Inho Hong

I am a postdoctoral research fellow at Center for Humans and Machines (CHM), Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany. My research focuses on understanding society through data analysis and mathematical modeling, with a particular interest in social mobilization, future of work, science of cities, human mobility, and science of science.

Education

• Ph.D. in Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 2019.
  • Complex systems (advisor: Woo-Sung Jung) - Complexity in Social System Lab.
• M.S. in Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 2012.
  • Fusion plasma diagnostics (advior: Hyeon K. Park)
• B.S. in Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 2010.

Positions

• Center for Humans and Machines (Director: Iyad Rahwan), Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mar 2020 - Present.
  • Machines and the Future of Work Group (Principal Investigator: Alex Rutherford)
• Seoul Institute of Technology, Korea
  • Visiting Researcher, Aug 2020 - Dec 2020.
• Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Korea
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Sep 2019 - Feb 2020.
  • Statisical Physics of Complex Dynamics Lab (Director: Hang-Hyun Jo)
• Kellogg School of Management & Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University, USA
  • Visiting Predoctoral Fellow, Oct 2017 - Aug 2018. (Supervisor: Hyejin Youn)

Research interests

• Computational social science
• Social mobilization
• Future of work
• Science of cities
• Human mobility
• Science of science

Visiting experience

• Institute for Basic Science, Korea
  • Data Science Group (Chief Investigator: Meeyoung Cha), Feb 2020.
• Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA
  • Growth Lab (Director: Ricardo Hausmann), Jun 2017.
• Santa Fe Institute, USA
  • Graduate Studies program, Feb 2016.
• Aalto University, Finland
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, Feb 2015.

Honors (selected)

• Young Statistical Physicist Award
  • Korean Physical Society, Apr 2021.
  • Award news by MPIB
• Excellent Poster Presentation Award
  • 2017 Korean Physical Society Spring Meeting, 2017.04.
  • 2013 Korean Physical Society Fall Meeting, 2013.10.
• Excellent Oral Presentation Award
  • 2016 Korean Physical Society Fall Meeting, 2016.10.
• Global Ph.D. Fellowship Program
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Mar 2014 – Feb 2017.
• Samsung Undergraduate Scholarship
  • Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Mar 2006 - Feb 2010.

Articles

• “Universality in Urban Growth” (in Korean), 물리학과 첨단기술 (Webzine published by the Korean Physical Society), May 11, 2021.
• “Open data and COVID-19: Wikipedia as an informational resource during the pandemic”, Medium, Apr 16, 2020.
• “Open data and COVID-19: Language diversity on Wikipedia”, Medium, May 14, 2020.

Media coverage

• “The universal pathway to innovative urban economies”, Science Advances (2020).
  • “Is It Really Possible For The Next Silicon Valley To Emerge In A Small Town?”, Forbes.
  • “What it takes for a city to jump into the knowledge economy”, Quartz.
  • “Working from ‘anywhere’ is possible — but not sustainable”, Fast Company.
  • “Big Cities Still Matter”, Northwestern Magazine.
  • “Innovative cities follow a unique historical pattern”, Northwestern NOW.
  • “스마트시티 될수록 도시·시골 간 양극화 더 확대된다”, 매일경제 (in Korean).
• “Social mobilization and polarization can create volatility in COVID-19 pandemic control”, Applied Network Science (2021).
  • “Polarization and mobilization on social media affect infection figures”, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.
  • “Polarization and mobilization on social media affect infection figures”, IDW Online.
  • “Forscher sehen Zusammenhang zwischen SARS-CoV-2-Infektionen und sozialen Medien”, Heise Online.
  • “Max-Planck-Institut: Facebook verbreitet Corona”, Berliner Zeitung.
  • “Wie Menschen auf Corona-Maßnahmen reagieren”, Deutschlandfunk.

Publications

Urban green space and happiness in developed countries

O.-H. Kwon, I. Hong, J. Yang, D. Y. Wohn, W.-S. Jung and M. Cha, "Urban green space and happiness in developed countries", EPJ Data Science 10, 28 (2021).

Social mobilization and polarization can create volatility in COVID-19 pandemic control

I. Hong, A. Rutherford and M. Cebrian, "Social mobilization and polarization can create volatility in COVID-19 pandemic control", Applied Network Science 6, 1 (2021).

The universal pathway to innovative urban economies

I. Hong, M. R. Frank, I. Rahwan, W.-S. Jung and H. Youn, "The universal pathway to innovative urban economies", Science Advances 6, eaba4934 (2020).

Impossible by Conventional Means: Ten Years on from the DARPA Red Balloon Challenge

A. Rutherford, M. Cebrian, I. Hong and I. Rahwan, "Impossible by Conventional Means: Ten Years on from the DARPA Red Balloon Challenge", arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.05940, (2020).

Gravity model explained by the radiation model on a population landscape

I. Hong, W.-S. Jung and H.-H. Jo, "Gravity model explained by the radiation model on a population landscape", PLoS ONE 14, e0218028 (2019).

Measuring national capability over big science’s multidisciplinarity: A case study of nuclear fusion research

H. Kim, I. Hong and W.-S. Jung, "Measuring national capability over big science’s multidisciplinarity: A case study of nuclear fusion research", PLoS ONE 14, e0211963 (2019).

Application of gravity model on the Korean urban bus network

I. Hong and W.-S. Jung, "Application of gravity model on the Korean urban bus network", Physica A 462, 48-55 (2016).

A Network Approach to the Transfer Market of European Football Leagues

S. Lee, I. Hong and W.-S. Jung, "A network approach to the transfer market of European football leagues", New Physics: Sae Mulli 65, 402-409 (2015).

Evaluation of the imaging properties of Microwave Imaging Reflectometry

I. Hong et al., "Evaluation of the imaging properties of Microwave Imaging Reflectometry", Journal of Instrumentation 7, C01077 (2012).

Microwave imaging reflectometry system for KSTAR

W. Lee et al., "Microwave imaging reflectometry system for KSTAR", Plasma and Fusion Research 6, 2402037-2402037 (2011).

Microwave imaging reflectometry studies for turbulence diagnostics on KSTAR

H. K. Park et al., "Microwave imaging reflectometry studies for turbulence diagnostics on KSTAR", Review of Scientific Instruments 81, 10D933 (2010).

Comparative study between the reflective optics and lens based system for microwave imaging system on KSTAR

W. Lee et al., "Comparative study between the reflective optics and lens based system for microwave imaging system on KSTAR", Review of Scientific Instruments 81, 10D932 (2010).