CulturePlex
Your Data, Your Story
FOCUS AREAS
Cultural Networks
AI and Digital Transformation

Innovation in Peace Building
TEAM MEMBERS

Ana Ruiz-Segarra
Engineer & Humanist, Video Game Enthusiast, YouTube
I am a first-year PhD student in the Hispanic Studies program. My research focuses on video game fans and online communities. I work at the CulturePlex as a data analyst, and graphic designer. My previous experience working at the Complex Systems Modelling group in Quito, inspired me to dive deep into the humanities.

Zeina Dghaim
PhD Student, and Artist the Old-School Way, Training Specialist, Community Programs
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
My PhD work is an act of creating beauty. An unimaginative and aesthetically starved life diminishes hope and humanity. I like to analyze needs and find solutions. In the words of the great Canadian poet Anne Michaels, we need to find a way to make beauty necessary; find a way to make necessity beautiful.

Daniel Varona-Cordero
Computer Scientist, AI Specialist, Believer in the Law of Attraction
I work in design techniques that prevent traditional bias and foster equity in AI processes. Graduated from the University of Informatic Sciences in Havana, Cuba. Over ten years of teaching and industry experience in software engineering, software project management, software quality and research methods.

Tata Méndez-Mahecha
Hispanic Studies M.A. Student, Digital Creative
My curiosity led me to immerse myself in the digital world. I understand the relationships between Multimedia Communication, Design and Digital Humanities as the roots of creativity. They allow me to create user experiences that inspire design and strategic decisions in different scenarios.

Juan-Luis Suárez
Director, Curious, Explorer, Reader, Runner, Food Aficionado
Juan-Luis Suárez started the CulturePlex Lab in 2007 with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation with the goal of establishing a creative place to help define the digital transformation. His work focuses on advancing digital innovation and building a theory of cultural networks.

María Paula Espejo
PhD Student in Hispanic Studies, Peace Building, Government, Partnerships
I am building a trans-disciplinary method that leverages innovation to strengthen reconciliation in post-conflict contexts. I hold a Master of Arts from Universidad de Los Andes in Peacebuilding, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis on Conflict Resolution and Peace Research from Universidad Javeriana.

Yadira Lizama-Mué
Computer Scientist, Project Manager, Passionate About Science
I am a PhD student in Hispanic Studies with specializations in Scientific Computing and Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Resolution. I have a degree in Software Engineering from the Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas in Havana, Cuba.

Bárbara Romero-Ferrón
Art Historian, PhD Student, Digital Collections, Exhibitions
I am an Art Historian interested in cultural networks and data analysis. I use a data driven methodology to unearth the Spanish art shown in exhibitions in the UK, US, and Spain during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Emilio Calderón
Avid Reader, and Coffee Aficionado, Big Data in the Humanities
I am in my first year of the PhD in Hispanic Studies at Western University working on digital innovation and cultural networks. I completed my undergraduate studies in Literature and Humanities at Los Andes University, Bogotá, and my M.A. at Western on Natural Language Processing and civic journalism.
PUBLICATIONS
Curation, Content, Creation: Computer Approaches to the Fine Arts
The Routledge Companion to Digital Humanities and Art Historyh ArticlePublication AuthorsAbstractThe Routledge Companion to Digital Humanities and Art History offers a broad survey of cutting-edge intersections between digital technologies and the study of art...
Victims of Language: Language as a Pre-condition of Transitional Justice in Colombia’s Peace Agreement
Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective. Preconditions for Successh Book sectionPublication AuthorsAbstractThis chapter focuses on the specific language used to talk about victims during the peace negotiations in Havana, and in the Final Agreement. The...
Entrepreneurship and the Mass Media: Evidence from Big Data
Academy of Management Discoveries h ArticlePublication AuthorsAbstractDoes the mass media promote entrepreneurship? Using big data in combination with a machine learning aided analysis we discover a positive sentiment bias associated with entrepreneurship present...