Professor David Epstein and Professor Sharyn O'Halloran have been selected to receive the 2005 Decade of Behavior Research Award in recognition of their research on democracy issues. The award recognizes research that has made a significant impact on the public's understanding of behavioral and social science principles and the use of social and behavioral science knowledge in policy settings, or has enhanced public understanding of behavioral or social science principles.
The Decade of Behavior (2000-2010) is a multidisciplinary initiative that focuses the talent, energy, and creativity of the behavioral and social sciences on meeting many of society’s most significant challenges. These include improving education and health care; enhancing safety in homes and communities; actively addressing the needs of an aging population; and helping to curb drug abuse, crime, high risk behaviors, poverty, racism, and cynicism towards government.
Professors Epstein and O'Halloran were selected for their joint research on the impact of racial redistricting on the democratic process. Their research has offered profound empirical and theoretical insights and has been cited in recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the Voting Rights Act.
Professors Epstein and O'Halloran and another political scientist, Dr. James Louis Gibson, join award recipients from other disciplines: Dr. Judith Torney-Purta, nominated by the American Psychological Association; Dr. William Clark, nominated by the Association of American Geographers; and Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, nominated by the National Communication Association. The awardees will present their work at a Capitol Hill workshop to be scheduled later this Spring.
