Rense Corten

Rense Corten is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Utrecht University's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. His work focuses on trust, cooperation, and social networks in contexts like the sharing economy, online criminal networks, and digital society. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences (2009) and MSc in Sociology (2004), both from Utrecht University.

Key research areas include computational social sciences, experimental sociology, and the governance of digital systems. He has held academic positions since 2009, including a visiting scholar at Stanford University (2010–2011) and leadership roles in projects like the NWO Vidi grant-funded study on trust in the sharing economy.

His research explores how social networks influence behavior in contexts such as peer-to-peer markets, social media, and citizen collectives. Notable contributions include studies on reputation systems in cryptomarkets and the role of social cohesion in care initiatives.

Awards include the NWO Vidi grant (2016). He is affiliated with research groups like the Dynamics of Youth (DoY) and the Utrecht Platform for Applied Data Science.