Name: David Swanson
Category: Public Policy: Wildfires
Title: Professor of sociology
Degree: Ph.D., University of Hawaii, 1985
Areas of Expertise: Swanson was the principal investigator of a research project funded by the National Science Foundation to assess the demographic and social impacts of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The project's conclusions could prove useful in the recovery from Southern California's devastating firestorm. Swanson's team found that people with strong social networks of friends and relatives survived the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina far better than those who did not. Relief agencies should ask displaced people about friends and family in addition to insurance and financial resources, he says. "Strengthening and utilizing social networks for people would do a lot for the relief portion of disasters," Swanson says.
Recognition: Swanson has authored or co-authored more than 55 refereed journal articles, mainly dealing with demography, especially population estimation and population forecasting. With Stan Smith and Jeff Tayman, he wrote "State and Local Population Projections: Methodology and Analysis" (2001) and with Jay Siegel edited "The Methods and Materials of Demography 2nd Edition" (2004). He is currently involved in three research projects with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Outside Activities: Swanson has been a member of the Census Bureau's "Census Advisory Commitee for Professional Associations" on behalf of the Population Association of America (PAA) for three years. He recently was
invited to continue as a member for a second three-year
term and to serve as chair of group that represents PAA for the coming year.
Languages Spoken: English
E-mail: david.swanson@ucr.edu
Phone: 951-827-4373
Preferred Media: Print, Radio, Video
Media Contact:
- Bettye Miller
bettye.miller@ucr.edu
(951) 827-7847