Professor Kenneth W. Wachter

Department of Demography and Statistics

As a mathematical demographer and statistician, Dr. Wachter studies systematic constraints and random influences that shape the structure of human populations. His research focuses on new statistical methods for analyzing survey data on aging populations and the implications of new work in biology and genetics for demographic understanding of longevity. His interest in family demography and kinship, together with statistical and mathematical methods, led to the development of SOCSIM, a demographic simulation program. Using this program, Dr. Wachter can now forecast the kin and family support available to new generations of elderly in the next century.

Workng in "non-linear" demography, Dr. Wachter has identified mechanisms that give rise to specific kinds of cycles in fertility and population growth. His current research considers the patterns of mortality at extreme ages shared between humans and other species, and tries to reconcile them with statistical models for long-term processes of demographic change.