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Gary King is the Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor at Harvard University and Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science. He is based in the Department of Government within Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. One of only 22 University Professors at Harvard, this represents the institution's most distinguished faculty position. King received his B.A. from SUNY New Paltz in 1980 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984. His academic journey has led him to become one of the most influential scholars in political methodology and quantitative social science. Professor King's research spans numerous areas of methodological innovation in the social sciences. His work focuses on developing and applying empirical methods across various domains. Key research interests include: Ecological Inference - developing methods to infer individual behavior from group-level data Automated Text Analysis - creating techniques for extracting knowledge from massive text collections Causal Inference - methods for detecting and reducing model dependence in causal effect estimation Missing Data and Measurement Error - statistical approaches to handle incomplete or imperfect data Survey Research - developing methods for more accurate cross-cultural survey comparisons Unifying Statistical Analysis - integrating diverse methodological approaches into coherent frameworks King's recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on methodological innovation with practical applications. His work spans political science, public health, and data science, with particular emphasis on privacy-preserving data analysis, maternal health metrics, survey methodology, and media effects. A notable trend is the increasing interdisciplinary nature of his research, bridging political methodology with public health, computer science, and demography. His work on census data privacy, maternal mortality disparities, and media influence represents cutting-edge applications of social science methodology to critical societal issues. His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards: Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (2010) Fellow of the American Statistical Association (2009) Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1998) Guggenheim Foundation Fellow (1994-1995) Career Achievement Award (2010) Warren Miller Prize (2008) Multiple awards for research software and methodology King has mentored numerous students and postdocs, many of whom now hold faculty positions at leading universities. His research has been supported by major funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and National Institute of Aging. He has collaborated with over seventy scholars on research publications and served on numerous editorial boards and professional organization councils. His work on the Mexican universal health insurance program represents one of the largest randomized health policy experiments to date, demonstrating his commitment to rigorous evaluation of real-world policy interventions. As Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, King leads a vibrant research community focused on methodological innovation. His work has practical applications in diverse areas including legislative redistricting (used by the U.S. Supreme Court), health policy evaluation (including the largest randomized health policy experiment to date in Mexico), Chinese censorship analysis (revealing government fabrication of 450 million social media comments annually), and automated text analysis (through Crimson Hexagon, a company he co-founded).

• Political Methodology
• Statistical Inference
• Quantitative Social Science
• +7 more

Ruth Greenwood is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, Harvard University. She specializes in election law litigation, voting rights advocacy, and training future election lawyers. Her work focuses on challenges to partisan gerrymandering, minority vote dilution, and legal strategies to reform redistricting processes. Education: LL.M., Columbia Law School (2009) LL.B./B.Sc., University of Sydney (2005/2003) Research Interests: Election law federalism, voting rights enforcement, redistricting commission design, and combating racial gerrymandering through litigation and legislative advocacy. Her work emphasizes state-level voting rights acts as critical tools for addressing federal law shortcomings. Professional Affiliations: Board Member and Secretary of PlanScore (2019–present), former roles at the Campaign Legal Center, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute. Admitted to multiple federal courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. Courses Taught: Election Law Clinic and Seminar series, Writing Group on Voting Rights (2024–2025).

• Election Law
• Voting Rights
• Civil Rights
• +3 more

Jeffery A. Jenkins is a Provost Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, and holds the Maria B. Crutcher Professorship in Citizenship and Democratic Values. He directs the Political Institutions and Political Economy (PIPE) Collaborative and edits the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy and the Journal of Historical Political Economy . Previously, he served as Editor in Chief of The Journal of Politics (2015-2020) and founded the Southern California Political Institutions and Political Economy Working Group. His research focuses on American political history, particularly the development of congressional and partisan institutions, and the political economy of historical policy decisions. His major works include Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865-1968 (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which won the 2021 V.O. Key Award and J. David Greenstone Prize, and Congress and the First Civil Rights Era, 1861-1918 (University of Chicago Press, 2021), awarded the 2023 V.O. Key Award. He co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy (2024) and oversees a book series on historical political economy with Cambridge University Press. Roles: Editor in Chief of Broadstreet , a historical political economy blog, and host of the podcast P.S. You’re Interesting . Awards: Multiple book prizes recognizing contributions to political science and historical analysis. Research Themes: Reconstruction-era policies, civil rights legislation, Southern Republicanism, and institutional development. His recent articles explore topics such as presidential favoritism in grant allocation, historical disenfranchisement strategies, and the evolution of congressional partisan tactics. Jenkins’ work bridges historical analysis with modern political questions, emphasizing long-term institutional dynamics and their implications for contemporary governance.

• American Political History
• Political Institutions
• Congressional Studies
• +3 more

Matthew Petering is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His work bridges operations research with real-world applications in logistics, transportation, and political redistricting. He holds a PhD in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (2007), an MS from the same program (2003), and a BA in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis (1999). His research focuses on optimizing complex systems: from seaport container terminals to university course scheduling, and recently developing the FastMap algorithm for unbiased political redistricting. His algorithm was central to Wisconsin Supreme Court litigation in 2023-2024, submitting proposals for legislative maps that balanced fairness and operational efficiency. Dr. Petering has pioneered board game designs like Distrix (2020), which won international awards, and authored The Distrix Puzzle Book . His peer-reviewed work spans over 30 publications in journals like Transportation Science , European Journal of Operational Research , and International Journal of Production Economics . Key contributions include: Algorithmic solutions for container shipping and rail logistics Cyclic production planning models Real-time location management systems for distribution facilities Emergency evacuation modeling His FastMap redistricting system was recognized with the 2024 INFORMS Practitioner Poster Competition award. Dr. Petering frequently advises governmental bodies and judicial proceedings on redistricting methodology and logistics optimization.

• Political Redistricting
• University Course Scheduling
• Operations Research
• +8 more

Tyler Simko is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, specializing in US state and local politics, political geography, and computational social science. His research focuses on understanding and addressing inequality in American public policy through innovative methodological approaches. Education: Ph.D. in Government, Harvard University (2024) A.B. in Politics, Princeton University Simko's research examines state and local politics in the United States with particular focus on political geography and subnational policymaking. His active research agendas include legislative redistricting ("gerrymandering"), local public meetings, school segregation, affordable housing, and data privacy. Methodologically, he develops new techniques in computational social science and machine learning to evaluate subnational inequality and how it can be reduced. His work regularly involves partnerships with federal, state, and local officials to improve the design of public policy. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on applying computational methods to address real-world policy challenges, particularly in school desegregation, redistricting, and local government transparency. His research often leverages large-scale data collection efforts, such as LocalView (the largest database of local government meetings in the US), to analyze patterns of political behavior and policy outcomes across different jurisdictions. Awards and Recognition: APSA 2024-25 Best Paper in Education Politics and Policy Award APSA 2024-25 Best Paper in Urban and Local Politics, Honorable Mention MPSA 2024 Robert H. Durr Award for "the best paper applying quantitative methods to a substantive problem" Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates (2023) Simko teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in American Politics and Political Methodology at the University of Michigan. His teaching experience spans multiple institutions, including Harvard University and Princeton University. He has designed innovative courses on US Local Policymaking, data science, and computational social science. As a Data Scientist at the Office of Evaluation Sciences, he partners with federal, state, and local officials to improve program design and reduce administrative burdens. He is a co-PI of the Algorithm-Assisted Redistricting Methodology (ALARM) Project and co-creator of LocalView, the largest audio, video, and text database of local government meetings in the United States. These projects represent significant contributions to the field of computational social science and provide valuable resources for researchers studying local governance and policy-making.

• State and Local Politics
• Political Geography
• Subnational Policymaking
• +5 more

Jonathan Rodden is a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. His research focuses on the comparative political economy of institutions, particularly federalism and fiscal decentralization, with significant contributions to understanding the urban-rural political divide and its implications for representation and policy. PhD from Yale University BA from the University of Michigan Fulbright student at University of Leipzig His research spans several domains: Comparative Federalism: Analyzed fiscal decentralization mechanisms, budgetary transfers, and institutional design in federations globally. Political Geography: Developed computational methods for redistricting analysis and demonstrated how geographic voter distribution creates inherent electoral biases. Policy Uncertainty: Co-authored foundational work linking economic uncertainty to political polarization and fiscal cycles. Public Health: Conducted epidemiological studies on firearm-related mortality and suicide patterns in California. Scientific awards include: Gregory Luebbert Prize for best book in comparative politics (2007) Michael Wallerstein Award for best paper in political economy (2015) He has advised PhD students like Jowei Chen and directed policy projects with international institutions including the World Bank, IMF, and OECD. His work on redistricting simulations has been cited in U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs and congressional testimony.

• Comparative Politics
• Political Economy
• Federalism
• +6 more

Jason M. Roberts is a Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in American political institutions with an emphasis on the U.S. Congress. He maintains an office in Hamilton Hall and communicates via jroberts@unc.edu. His academic credentials include: B.S. in Political Science from the University of North Alabama (1998) M.A. in Political Science from Purdue University (2000) Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis (2005) Professor Roberts' research centers on congressional procedures, electoral systems, and institutional dynamics within the U.S. Congress. Current projects investigate interpersonal relationships among legislators and election administration practices in North Carolina, building on prior work like his 2020 book The Politics of Ballot Design . His scholarship consistently bridges historical analysis and contemporary political challenges. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2022-2006) reveals enduring focus on congressional institutionalization, party strategy in lawmaking, and electoral competition. Recurring themes include the impact of procedural rules on legislative outcomes, historical evolution of congressional practices, and methodological rigor in studying roll call voting—demonstrating both longitudinal depth and methodological sophistication. No scientific awards or honors were documented in the source materials. His teaching portfolio spans undergraduate courses including American Democracy in Changing Times and The U.S. Congress, alongside graduate seminars in American Politics and Congressional studies. While student advising details were unspecified, his extensive publication record and active research agenda suggest ongoing mentorship of emerging scholars.

• American political institutions
• U.S. Congress
• congressional elections
• +1 more

Thad Kousser is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he has served since 2003. He previously chaired the Department of Political Science from 2016 to 2022. His research focuses on American state and national politics, voting reforms, direct democracy mechanisms, and the role of social media in political communication. He has held visiting appointments at Stanford University and Flinders University (Australia as a Fulbright Scholar). His work has been published in top journals like the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and American Political Science Review . Research Interests: Electoral systems and reform Partisan polarization and its governance impacts Legislative professionalism and term limits State-level policy dynamics Political communication in the digital age Comparative studies of federalism Awards: UCSD Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award Flinders Fulbright Distinguished Chair Grants & Advising: While no specific grants are listed, his research has involved large-scale field experiments (e.g., 2020 mail ballot study). His advisory work includes contributions to California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission and legislative reform debates. He regularly provides expert commentary to media outlets like Politico , New York Times , and NPR. Labs/Teams: Active in UCSD’s Law and Politics Initiative, examining intersections of governance and legal frameworks.

• American Politics
• Voting Systems
• Direct Democracy
• +6 more

John C. Kuzenski is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship at the Department of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University. He joined the faculty in 2015, focusing on legal/regulatory frameworks in business and ethics. Prior to this, he spent 30 years in higher education as a professor and administrator, including roles at NC State's Department of Political Science. He also served as a divisional Assistant Director at the NC Department of Revenue and has extensive legal consulting experience with nonprofits. Education: J.D. with Honors (UNC Chapel Hill, 2005), Ph.D. (University of Georgia, 1993) Research interests include business law, regulatory environments, governance, and political dynamics. Key works explore undergraduate legal pedagogy, academic integrity, and historical analyses of Southern political figures like David Duke. His legal expertise spans state and federal courts, with bar admissions in NC, DC, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches to business law education and historical political studies. No formal awards are listed, but his consulting work demonstrates significant professional contributions. Advising and grants sections remain underdeveloped in available texts. He is affiliated with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship research group within MIE.

• Business Law
• Business Ethics
• Legal and Regulatory Environment
• +3 more

Brandon R. Davis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Murphy Institute at Tulane University. He holds a PhD in Political Science, an MA in Gender and Race Studies, and an MSW from Alabama A&M University, with academic training rooted in interdisciplinary social science frameworks. PhD, Political Science – University of Alabama MA, Gender and Race Studies – University of Alabama MSW, Alabama A&M University BS, Psychology & Sociology – University of Alabama His research explores intersections of American Politics , Race and Ethnic Politics , and Law and Society , focusing on institutions, representation, and criminal justice . Key themes include carceral systems, racialized policy feedback, and voting rights. Recent publications examine racialized social welfare receipt , faith-based immigration attitudes , and state predation dynamics . His work bridges empirical analysis with normative political theory. NSF CAREER Award (2022) – $500,000 grant for 'We Dare Defend Our Rights: The Political Use of Law in the Enforcement of Voting Rights' Davis previously served as a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University, strengthening his focus on interdisciplinary policy research. His teaching and mentorship are grounded in applied political theory and social justice frameworks.

• American Politics
• Law and Society
• Race and Ethnic Politics
• +3 more

Travis Crum is a Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in voting rights , race , and federalism . His scholarship focuses on the Fifteenth Amendment and its implications for redistricting, with significant influence on federal court decisions and legislative reforms like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Education: J.D. from Yale Law School (2011), MSc in Comparative Politics from LSE (2007), B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Johns Hopkins University (2006) Research interests span constitutional law , election law , and civil rights , with a focus on racially polarized voting, judicial retrogression standards, and dynamic pre-clearance strategies. His work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and featured in major outlets like The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. His recent scholarship (2024) explores complex intersections of race-based redistricting and constitutional enforcement, while his 2024 AALS Distinguished Scholarship Award recognizes his groundbreaking analysis of the Fifteenth Amendment. Earlier accolades include the 2023 Harvard/Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum. Email: crum@wustl.edu Key Contributions: Allen v. Milligan litigation strategy, Shelby County v. Holder reform proposals

• Constitutional Law
• Voting Rights
• Election Law
• +5 more

Kevin DeLuca is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale University and a Resident Fellow at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS). He is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for the Study of American Politics (CSAP). His research focuses on political institutions, the political economy of media, and election laws, particularly examining the role of local newspapers in shaping political outcomes. DeLuca holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University (2023), an M.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin (2015), and a B.A./B.S. in Economics and Psychology from the same university (2014). He teaches courses such as 'Data Analytics for Redistricting and Voting Rights' and 'Regulating Elections: Voting Rights and Election Law.' His work intersects with computational methods in redistricting analysis and the influence of media on electoral processes. Previously, he collaborated with institutions like the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (MEDSL) and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. His research emphasizes methodologies like Bayesian geocoding for redistricting validation and explores partisan dynamics in gerrymandering solutions. He has contributed to groundbreaking studies on candidate quality measurement via media endorsements and the impact of top-tier elections on down-ballot races.

• Political Institutions
• Political Economy
• Media and Politics
• +3 more

Dianne Pinderhughes is the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, with concurrent appointments in American Studies and Gender Studies. She serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Kellogg Institute and has held leadership roles in major political science organizations, including APSA President (2007-08) and 1st Vice President of the International Political Science Association. Her research focuses on racial, ethnic, and gender politics in the Americas, examining institutional inequality, civil society development, and voting rights policy. Google Scholar articles reveal sustained engagement with topics like intersectionality (2008), Black political mobilization (2013), and redistricting implications (2017), reflecting her dual emphasis on theoretical innovation and policy impact. Scientific Awards APS Presidential Leadership (2007-08) Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow (2003-04) IPSA Vice Presidency (2016) Robert Wood Johnson Advisory Role Pinderhughes' recent work (2021-2024) explores structural racism in science policy and civil rights anniversary legacies, while her seminal 2018 textbook Uneven Roads remains a foundational text in US racial politics analysis. She has consistently connected academic research to real-world governance through advisory roles and task force leadership.

• Racial Politics
• Ethnic Politics
• Gender Politics
• +6 more

John Matsusaka serves as Professor of Business, Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law. He holds a joint appointment across multiple disciplines and serves as Executive Director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at USC, where he studies ballot measures nationwide. His educational background includes a degree from the University of Washington and MA/PhD from the University of Chicago. Professional appointments include National Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, John M. Olin Professor at Chicago's Stigler Center, and visiting positions at UCLA and Caltech. Matsusaka's research focuses on direct democracy mechanisms , particularly initiatives and referendums, with significant contributions to understanding their impact on public policy, budgeting, and electoral systems. His work bridges political science, economics, and law, examining how citizen-driven legislation affects governance. Additional expertise spans corporate finance topics including mergers and acquisitions, corporate diversification, and capital budgeting procedures. Analysis of his publications reveals consistent focus on empirical analysis of democratic institutions , with methodological strengths in quantitative political economy. His work demonstrates how direct democracy instruments reshape policy landscapes, particularly in state-level fiscal governance and electoral administration. Award highlights include: Merton Miller Prize for most significant Journal of Business paper (2001) Thompson Scientific Selected Emerging Research Front paper (2006) As Executive Director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute, Matsusaka leads comprehensive tracking of ballot measures across the United States. His public commentary in outlets like the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times focuses on state budget crises and fiscal accountability. His influential book For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy (2004) remains a foundational text in the field. The Initiative and Referendum Institute serves as his primary research hub, coordinating national studies of direct democracy processes while maintaining connections with policymakers and election administrators nationwide.

• Direct Democracy
• Initiatives and Referendums
• Political Economy
• +3 more

Cory McCartan is the Hoben and Patricia Thomas and Thomas and Ann Hettmansperger Early Career Professor of Statistics at Penn State University, with an affiliate appointment in Political Science. His research focuses on methodological and applied problems in computational social science, including redistricting, Bayesian methods, causal inference, and racial disparities. He co-leads the Algorithm-Assisted Redistricting Methodology (ALARM) Project at Harvard University and develops open-source software for redistricting analysis (e.g., redist , birdie ). McCartan holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Harvard (2023) and a B.A. in Mathematics from Grinnell College (2019). His work bridges statistical methodology and policy applications, with recent emphasis on legislative redistricting reforms, gerrymandering analysis, and privacy-preserving census data methods. Key projects include evaluating redistricting algorithms, quantifying partisan bias, and estimating disparities in administrative data using Bayesian models. Publications span topics like redistricting simulation, census privacy impacts, and neighborhood modeling. His ALARM Project produces 50-state redistricting simulations for public use, emphasizing reproducible workflows and open-source tools. McCartan's software packages ( e.g. , redist , conformalbayes ) are widely adopted in policy and academic research. Grants and collaborations involve the Voting and Election Science Team and Harvard Data Science Initiative, with computational support from Microsoft. His work has been covered in Science Advances , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and Science .

• Computational Social Science
• Bayesian Methods
• Causal Inference
• +5 more