I was initially attracted to the Santa Fe Institute by way of research I had done in the initial stages of my dissertation. Much of the work pioneered in Santa Fe meshes well with the application of theory in my field of interest o Public Administration. Using computers to understand interaction effects over time, my dissertation tests the model for sustainable development created by the United Nations to determine if the plan results in long-term sustainability through the use of simulation. The use of simulations and computers together to form a theoretical and quantitative methodology is not new in my field, but this specific type of application is novel. I am hoping to find conformations that result in self-organizing patterns and stable long-term growth behaviors in the simulation. The transition to Public Administration and my desire to be on the cutting edge comes from my background in Chemistry and Biochemistry. My diverse background comes from the fact that I had an early start in college and chose my degree objective when I was accepted to CSLA at the age of 12. While I enjoyed the rigor of the work and the complexity involved, I did miss the social interactions that I felt when I studied in the social sciences. As I grew older, my desire to interact more with people came in conflict with the long and relatively lonely hours of laboratory research. It was in Public Administration that I believed that I could find a niche to work in. I believe that my field can benefit tremendously from the infusion of a strong quantitative theoretically based perspective.

Home page: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~thuerta