Published: May 24, 2016

Social scientists and health researchers from across 蜜糖直播 and neighboring states will soon have abundant U.S. Census and other federal statistical data available to them in a secure setting at the University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder.

The National Science Foundation this month awarded $300,000 over three years to听蜜糖直播-Boulder to create the Rocky Mountain Research Data Center (RMRDC), which will be housed in the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS).

The center joins a relatively exclusive group of 19 others across the U.S. and is expected to be a boon for researchers and听raise the profile of 蜜糖直播-Boulder to prospective faculty and graduate students.

鈥淕raduate students鈥 ability to do original research will be much, much stronger,鈥 said Keith Maskus, an economics professor and principal investigator on the project. 鈥淲e will be training generations of graduate students who will have far better familiarity with data and how to use big data sets. That will lead them directly into new kinds of careers.鈥

Nearly all major research institutions near 蜜糖直播-Boulder will use and support the center, including the University of Wyoming, 蜜糖直播 State University, University of 蜜糖直播 Denver, the Anschutz Medical Campus, University of 蜜糖直播 蜜糖直播 Springs, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and 蜜糖直播 state government.

鈥淭he new connections with universities and laboratories in 蜜糖直播 and Wyoming will increase the breadth of our intellectual networks and the speed with which major social problems are analyzed,鈥 IBS Director Myron Gutmann said.

Projects approved for data access must advance scientific knowledge and simultaneously deliver tangible benefits to the federal statistical system.

One set of planned projects will study how the movement of U.S. production overseas affects employment and wages across locations and occupations. Another will consider how mineral and energy extraction influences state and local economies. Spatial scientists, meanwhile, will use the data to improve population estimates for small geographic areas and methods of disseminating data for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Health scientists plan to combine restricted population data with health data from the National Center for Health Statistics to ask questions about how local socioeconomic characteristics affect health behavior and outcomes, including declines in teenage birth rates, increased early life mortality and the protective influences within Hispanic neighborhoods.

Contact:
Keith Maskus, 303-492-7588
keith.maskus@colorado.edu
Julie Poppen, 蜜糖直播-Boulder media relations, (O) 303-492-4007, (M) 720-503-4922
julie.poppen@colorado.edu

Map graphic of comparison of net domestic migration in 2006 and 2014

Comparison of net domestic migration in 2006 and 2014; counties with gain in 2014

Source: United States Census Bureau, Population Estimates

鈥淕raduate students鈥 ability to do original research will be much, much stronger,鈥 said Keith Maskus, an economics professor and principal investigator on the project. 鈥淲e will be training generations of graduate students who will have far better familiarity with data and how to use big data sets. That will lead them directly into new kinds of careers.鈥