Waris Ahmad Faizi is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech. His research interests span Economic Sociology, Digital Sociology, Computational Social Science, Global Political Economy, and International Development, with a particular focus on how digital transformations shape work, social networks, and economic stability.

Before joining Virginia Tech, Faizi earned an M.A. in Sociology (Summa Cum Laude) from the American University of Central Asia and an M.A. in Economics from the OSCE Academy. His academic path reflects a strong interdisciplinary foundation bridging sociology and economics. Faizi has held academic and research positions at the American University of Central Asia, George Washington University’s Central Asia Program, OSCE Secretariat, the Kazakh-German University, and several other higher education institutions. He currently serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Virginia Tech.

He has received multiple international fellowships and awards, including Erasmus+ and DAAD scholarships, through which he studied at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and the University of Tübingen in Germany. He has presented his work at academic conferences in North America, Europe, and South Asia. His publications address topics ranging from social capital and quality of life to the social and economic impacts of development programs. His current research examines the implications of digital transformation and new forms of work for social integration, well-being, and economic stability in the United States.

Beyond academia, Waris is a traveler who has visited 32 countries so far, an experience that enriches his global perspective on social and economic change.