Benjamin Cornwell

Benjamin Cornwell received his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Chicago in 2007. He is a professor of sociology at Cornell University. His research focuses on the implications of socially networked and sequenced social processes for individuals and organizations – and, in particular, how such processes shape social stratification. He has documented the role of social network structure and social capital in a wide variety of processes, including fatality in disasters and pandemics, the sale of drugs, risky sexual practices, health, access to valuable resources like credit and expertise, and the decline of unions. His most recent work focuses on the link between social capital/networks and social inequality, especially with respect to life outcomes, disease diffusion and exposure, social network turnover and the struggle for homeostasis despite constant processes of network turnover or churn, and integration into elite networks.

For nearly 25 years, he has been heavily involved as an investigator and collaborator on the first nationally representative study to integrate measures of social networks and network change, detailed biomeasures, and life histories and ongoing circumstances of older Americans - the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). His research on the dynamic nature of social networks has been covered in numerous media outlets, including CNN, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times. He has also discussed this work on several radio talk shows and during a live appearance on “Chicago Tonight.”