Photo credit: Harvard University
Gary King’s primary field of expertise is quantitative social science, which makes him the guy to see when you need to measure stuff that’s hard to measure. In his role as professor at Harvard University, he spent last year advancing social science research, developing data analysis software that also protects privacy, and advising on global health issues.
The differential privacy algorithm that he released along with his team lets social scientists analyze massive datasets, like what you’d get from a corporation or government, while guaranteeing mathematical privacy for the individuals being studied.
He went beyond being a professor to assume the mantle of Director of Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, where he oversaw research on a laundry list of topics like the effects of social media on democracy, politics, and health. He took that last one a step further, continuing on as a Senior Science Advisor to the WHO, advising on statistical methods to help the organization’s research on global health issues.
