UC Berkeley’s flagship institute for social science research

Our purpose is captured in our name: we provide an organizational framework—a “matrix”—that supports cross-disciplinary research pursued by social scientists across the University of California, Berkeley campus and beyond.

Matrix News

Article

UC Berkeley’s Campanile, or Sather Tower, photographed from Tightwad Hill overlooking Berkeley, Calif.

Published July 10, 2026

Matrix Welcomes Eight Research Teams for 2026-2027

Social Science Matrix is pleased to welcome eight new Matrix Research Teams — three faculty-led teams and five graduate student-led teams — for the 2026-2027 academic year. The teams will address topics such as the political economy of wildfire risk, the global politics of declining fertility, and the use of digital tools for governance and development in South Asia.

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Other Events

Recap

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Published May 22, 2017

2017 Matrix Open House

On May 4, 2017, Social Science Matrix held an Open House to celebrate the end of the academic year. Check out our gallery of images and video of introductory remarks by William Hanks, Director of Social Science Matrix.

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Matrix Lecture

Recap

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Published May 22, 2017

An Orderly Mess: Helga Nowotny

View the video of the 2017 Social Science Matrix Distinguished Lecture, presented by Helga Nowotny, Professor emerita of Science and Technology Studies, ETH Zurich, and a founding member of the European Research Council.

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Inequality

Article

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Published May 2, 2017

Bikes and the Changing City

UC Berkeley Geography Lecturer John G. Stehlin reflects on using the bicycle as a lens to understand gentrification and local inequities.

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Health

Article

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Published March 16, 2017

Network Survival Method

Dennis Feehan, Assistant Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Demography, explains a pioneering approach to predicting adult mortality.

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Other Events

Recap

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Published March 9, 2017

Clair Brown, “Buddhist Economics”

On March 2, 2017, Clair Brown, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Society at UC Berkeley, discussed her new book, Buddhist Economics: An Enlightened Approach to the Dismal Science.

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Inequality

Article

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Published February 20, 2017

Racism and Heart Health

UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Jordan B. Leitner investigates the connections between health disparities and levels of racial bias within communities.

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