Peter Bearman

Peter Bearman serves as Director of the Incite Institute and holds the Jonathan R. Cole Professorship of Sociology at Columbia University, where he maintains an active research and teaching profile within the Department of Sociology. His office is located at Knox Hall on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus.

Bearman specializes in social network analysis and historical sociology, with significant contributions to health/population studies and qualitative methodology. His research increasingly integrates computational approaches for text and narrative analysis, examining phenomena ranging from historical religious discourse to modern social conflict dynamics. This interdisciplinary work bridges classical sociological theory with contemporary methodological innovation.

Recent publications reveal a trajectory toward computational social science applications, particularly in semantic network analysis of historical texts and neural correlates of social behavior. His work consistently connects micro-level interactions with macro-scale social structures across diverse contexts including religious history, workplace conflict, and collective violence.

His distinguished scientific honors include:

• Kohli Prize for Sociology (2025) for contributions to movements, networks, health, and science
• Golden Goose Award (2016) for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
• Election to the National Academy of Medicine (2019)
• Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Membership in the National Academy of Sciences

Bearman co-designed the landmark National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, demonstrating sustained leadership in major federally-funded research initiatives. As Director of the Incite Institute, he oversees interdisciplinary research teams and co-edits Columbia University Press's Middle Range and Oral History book series, actively shaping scholarly discourse through mentorship and publication curation.

The Incite Institute functions as Bearman's primary research hub, facilitating collaborations that advance innovative methodologies in social science while connecting historical analysis with contemporary network theory applications.