👋 About Me

My name is Tom Chen (陈辰). I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Sociology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. I obtained my B.A. in Economics from NYU Shanghai, with double minors in Social Science and Humanities.

My research agenda lies at the intersection of urban sociology, political sociology, and social inequality. I am particularly interested in the spatial organization of public health inequality and poverty across global cities, as well as ideological polarization and political behavior. More broadly, I seek to understand how social, political, and spatial processes interact to shape patterns of inequality.

📖 Education

• 2026.09 - 2032.05 (Expected), Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Advisor: Dr. Michael Esposito
• 2022.09 - 2026.05, B.A. in Economics (cum laude), New York University Shanghai
  • GPA: 3.83/4.00; University Honors Scholar
  • Minors: Social Science and Humanities

📝 Research Experience

• 2025.05 - Present, Research Affiliate, Social Change Lab, University of Toronto
  • Advisors: Dr. Ethan Fosse and Dr. Sébastien Parker
• 2023.11 - Present, Research Assistant, Applied Cognition and Emotions Lab, New York University Shanghai
  • Advisor: Dr. Yuerui (Julia) Wu

💬 Conference Presentations

• Chen, C. (June 2026). Invisible Boundaries: Measuring Poverty Stratification through Chicago’s Spatial Adjacency Network (Poster presentation). Sunbelt Conference, International Network for Social Network Analysis, Daytona Beach, FL.
• Shen, W., Chen, C., Zhang, Y., Wu, Y. T., Wu, Y. R. (March 2026). Children’s Suggestibility Following a Staged Transgression: The Role of Parental Cultural Values. American Psychology Law Society Conference, Reno, NV.

🏫 Teaching

University of Minnesota

Teaching Assistant, Social Statistics (Fall 2026)

• Instructor: Michael Esposito
• Will serve as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the 3000-level undergraduate Social Statistics course.
• Will lead 2 weekly lab sections and support over 50 students in statistical programming and quantitative analysis.

Other Teaching Experience

• Private English Tutor, English for High School Student (Jun–Aug 2026)
• English Tutor, NYU Shanghai Facilities Management Staff (Feb–May 2024)
• Assistant English Tutor, TOEFL & IELTS Division, New Oriental Education (Jan–Feb 2023)

📷 Beyond Academics

Outside of academia, I enjoy following elections and public affairs, particularly in North America and Taiwan. I also enjoy photography, swimming, and playing badminton.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, I remain a die-hard fan of Shanghai Shenhua FC in the Chinese Super League. I also follow English football (soccer) closely and am a proud supporter of Arsenal FC in the Premier League.

View my selected photography portfolio here.