Cantay Caliskan

Welcome to my website.

I am an Associate Professor of Instruction in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Goergen Institute for Data Science and AI, University of Rochester. 

I use artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, network analysis, and natural language processing to uncover patterns in big social and political data. My work spans empirical and methodological applications in computational social science, computer vision, generative AI, NLP, and video games, with an emphasis on interpretable, scalable methods for measuring behavior, narratives, and emotions across platforms. I also build open-source programming tools and mentor student researchers translating methods into policy-relevant insights.

As of mid-2026, my research group has 76 alumni and 12 current members. I have taught data science to more than 1,655 students since 2018. I am also the organizer of SICSS (Summer Institute in Computational Social Science) at the University of Rochester.