Friedolin Merhout

Friedolin Merhout is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen, holding a tenured-track position. He serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the interdisciplinary MSc in Social Data Science and coordinates the Welfare, Inequality, and Mobility research group. His affiliations include the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS).

• Education: B.A. from Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), Ph.D. from Duke University (USA)
• Roles: Director of Graduate Studies, Research Group Coordinator, Faculty Member

His research focuses on computational and experimental methods to study intergroup relations using digital trace, text, survey, and administrative data. Key themes include political polarization, radicalization, and the impact of digital media. Recent work combines Google search data with military records to explore discrimination-radicalization links and uses online experiments to address polarization.

His publications span computational sociology, political behavior, and research methodology, with notable contributions on Russian IRA influence on U.S. voters and the efficacy of mobile platforms to reduce polarization.

He leads the Crowdsourced Replication Initiative, examining variability in social science research outcomes. Office hours are Tuesdays 15:00–16:00 in room 16.1.49.