Seth Frey

Seth Frey is an expert in computational social science and currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. He focuses on the complexity of social systems, particularly the governance of open-source communities and small-scale democratic practices. His work employs computational methods rooted in cognitive science and strategic behavior to explore institutions and phenomena of self-governance. Seth formerly worked as a behavioral economist at Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Research, and he is an affiliated researcher at the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University as well as the research director at Metagov. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Informatics with a focus on complex systems from Indiana University, and his bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley. His research areas include the dynamics of power in social systems, resource management, and experimental self-governance in online communities.

• 2013 – Present·University of California, Davis·Associate Professor
  • Researching the complexity of social systems, with a focus on governance in open-source communities and small-scale democratic practices.
• 2010 – 2013·Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Research·Behavioral Economist
  • Studied consumer behavior and complex systems to support Disney’s innovation and design efforts.
• 2008 – 2013·NECSI·Complex Systems Research Scholar
  • Focused on modeling and experimental research of complex social systems.

• 2008 – 2013·Indiana University·Ph.D.
  • Cognitive Science and Informatics (Complex Systems focus)
• 2004 – 2008·University of California, Berkeley·Bachelor's degree
  • Cognitive Science