"Modeling the Co-evolution of Behaviors and Social Relationships Using Mobile Phone Data," presented at the 2011 International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, received the "Paper of the Decade" award at the 2021 International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM2021) for accurately predicting the evolution of college campus friendships using mobile phone data.

Co-author Alex 'Sandy' Pentland says: "This paper, which has since been replicated in many different situations, shows the overwhelming importance of reciprocal, face-to face interaction to foster the growth of friendships."