Article from the CURA Blog (https://cura.osu.edu/cura-blog)

Professor Harvey Miller has been named the new Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA), a research center based at The Ohio State University. As Director, Miller will oversee programming for the multidisciplinary center, which serves as a hub for the study of urban and regional issues at the university. The center, launched in 2001, connects researchers concerned with urban issues across disciplines and helps cultivate a cohesive and collaborative environment for faculty, researchers, and students.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to direct CURA and build upon the solid foundation that has been accomplished since its launch,” said Miller. “There is a strong network of partnerships both on and off-campus that will allow me to expand the center’s reach and visibility.”

Miller earned his PhD in Geography at Ohio State in 1991 and spent over two decades at the University of Utah before returning in 2013 as the Bob and Mary Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science. “I am very excited to be back at Ohio State,” said Miller. “It is a world-class university with great opportunities, strong support, and a collaborative environment. The university is moving in some very good directions, with new developments in Data Analytics under the Discovery Themes initiative, as well as new emphases on urban studies across campus.”

In addition to these new initiatives, Miller believes that this is a golden era for CURA and data-driven urban science at Ohio State. “We’re in the midst of a revolution in the human sciences, such as transportation, urban, public health, and the social sciences,” Miller said. “Widely available geospatial data and powerful computational techniques are giving researchers unprecedented insights into people, cities, and societies. It is truly the birth of a new science. I envision CURA as the center of data-driven urban science and all things geospatial on campus. I will also work to bridge the gap between scholarship and practice in non-academic settings.”

Miller is currently a member of the Mapping Science Committee of the National Research Council, US National Academies, and former chair of the Geographic Information Science and Applications committee of the Transportation Research Board and the Geographic Information Systems and Science specialty group of the Association of American Geographers. In 2015, he received the Research Award for his scholarly contributions to GIScience from the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.

“I have no doubt that Professor Miller will be a strong and conscientious leader for this remarkable center,” said Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Divisional Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “I look forward to working closely with him as we build on the many successes already achieved.”

Learn more about Director Miller’s personal research interests on his u.osu blog/miller.81.