Chunlei Tang

My name is Chunlei Tang. Currently, I am a research associate at Harvard. Prior to Harvard, I worked as a revenue officer in Shanghai, China, for over ten years, responsible for corporate tax-related management. I also serve as the global Treasurer Co-Chair for ACM-W (Association for Computing Machinery's Council on Women).

My background is in computer science, and I graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a bachelor's degree. I then got a master's degree in software engineering and a Ph.D. in Computer and Software Theory at Fudan University.

My research occupies a unique place in data science because (1) I have experience in both business operations and revenue management, and (2) I conduct my research across fields (e.g., stock markets and healthcare) instead of staying in computer academics. Compared with my peers, I can easily hear the needs and requirements of stakeholders in other domains.

Also, I spent some time on basic research in data science. In my mind, data is resources, assets, and capital. A complete picture consists of three elements: "data, technology, and application," which all work toward augmenting people's decision-making by following data as it crosses borders. I wrote two books independently in 2015 and 2020, respectively. I am the author of The Data Industry: The Business and Economics of Information and Big Data (Wiley; 2016) and Data Capital: How Data is Reinventing Capital for Globalization (Springer; 2021). I am excited to see that Springer's book Data Capital is selling very well, reaching nearly 5,000 digital copies now.

I'm very interested in converting data-driving forces into productivity that can serve society. I'm also good at data product designing and social media data mining.