Nicholas Croce's interest in technology started early. As a child, he spent much of his free time scavenging Craigslist for old servers, ethernet cables and switches, and computer components to take apart and tinker with.
"My fascination with technology runs deep and is connected to personal experiences of the early 2000s internet, as well as economic disruption's impact on the social world," he said.
This fall, that fascination has a new academic home. Dr. Croce is joining the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) community as a Visiting Assistant Professor, bringing a research agenda focused on how technology shapes governance— and why governments can't afford to treat it as neutral.
Croce earned a B.A. in religious studies at Nazareth University and studied law at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, but the real turn toward public policy came while pursuing his master's in public policy at Brandeis University. Initially drawn to the program by a desire to work on large scale social issues and matters of practice, he found his curiosity pulled toward theoretical concepts throughout his studies: the philosophy of science, the history of administration, and the assumptions baked into policy itself.
"I took a class at Boston College my last semester called Contemporary Social Theory with Professor Stephen Pfohl," he said. "The rest is history."
That class redirected him toward a master's in sociology and a Ph.D. in social science at Syracuse University. Since then, Croce has moved between research and policy work as a policy researcher at Mathematica, supporting federal agencies and NGOs on data-driven programs spanning artificial intelligence, social welfare, and disaster management, and, most recently, as a postdoctoral associate at NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress. He is also a research affiliate with the Governance & Digital Experience Lab at the University at Albany and a professional affiliate with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina.
While he won't officially join the SPIA community until the fall semester begins, Croce says he already feels at home at Pitt.
"There's such a fabulous energy here at Pitt and SPIA," he said. "Students have already reached out to me: to ask me questions about my research, sure, but also simply to welcome me. The faculty I have met are clearly committed to supporting students in their studies and in the design of their own interventions into a world that needs them terribly."
As he prepares for the coming year, Croce is designing two new courses for SPIA students. Governing Technology examines how modern technologies shape behaviors, beliefs, and norms, and includes a partnership with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, pairing students with townships on real questions of technology and governance. The second, Poverty & Inequality, draws on his research into how platform companies and apps can entrench economic disadvantage even as they promise convenience and access.
To students who will fill his classroom this fall, Croce keeps the invitation simple.
"My door is always open to hear about your work and what has brought you to SPIA," he said.
Fun fact: Croce is an avid outdoorsman and birdwatcher. His first day in Pittsburgh, he was driving through Frick Park when a wild turkey ran across the road in front of his car. "Talk about a good omen!" he said.