Dr. Katherine Curtis

Biography

Professor Katherine Curtis is the Buttel-Sewell Professor in Community & Environmental Sociology and the Director of the Center for Demography & Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research centers on demography, extending into spatial, environmental, rural, and applied demography, with a focus on the interactions between population and the environment. Her work critically examines the relationship between demographic, economic, and environmental forces, particularly the spatial and temporal dimensions of social and economic inequality. Curtis incorporates place-based theoretical frameworks and utilizes advanced spatial and spatio-temporal statistical approaches to address pressing questions concerning inequality and its far-reaching impacts on population wellbeing. Current projects she leads investigate spatial differentiation in migration and fertility responses to environmental events, as well as age- and race-specific net migration patterns. Her outreach involves several research centers including the Applied Population Laboratory, the Center for Demography & Ecology, and the Rural Population Research Network.

Research Interests

Experience