Professor Nigel Gilbert is a computational social scientist with a background in engineering. His approach to understanding society is to apply the rigour and tools of science and engineering to social scientific issues, using computational methods. He was one of the first to use agent-based models in the social sciences, in the early 1990s, and has since published widely on the methodology underlying computer modelling, and on the application of simulation for applied problems such as understanding commercial innovation, managing environmental resources such as energy and water, and supporting public policy decision-making.
