Biography
Dr. John Meluso is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Systems Engineering at Cornell University. Previously, he was an Ezra Systems Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell, a Google OCEAN Postdoctoral Fellow, and a Sloan Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Vermont. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from Cornell University. His research has appeared in top international research venues including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, ACM Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, Design Issues, and IEEE Transactions on Systems. He has received grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Google, and the Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund. Dr. Meluso also spent several years as an aerospace systems engineer at Orbital Sciences Corp. and has collaborated with companies in a variety of industries including General Motors, Google, and Microsoft.
Research Interests
Dr. Meluso’s research focuses on collective intelligence: how groups achieve high-performing outcomes. This involves scientifically understanding what takes place in groups and designing better systems for collective performance among agents (humans, AIs, or a mix). He has expertise is a variety of methods including computational (networks, simulations, optimization, data science), qualitative (interviewing, surveying), and empirical methods (randomized controlled trials).
- Complex systems
- Organization science
- Network science
- Agent-based modeling
- Computational science and engineering
- Open source ecosystems
- Software development
- Design and engineering processes
- Artificial intelligence
- Organizational communication
- Social Psychology
Teaching Interests
Dr. Meluso teaches several graduate courses related to the theory and application of complex systems science including SYSEN 6000, Foundations of Complex Systems, and SYSEN 5380, Collective Intelligence. He also runs M.Eng. projects related to these topics.
Select Publications
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Meluso, J., Casari, A., McLaughlin, K., & Trujillo, M. (2025) Invisible labor in open source software ecosystems. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 9(7): CSCW236:1-CSCW236:32 (ACM CSCW 2025).
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Meluso, J. & Hébert-Dufresne, L. (2023). Multidisciplinary learning through collective performance favors decentralization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120 (34): e2303568120
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Meluso, J., Austin-Breneman, J., Bagrow, J. P., & Hébert-Dufresne, L. (2022). A Review and Framework for Modeling Complex Engineered System Development Processes. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, 52(12): 7679-7691.
Select Awards and Honors
- Best Presentation for Scholarly Communication, “Multidisciplinary engineering coordination through collective artifacts.” Council of Engineering Systems Universities (CESUN) 2023
- University of Michigan College of Engineering Distinguished Leadership Award 2020
- University of Michigan Division of Integrative Systems + Design Leadership Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 2020
- 2nd Place, INFORMS 2019 Annual Meeting Poster Competition 2019
Education
- Ph.D. Design Science, Complex Systems, University of Michigan 2020
- M.S. Design Science, University of Michigan 2017
- B.S. Engineering Physics, Cornell University 2013