Overview
I received my Ph.D. in sociology and mathematics from
the University of Texas at Austin in 1969. After a year of
postdoctoral study in mathematical statistics at
Columbia University in New York City, I taught there
and was a member of the staff of the Russell Sage
Foundation for three years. I then was successively a
member of the faculties of the University of Illinois at
Urbana Champaign and the University of Texas at Austin
before joining the Duke Sociology Department as
Chairman in 1986. I served as Chair of Sociology from January 1986 to August 1997. My main research interests are
contemporary social trends and quality-of-life measurement, social problems, demography, criminology, organizations, and mathematical and statistical models and methods for the study of social and demographic processes. I have done extensive research in each of
these areas and have been elected a Fellow of the
American Statistical Association (1978), the
Sociological Research Association (1981), the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
(1992), the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (1997), and the American Society of Criminology (2004). I teach Contemporary Social Problems (SOCIOL 111), Advanced Methods of Demographic Analysis, and the Demography of Aging Proseminar (SOCIOL 750S). My other interests include tennis, jogging (10
kilometers), and music.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
John Franklin Crowell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology
·
2014 - Present
Sociology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology
·
2014 - Present
Sociology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Co-Director of the Biodemography of Aging Research Unit within DUPRI
·
2014 - Present
Center for Population Health & Aging,
Duke Population Research Institute
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center
·
2010 - Present
Duke Population Research Center,
Duke Population Research Institute
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Center for Population Health & Aging
·
2011 - Present
Center for Population Health & Aging,
Duke Population Research Institute
Recent Publications
Optimized Random-Combinations of Total Fertility Rates and Life Expectancies at Birth for Probabilistic Population Projections
Journal Article Population Research and Policy Review · February 1, 2025 Many studies indicate that Total fertility rates (TFR(t)) are negatively correlated with life expectancies at birth (e0(t)). We found that complete random-combinations of TFR(t) and e0(t) would result in about 24% and 22.2% of improbable combinations in pr ... Full text CiteGenetic associations with longevity are on average stronger in females than in males.
Journal Article Heliyon · January 15, 2024 It is long observed that females tend to live longer than males in nearly every country. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we discovered that genetic associations with longevity are on average stronger in females than in mal ... Full text Link to item CiteIntergenerational income mobility table revisited: A trajectory group perspective
Journal Article Research in Social Stratification and Mobility · August 1, 2022 There is a long history of studying intergenerational mobility using mobility tables or transition matrices. This approach has two potential limitations: each generation is typically divided into several equally sized income groups based on percentile rank ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
An Innovative Model to Predict Readmissions in Adults with Cardiovascular Disease
ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2013 - 2018Integrating Population and Basic Science in Cancer Research
ResearchAdvisor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2009 - 2015Behavior And Physiology In Aging
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1999 - 2015View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Texas, Austin ·
1969
Ph.D.