LLM-Based Social Simulation
Designing synthetic populations and multi-agent interaction scenarios to generate behavioral and population-level statistical data.
Research Scientist · Computational Social Science
Haicheng Wang
Studying social life across human experience and artificial societies.
I develop LLM-based social simulations and conduct mixed-methods research on migration, education, families and children, and urban life.
- LLM social simulation
- Mixed methods
- Migration & education
- Families & children
About
Computational tools, grounded social inquiry.
I am a Research Scientist at Astraculum AI and completed an MPhil in Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. My work bridges computational social science and mixed-methods sociology.
I combine statistical analysis, surveys, fieldwork, and in-depth interviews with emerging approaches to LLM-based social simulation. Across these methods, I am interested in how institutions, mobility, education, and inequality shape the lives of families, children, and urban communities.
Research
Selected areas and ongoing projects
My research moves between computational modeling and field-based social inquiry.
Families and Children
Developing a longitudinal mixed-methods study that combines survey data with in-depth interviews in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions of mainland China.
Refugee Youth in Hong Kong
Examining how educational access, discrimination, and legal uncertainty shape vulnerability and agency among refugee children and families.
Civic Life of Cities
Analyzing survey and demographic data from six global cities using Python and R, including hierarchical models and difference-in-differences designs.
Publications
Peer-reviewed work
* Corresponding author
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2026
Yang, X., & Wang, H.* “Trying to Live with the Wild: Citizen Science and the Co-Production of Urban Ecology in Urban China.”
Geoforum, 175, 104729.
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2026
Wang, H. “From ‘Learn to Return’ to ‘Learn to Leave’: How Urbanization Shapes the Socialization Process of Chinese Rural Youth.”
Youth & Society, 58(4), 578–601.
Presented at the Hong Kong Sociological Association 2023 Annual Conference.
Experience
Research appointments
Jul 2026–present
Research Scientist
Astraculum AI
Research and development on synthetic populations, multi-agent systems, and LLM-generated social and statistical data.
Jun 2026–present
Research Assistant to Prof. Sukie Xiuqi Yang
Thrust of Urban Governance and Design, HKUST(GZ)
Literature synthesis, survey and interview protocol development, sampling strategy, recruitment planning, and mixed-methods study design.
Dec 2024–present
Research Assistant to Prof. Wenjuan Zheng
Civic Life of Cities Lab, Stanford University
Comparative analysis of urban survey and demographic data using Python and R.
Jun–Sep 2023
Research Assistant to Prof. Jia Xue
University of Toronto
Text classification, topic modeling, and content analysis for the NGOsmuse project on domestic violence and Canadian NGOs.
Mar–Jul 2021
Research Assistant to Prof. Zhengxu Zhou
Rural Revitalization Workstation, Tsinghua University
Large-scale rural fieldwork, survey design, data cleaning, and thematic analysis.
Teaching
Courses at HKUST
Teaching Assistant, 2024–2026
SOSC 2290Understanding GlobalizationSpring 2025
SOSC 2140Research Methods in the Social SciencesFall 2025
SOSC 2299The Rise and Fall of GlobalizationSpring 2026
SOSC 5170Qualitative Research MethodsSpring 2026
Recognition
Selected honors and awards
Global Knowledge Network Award
University of Bristol · £8,000
Postgraduate Scholarship
Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, HKUST · HK$432,720
Research Travel Grant
HKUST · HK$15,090
Undergraduate Academic Advancement Grant
Tsinghua University · RMB 50,000
Spark Scientific and Technological Innovation Fellowship
Tsinghua University
Overseas Research Grant
Tsinghua University · RMB 30,000
Contact
Research conversations and collaboration
I welcome conversations about computational social science, social simulation, migration and education, and mixed-methods research.