Team

Alina Lungeanu, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University, with a joint appointment in the Management and Organizational Development Group at the D'Amore-McKim School of Business. She is also a Core Member of Northeastern’s Network Science Institute (NetSI).

Dr. Lungeanu’s research sits at the intersection of social science and network science. She studies how individual and team characteristics shape and are shaped by the networks in which they are embedded. Her research advances our understanding of team formation, collaboration, and performance in two main areas. The first area explores cross-boundary scientific collaboration, uncovering the social dynamics that spark innovation in research teams that span disciplinary and institutional boundaries. The second area, conducted in partnership with NASA, involves mapping the social and cognitive networks that help small teams maintain cohesion and effectiveness on extended missions. In sum, her research reveals the factors that turn collections of individuals into high-performing teams—whether they are tackling grand scientific challenges at home or sustaining one another millions of miles away.

Her research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and NASA, and appears in top journals including Network Science, The Leadership Quarterly, American Behavioral Scientist, Human Factors, and Communication Methods and Measures.

Zhouming is a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Alina Lungeanu and Dr. Dakota Murray. He is interested in the assessment and modeling of Open Source Software (OSS) ecosystems from a network science perspective. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Northeastern.

Yukun is a Ph.D. student working with with Dr. Alina Lungeanu and Dr. Brooke Foucault Welles. He studies the collective and communicative practices on social media and how these acts uphold or challenge the dominant narratives, power hierarchies, and hegemonic ideologies, with a specific concentration on race and ethnicity. Before joining NetSI, he was a data scientist at the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, where he contributed to the Racial Data Lab. He obtained his Master's degree in Information Science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Kevin is a third-year Computer Science student at Northeastern University, originally from Argentina. He is passionate about using technology, especially computer science, to solve real-world problems. He is particularly drawn to projects that have social impact, and he is the founder of a nonprofit focused on helping underserved communities. Recently, he has become increasingly interested in data science and how it can drive meaningful insights and change.

Zhuoqi is a master’s student in Information Design and Data Visualization at Northeastern University. His work focuses on interactive data storytelling, network visualization, and applying user-centered design to make complex systems more intuitive. He is particularly interested in uncovering patterns in urban systems, natural ecosystems, and community networks through thoughtful visualization. During his co-op, Zhuoqi plans to explore large-scale collaboration networks and design visual tools to support research insights.