CSDE Affiliate Patrick Trent Greiner (Sociology) and co-authors open a new book, Environmental Sociology Now, with a chapter titled “What’s So Environmental About Environmental Sociology?”. Greiner and co-author argue that disagreement over what is or is not “environmental”—if embraced—can be a strength for the field. They encourage scholars to cultivate multiple ways of knowing and pursue a philosophically pluralist approach.

CSDE Affiliate Jelani Ince (Sociology) was selected as a Russell Sage Foundation Fellow for 2026–2027. The fellowship provides an opportunity for scholars in the social, economic, political and behavioral sciences to pursue their data analysis and writing while in residence at the foundation’s headquarters in New York City. Ince will use evidence from a two-year (2018-2020) ethnography of Risen Church, an interracial church in St. Louis, Missouri, to examine why DEI initiatives fail despite explicit commitments to their successful implementation.

IPUMS announces the release of the latest ACS 5-year summary file data from IPUMS NHGIS, a new tool to help researchers understand linking counts between the ATUS and CPS, and even more geography variables from IPUMS USA.

IPUMS USA has added geography variables, including a new consistent PUMA variable, CPUMA1020, which creates consistent geographic boundaries across 2010 and 2020 PUMA definitions, spanning the 2012–2024 samples. Users can also find new Migration and Place-of-Work variables based on 2023 metropolitan statistical area (MSA) definitions.

Using a period life-expectancy framework, CSDE Affiliate Marcia Weaver (Health Metrics) tracked health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) and lifetime spending in the United States for all ages, producing the first estimates calculated at birth, the most comprehensive measure. Weaver and co-authors used population-level results on mortality and years lived with disability from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study and simulated effects of changes in healthcare for 132 causes.

Did you know CSDE can help you with demographic data for your projects? For example, CSDE’s Research Scientist June Yang (Computational Demographer) recently provided the background data for the Latino Center for Health that contributed to a newly published infographic. The project is part of an initiative launched by CSDE Affiliate Leo Morales (General Internal Medicine) seeking to understand better the health needs of Washington’s Latino heritage residents.

CSDE Affiliates Jody O. Early (Nursing and Health Studies) and Carmen Gonzalez (Communications) in partnership with colleagues Janessa Graves (School of Medicine) and Julia Simoes (Communication) recently published a research brief, “Advancing Community-Based Mental Health Promotion: An Evaluation of a Bilingual Lay Mental Health Navigator Program“, in the peer reviewed journal, Health Promotion Practice. Early, Gonzalez, and co-authors presents evaluation results of Mental Health Matters of Washington’s Peer Mental Health Navigator (PMHN) program,

CSDE External Affiliate Maria Y. Rodriguez (University at Buffalo) served as co-editor for a special issue of Research on Social Work Practice on “Social Work Science and Advanced Computational Methods.” Rodriguez and co-editor, Jo Ann Lee, argue that advanced computational methods can help us work toward solving complex social issues. The included manuscripts leverage cutting edge methods like agent-based modeling, network science, and LLMs, all within specific practice-contexts,

CSDE Affiliate Rachel Berney (Urban Design & Planning) and co-authors published the results of a study of right-of-way adaptations in Seattle’s University District that supported urban resilience during the pandemic in the Journal of the American Planning Association. In response to COVID-19, cities permitted streateries (street eateries), which enabled restaurants to operate despite restrictions on indoor uses, and many persisted after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Berney and co-authors modified and supplemented Seattle’s (WA) Public Life Study protocol to observe and analyze streatery and sidewalk use.

CSDE Affiliate Matthew Randolph (American Ethnic Studies) recently joined Sister Peace, an ordained nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing to discuss Frederick Douglass and his scholarly journey. The conversation can be viewed here and centers on Randolph’s time researching Frederick Douglass and how Randolph’s scholarly journey both mirrors and has been shaped by his personal relationship to Douglass’s life and work. Randolph and Sister Peace also reflect on Randolph’s experience as a Black scholar engaging deeply with Black intellectual history,

CSDE Affiliate Alison Fohner (Epidemiology) and co-authors published a study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia that quantified the contribution of dementia risk factors in midlife (45-64 years) and late life (≥ 65 years) in the United States. The team used nationally representative data from six community-based cohorts in the Dementia Risk Prediction Project (DRPP). Fohner and co-authors observed that midlife and late-life risk factors contributed to 22.7% and 16.5% of dementia cases,