Paul Resnick

Paul Resnick is the Michael D. Cohen Collegiate Professor of Information and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan School of Information. A pioneer in recommender systems and computational social science, he co-developed the GroupLens system which earned the 2010 ACM Software Systems Award. His research spans social computing, online communities, and human-computer interaction with a focus on addressing societal challenges like misinformation and political polarization.

Resnick's research interests include computational social science, recommender systems, human-computer interaction, and data visualization. His work focuses on designing socio-technical systems that enhance diversity in information consumption, improve community health, and combat misinformation. He has developed influential metrics like the Iffy Quotient for assessing platform health and the Community Notes Monitor for tracking X's community moderation system. His research on recommender systems, online communities, and social computing has been funded by NSF, Google, and other organizations.

His recent scholarly output demonstrates a strong focus on misinformation detection, content moderation, and recommender system design. The research shows increasing emphasis on practical interventions to reduce political polarization and improve digital wellbeing. His work bridges technical innovation with social science insights, particularly in how algorithmic systems affect information ecosystems and user behavior in online communities.

• 2010 ACM Software Systems Award (for GroupLens system)

As an educator, Resnick has mentored numerous PhD students including Sean Munson, Xiaodan Daniel Zhou, and Sam Carton. His work on the book 'Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design' (2012, MIT Press) with Robert Kraut has become a foundational text in the field. His research projects like BALANCE, RumorLens, Commit To Steps, and MTogether demonstrate his commitment to designing online systems that promote healthy information ecosystems and social interactions.