Welcome back to campus!

The lingering sunshine, despite noticeably shorter days, and the return of students, is energizing, right? At CSDE we experienced a summer of transitions. Most importantly we welcomed new arrivals to CSDE. First and foremost, Connie Wohlford, CSDE’s computing help desk expert, welcomed baby Amber to the world. Amber and Connie made a foray on to campus on Wednesday and CSDE we snapped a picture! Is she a candidate for a CSDE Fellowship already? Second, we welcomed Dr. Matt Hall, CSDE’s Statistical Demographer, who arrived from Cornell University on July 1. Matt is well-situated in 218 Raitt Hall and already making connections with colleagues and research projects across campus. We’re really pleased, too, because Matt is chairing CSDE’s seminar series, picking up the reins from the valuable leadership provided by Professor Rachel Heath (more on the seminar series, later). Don’t hesitate to reach out to Matt via email or stop by his office. Third, we welcomed 22 new research affiliates to CSDE’s community (11 from UW, 10 regional and 1 visiting). These affiliates hail from all over campus and the broader demography community. We’ll be profiling them and their research over the next few weeks. Some are also presenting their research during our seminars. Finally, on September 16, we welcomed our new information and communication RA, Luiza Barbato Montesanti. Thanks to support from the Evans School, Luiza will be working with CSDE during the entire academic year to translate your research for news stories, help with press releases, and keep our website full of great content. Don’t hesitate to send an email to csde@uw.edu with your news items and address the note to Luiza! Her office is now in 206 Raitt Hall.

Please stay in the loop by signing up for our calendar of events. Don’t forget: CSDE’s opening reception is October 5, 12:30-1:30 PM in the Smith Room of Suzallo Library. You can meet new affiliates, catch up with veteran affiliates, meet our new staff, connect with trainees. There will be plenty of food and refreshments. We’ll see you there!

Our seminar series for this autumn will be an engaging one. You can view the full schedule online or download a printable PDF calendar. Some highlights include: Natasha Pilkauskas from the University of Michigan presenting research about new family arrangements beyond the nuclear family (Oct. 12); Jenny Tung from Duke University presenting about gene regulation in nonhuman primates; and Andrew Noymer from the UC Irvine presenting a lecture on the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu pandemic (Nov. 9). New research affiliate, Mauricio Sadinle (Biostatistics) will be presenting his research on record linkage uncertainty and its application to estimating the population of human rights violations.

CSDE is also collaborating with the UW Department of Global Health, UW School of Medicine, and the UW Department of Obstetrics, to host a UW-centered symposium on Family Planning, Contraception and Abortion on November 2, also in Walker-Ames, Kane Hall from 8:00 AM-2:30 PM.

Please save the date for a symposium honoring Professor Charles Hirschman on November 16 in Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall. We will be joining Professor Hirschman and many UW esteemed colleagues and visitors (Patrick Heuveline, Giovanna Merli, Alejandro Portes, Ken Prewitt, and Marta Tienda) to reflect upon the past and future contributions of the Social Sciences. Details and invitation to follow, soon!