Katherine Curtis

Dr. Katherine J. Curtis is Professor of Community & Environmental Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her work is centered in demography and extends to spatial, environmental, rural, and applied demography, and focuses on two central themes: population-environment interactions, most centrally the relationship between demographic, economic, and environmental forces; and spatial and temporal dimensions of social and economic inequality, most centrally historical and local forces perpetuating racial disparities. In her work, Curtis adopts place-based theoretical frameworks and employs advanced spatial and spatio-temporal statistical approaches to analyze questions about inequality, which has profound and far-reaching impacts on population wellbeing. Current projects focus on spatial differentiation in migration and fertility responses to environmental events (NICHD and NSF), age- and race-specific net migration (NICHD), and rural livelihoods and spatial connectedness (USDA).