Max Erdemandi

Max Erdemandi is a Ph.D. candidate in Communication Science & Social Cognition. He also holds an M.S. in Quantitative Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics from UMD, and an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Duke University. He serves on the faculty of the Global Terrorism Studies minor at UMD's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), teaching courses on risk and crisis communication, emergency management, dis/misinformation and conspiracy theories, and violent extremism. Max is the Principal Investigator of a 2025-2026 Waterhouse Family Institute grant, and the incoming Vice Chair-Elect of the National Communication Association's (NCA) Applied Communication Division.

Max studies how measurement and analytic choices shape quantitative communication research. His work centers on improving psychometric tools and methodological standards to produce more transparent, reproducible, and policy-relevant evidence. He applies these interests to topics such as dis/misinformation, conspiracy belief systems, extremist identities and discourses, entertainment media, and risk and emergency communication, with a particular focus on media psychology, psycholinguistics, and social behavior.