REU Site: Spatial Models and Electoral Districting

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). It has both scientific and societal benefits, and it integrates research and education. This REU Site Program, "Spatial Models and Electoral Districting", supported by the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington Tacoma, produces cutting-edge research and the next generation of experts on the socially and politically urgent issue of electoral districting. Bringing together work in geography, mathematics, data science, and computer science, the REU Site both advances scientific knowledge and furthers the national interest. The REU Site produces unique, timely, and important research on redistricting in the years immediately prior to decennial redistricting. It emphasizes the participation of students from traditionally underrepresented gender, economic, and racial identities within the academy and STEM fields. This REU engages these students through research-driven approaches to civic participation and produces both an interdisciplinary research agenda and policy-relevant results. Further, through the support of students less likely to otherwise participate in research opportunities, the REU's impact is not simply on those who participate, but also on the disciplines and career paths the participants diversify and improve throughout their careers. By taking a synergistic approach to the computational, geographic, and political aspects of electoral redistricting, the REU Site encourages unique and new ideas to emerge at the center of an important, timely societal question. Each summer the program supports two research teams, each consisting of two research mentors and six students over an eight week program. Training will include GIS, the python programming language, and other technical skills. During the first three weeks, REU participants will interact with invited experts from political science and public policy, among other fields, to help ground their projects in existing scholarship and public concerns. The REU Site's primary goals are to: (1) provide a high-quality research experience to non-traditional REU students, specifically focusing on underrepresented gender, economic, and racial identities as well as students from smaller colleges with fewer research opportunities; (2) train students and researchers in interdisciplinary approaches with broad real-world implications, preparing students for potential graduate research or careers in the burgeoning fields surrounding data science and geospatial technologies; (3) help researchers gain experience in producing collaborative, pertinent research with undergraduate students. Participants are trained using a number of high-impact pedagogical techniques that help empower a new generation of diverse scholars engaged in community-informed research and public policy creation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.