I am pleased to share our first summer issue of Dialogo. In these pages, you’ll find examples of the many courses, internships, research travel, events, and other happenings from the summer quarter. It’s anything but quiet in the Social Sciences in June, July, and August!
The Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis course that we offered for undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences reflects the continuing evolution and impact of quantitative research across our disciplines. As you can see in the conversation with Marynia Kolak, of the Center for Spatial Data Science, and two of her undergraduate interns, Sam Joyce and Tiye Stephens, the class and research projects offered unique and meaningful opportunities to learn and to learn by doing. We plan to expand these offerings for next summer, so that more students and faculty have the opportunity to engage in this exciting effort.
The conversations with Lars Peter Hansen, the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, Statistics & the College, and Paul Cheney, Professor of European History and the College, about their respective summer programs offer insight into the next next directions in their fields. The profiles of graduate students Anjali Anand and Mike Barnett illustrate how innovative research ideas come to fruition.
The end of the quarter, as each does, became a moment of celebration for students who were finishing their degree. For the second year, in what is becoming a division tradition, we recognized those PhD and MA students with an afternoon program and lunch. Congratulations to each, our newest alumni.
I invite you to read about all of these items, and more, in this edition. I look forward to all that the coming academic year will hold, and to sharing our accomplishments and new initiatives as they come.
To stay up to date, please visit socialsciences.uchicago.edu and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
With best wishes,
Amanda Woodward
Dean, Division of the Social Sciences
William S. Gray Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology
