Wei (Rocio) Zhong
Computational Social Scientist
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, which I joined in Fall 2025.
Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University and a Research Scientist at the Institute of Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP) at George Washington University. I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science and an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
My research examines how digital communication shapes political behavior, public opinion, and polarization. I use large-scale social media data and computational methods—including natural language processing, machine learning, and network analysis—to study topics such as voting, online extremism, and the dynamics of political division.
Education
2014.08 - 2021.05
Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2016.08 - 2018.05
M.S. in Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2012 .08 - 2014.05
M.A. in Politics, New York University
2005.08 - 2009.05
B.A. in Spanish, University of International Business and Economics, China (对外经济贸易大学）