Merce Crosas
About Merce Crosas
Merce Crosas is the Head of the Computational Social Sciences Program at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, where she has worked since 2023. With a strong academic background in physics and astrophysics, she has held various significant positions at Harvard University and the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Current Position at Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Merce Crosas serves as the Head of the Computational Social Sciences Program at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. She has held this position since 2023. In this role, she leads initiatives that integrate computational methods with social science research, focusing on data-driven approaches to societal challenges.
Previous Role at Generalitat de Catalunya
From 2021 to 2023, Crosas worked at the Generalitat de Catalunya as the Secretària de Govern Obert. In this capacity, she contributed to open government initiatives, promoting transparency and accessibility of government data to the public in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Experience at Harvard University
Crosas has extensive experience at Harvard University, where she worked for 19 years. She held multiple roles, including Chief Data Science and Technology Officer and Director of Data Science at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science. Additionally, she served as the Research Data Management Officer, focusing on data governance and management practices.
Educational Background
Crosas has a strong academic background in physics and astrophysics. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Physics from Universitat de Barcelona from 1984 to 1989. She then pursued her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Astrophysics at Rice University from 1989 to 1994. She also completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Harvard University, specializing in Astrophysics and Atomic and Molecular Physics.
Early Career in Astrophysics
Crosas began her career as an Astrophysicist and Software Engineer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where she worked from 1992 to 1998. This role involved applying computational techniques to astrophysical research, laying the groundwork for her future endeavors in data science and social sciences.