, the researchers have worked with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, analyzing data from Earth-based Mars mission simulations in Houston and Moscow. Their models—CREWS, SCALE, and the new TEAMSTaR dashboard—identify the five critical markers of successful team dynamics in extreme, isolated environments:

These insights are now helping NASA design the next generation of space crews: teams capable of surviving and thriving on a three-year mission to Mars with limited communication, total confinement, and no backup plan.
And the impact doesn’t stop in space. The same tools designed to support astronauts are already inspiring new approaches to teamwork and leadership here on Earth.

Read "Houston, We Have a Solution" to learn how NASA and Northwestern researchers are shaping the future of human collaboration—in space and beyond: https://lnkd.in/e6ST5dE8