Advancing Social Science Research: A Workshop Series on AI, LLMs, and Computational Methods

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 09:04:27 -0500
ai, hpc, llm, seminar, talk

UMBC's Center for Social Science Scholarship will hold a workshop series this Spring on generative AI, LLMs, and computational social science methods. Sessions will focus on familiarizing faculty and students with deploying AI and LLM models in their research and on developing a deeper understanding of the ethical, equity, and environmental consequences of these models.

February 20 | 12-1:30pm | PUP 438
Social Network Analysis: Building Web-Based Applications for Experiential Learning
Dr. Steve McDonald, Professor of Sociology, NC State University

February 27 | 12-1:30pm | PUP 438
A City in Motion: How Everyday Routines Channel and Control Crime in Baltimore
Dr. Brian Soller, Associate Professor of Sociology (SAPH), UMBC

March 25 | 12-1:30pm | PUP 438
Geospatial Analysis
Krishna Mummadi, CS3 Graduate Assistant & GES Graduate Student

April 14 | 2-4pm | Walker Avenue, Suite 130 (Hybrid)
Foundations of Large Language Models
Dr. Josephine Namayanja, Executive Director, iHARP, UMBC
Rhoda Nankabirwa, iHARP Research Assistant and PhD Student, UMBC

April 22 | 12-1:30pm | Webex
Equity in Algorithms
Dr. Kayla Schwoerer, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

April 29 | 12-1:30pm | Webex
Evaluating LLMs for Credible and Rigorous Social Science Research
Dr. Michael Overton, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Idaho

May 1 | 12-1:30pm | PUP 438
ML Models for Causal Inference Analysis + HPC
Dr. Eric Stokan, CS3 Director and Associate Professor of Political Science, UMBC; Roy Prouty, Assistant Director for Research Computing, DoIT; Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science, and Sai Vikas Amaraneni, iHARP Research Assistant & Ph.D. Student

Register for sessions here