Noshir Contractor, professor of Speech Communication and Psychology, will discuss the importance of knowledge organization in the 21st century in a presentation at 3:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the International Programs and Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth Street.

The lecture, called “Co-evolution of Knowledge Networks and 21st Century Organizational Forms,” is sponsored by the Center for Global Studies at the University. Contractor is a research affiliate of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, director of the Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) Group at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and the co-director of the Age of Networks Initiative at the Center for Advanced Study.

His research program, funded continuously for the past decade by major grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, is investigating factors that lead to the formation, maintenance and dissolution of the ways people communicate effectively.

Swati Acharya, freshman in engineering, said it is important to have knowledge of the various forms of technology available.

“Nowadays, there is no field in which you can survive if you do not have the basic information and ideas concerning technology and organizational methods,” Acharya said. “Even people in majors such as journalism have to take courses in Statistics and Economics to further their knowledge in these areas.”

Contractor said recent digital advancements have made the means of communication more flexible. He said the adaptability is important for communication to effectively spread at the global level.

In his lecture, he said he would describe the multi-theoretical multilevel (MTML) model of why we create, maintain, dissolve and reconstitute knowledge and social networks. Contractor said his theory of knowledge networks addresses the different levels of communication and focuses on the organization of these levels.

Contractor has published or presented over 250 research papers dealing with communication. He is also the lead developer of IKNOW (Inquiring Knowledge Networks On the Web), and his papers have received Top Paper awards from the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association.

Mansi Naik, junior in engineering, said she feels organizational methods and ways of spreading and sharing knowledge are very important.

“Everyday we see a new form of technology being created. We have to keep up with it, as we are nothing without technology,” she said.

Sapan Agarwal, freshman, said in his special field of electrical engineering, organization and effective methods of conveying important information are essential. He said many people have to work on machine problems, or MPs, for computer science classes. For these types of problems, organizational methods are everything.

“Even cars are becoming computerized and being a mechanic requires a lot more knowledge than it once did,” Agarwal said. “Without knowledge these days, you can’t get anywhere.”