A gallery of photos from the gala celebration marking the opening of Social Science Matrix, a cross-disciplinary social-science research center at UC Berkeley.
Matrix Gala Opening
A celebration of Matrix's new home in Barrows Hall
Event Highlights
On January 30, 2015, approximately 200 faculty members, graduate students, and administrators from across the UC Berkeley campus came to the gala opening of Social Science Matrix, where they saw first-hand the transformation that saw the former Lipman Room turn into a 21st-century collaboration center.
“I figure there’s about enough intellectual wattage in the room to light up the Bay Bridge for a few years,” said Professor Bill Hanks, Director of Social Science Matrix, in remarks welcoming the guests. “Our brief at Matrix is to enhance connectivity among you and help amplify the light that you shed on social reality.”
Social Science Matrix is UC Berkeley’s new flagship center for social-science research, and is supporting cross-disciplinary research at UC Berkeley by sponsoring seminars, providing grant support, and more. “The name Matrix says a lot about us, if not all of it,” Hanks said. “We’re here to provide a flexible and dynamic environment for Berkeley social science—and when I say that, I want to emphasize that I mean social science across the campus. A lot of it is not within our division. There is a tremendous and largely unknown network of interactions that we intend to catalyze.”
The concept for Matrix was initiated by Dean Carla Hesse, who wanted to create a space for high-impact social-science research that will help ensure that Berkeley stays at the forefront of disciplines like economics, political science, and sociology, particularly as there has been a major shift in the social sciences following the rise of digital technologies and the explosion of data.
In a convocation, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks noted that institutions like Matrix are essential as the social sciences are transforming in the digital age. “We are now encountering an exponentially new scale of data, of computational capacity, of analytic issues that we have to take on collaboratively,” he said. “Even if we had the conceit…that we could conduct meaningful research…with the disciplinary boundaries we inherited from the late 19th century, we know that’s no longer the case."
Dirks spoke of Matrix's potential to bring Berkeley's researchers together to address globally significant challenges. “This is an extraordinary space," he said. "It’s very exciting to see it come alive for the kind of social science that Berkeley is going to continue to do and indeed is going to lead in doing across the nation, and I believe across the globe... The work that will go on here will actually be as momentous as the kinds of things that have gone on in other moments in the history of social science in this country.... Berkeley has always been pushing the boundaries, always pushing the frontiers, and always engaging in the question of how social science addresses the world.
“This space is a gathering place, and we truly hope that you will use it,” Hanks said. “You will find it lean, open, efficient, and our staff will be attentive to our needs. You are always welcome here, and that is our pledge.”
Related Media
Gala Opening: Social Science Matrix
On January 30, 2015, approximately 200 faculty members, graduate students, and administrators from across the UC Berkeley campus came to the gala opening of Social Science Matrix, where they saw first-hand the transformation that saw the former Lipman Room turn into a 21st-century collaboration center.
“I figure there’s about enough intellectual wattage in the room to light up the Bay Bridge for a few years,” said Professor Bill Hanks, Director of Social Science Matrix, in remarks welcoming the guests. “Our brief at Matrix is to enhance connectivity among you and help amplify the light that you shed on social reality.”
Social Science Matrix is UC Berkeley’s new flagship center for social-science research, and is supporting cross-disciplinary research at UC Berkeley by sponsoring seminars, providing grant support, and more. “The name Matrix says a lot about us, if not all of it,” Hanks said. “We’re here to provide a flexible and dynamic environment for Berkeley social science—and when I say that, I want to emphasize that I mean social science across the campus. A lot of it is not within our division. There is a tremendous and largely unknown network of interactions that we intend to catalyze.”
The concept for Matrix was initiated by Dean Carla Hesse, who wanted to create a space for high-impact social-science research that will help ensure that Berkeley stays at the forefront of disciplines like economics, political science, and sociology, particularly as there has been a major shift in the social sciences following the rise of digital technologies and the explosion of data.
In a convocation, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks noted that institutions like Matrix are essential as the social sciences are transforming in the digital age. “We are now encountering an exponentially new scale of data, of computational capacity, of analytic issues that we have to take on collaboratively,” he said. “Even if we had the conceit…that we could conduct meaningful research…with the disciplinary boundaries we inherited from the late 19th century, we know that’s no longer the case."
Dirks spoke of Matrix's potential to bring Berkeley's researchers together to address globally significant challenges. “This is an extraordinary space," he said. "It’s very exciting to see it come alive for the kind of social science that Berkeley is going to continue to do and indeed is going to lead in doing across the nation, and I believe across the globe... The work that will go on here will actually be as momentous as the kinds of things that have gone on in other moments in the history of social science in this country.... Berkeley has always been pushing the boundaries, always pushing the frontiers, and always engaging in the question of how social science addresses the world.
“This space is a gathering place, and we truly hope that you will use it,” Hanks said. “You will find it lean, open, efficient, and our staff will be attentive to our needs. You are always welcome here, and that is our pledge.”
