Ross Dahlke

I am an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I use computational social science, data science, and software development to study information exposure and effects on the open web and private communication channels, such as in text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. My research has been published in journals and venues including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Nature Human Behavior, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW). I received my PhD from Stanford University where I was a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and Stanford Data Science Scholar.

Prior to my PhD, I was a data scientist at a digital marketing and measurement firm where I developed and deployed Bayesian machine learning models, conducted large-scale A/B testing, and worked with client teams to optimize digital marketing budgets for Fortune 500 companies such as Coach Bags, Calvin Klein, and Facebook Marketplace. I have also consulted on over 80 political campaigns to implement cutting-edge data analytics techniques. While in high school, I started a cheese distribution business that grossed over $5M in sales. I did my undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I graduated with Comprehensive Honors and won the Theodore Herfurth Award for Initiative and Efficiency, which is awarded to the top graduating male student at UW.