George Chacko

George Chacko is a Research Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the Grainger College of Engineering and the Department of Computer Science. His research focuses on community detection in networks, scientometrics, and network analysis, with applications to scientific collaboration structures and knowledge diffusion. Chacko leads the research analytics unit for the Grainger College, bridging methodological development and real-world scientific evaluation challenges.

Research Interests: Dr. Chacko’s work integrates computer science, informatics, and the history of science to explore how communities form around scientific questions. He emphasizes scalable methods for community detection, synthetic network generation, and algorithmic improvements for well-connectedness analysis. His current projects include agent-based models of citation behavior and collaborations with institutions like Insper (Brazil) and Purdue University.

Publications: His recent work includes advancements in synthetic network generation (EC-SBM), well-connected community detection methods (CM++), and studies on center-periphery structures in research communities. These contributions highlight his focus on algorithmic rigor and interdisciplinary applications.

Grants & Collaborations: Supported by NSF, Insper-Illinois Partnership, and NIH, Chacko collaborates with Tandy Warnow, David Bader, and others. He advises PhD/MS students on topics like clustering and network analytics, offering CS 598 courses tailored to thesis research.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Computational Scientometrics group, developing tools for research evaluation and network analysis. Active in program committees for Complex Networks and ISSI conferences, emphasizing science policy through initiatives like LiSPI workshops.